Editing Quintus Sertorius (section)

=== Clunia and the final years ===
After the battle Sertorius reverted to guerrilla warfare, having lost the heavy infantry Perperna had lent to his cause which enabled him to match the Sullan legions in the field. He retired to a strong fortress town in the mountains called [[Clunia]]. Pompey and Metellus rushed to besiege him, and during the siege, Sertorius made many sallies against them, inflicting heavy casualties.{{sfn|Livy ''Per.''|loc=92}} Sertorius convinced Metellus and Pompey that he intended to remain besieged, and eventually broke through their lines, rejoined with a fresh Sertorian army, and resumed the war.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=21}} 

The two Roman generals had pursued Sertorius into unfriendly lands and thus Sertorius regained the initiative. For the rest of the year he resumed a guerrilla campaign against them, eventually forcing Metellus and Pompey to winter out of Sertorian-aligned land due to lack of resources.{{sfn|Plut. ''Pomp.''|loc=19|}} During that winter, Pompey wrote to the Senate for reinforcements and funds, without which, he said, he and Metellus would be driven from Hispania. Despite being weakened, Sertorius was still perceived as a threat, as in Rome it was apparently said that he would return to Italy before Pompey did.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=21|}} The Senate capitulated to Pompey's demands; funds and men (two legions) were found with effort and sent to the Roman generals. 

With the men and materiel reinforcements from Pompey's letter, in 74–73&nbsp;BC, Pompey and Metellus gained the upper hand. The two Roman generals began slowly grinding down Sertorius' rebellion via attritional warfare. Sertorius lacked the men to meet them in open combat, though he continued to harry them with guerrilla warfare. Mass defections to the Roman generals began, and Sertorius responded to this with harshness and punishments.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=25|}} Sertorius continued to win some victories, but it was by now clear he could not achieve complete victory.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2016|p=168}} The Roman generals continued to occupy strongholds that were once under his control, and Sertorius' support among the Iberian tribes faltered as discontent among his Roman staff rose.

Sertorius was in league with the [[Cilician Pirates]], who had bases and fleets all around the [[Mediterranean]].{{sfn|Brennan|2000|p=406}} Near the end of his war he was also in communication with the insurgent [[Slavery in ancient Rome|slaves]] of [[Spartacus]] in Italy, who were [[Third Servile War|openly in revolt against Rome]]. But due to jealousies and fears among his high-ranking Roman officers a conspiracy was beginning to take form.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=25}}