Editing Quintus Sertorius (section)

==Sertorian War==
{{Main|Sertorian War}}

[[File:Gerard van Kuijl - Quintus Sertorius and the horse tail 1638.jpg|thumb|Quintus Sertorius and the horse tail, by [[Gerard van der Kuijl]], 1638|280x280px]]
Sertorius crossed the strait at Gibraltar at Tingis in 80&nbsp;BC, landing at [[Baelo Claudia|Baelo]] near the [[Pillars of Hercules]] in the summer or fall of the year.{{sfn|Konrad|1995|p=126}} A small fleet under an [[Aurelius]] Cotta (specific name not known) from the coastal town of [[Mellaria]] failed to stop him.{{sfnm|Broughton|1952|1p=80|Konrad|1994|2pp=128–129}} After being reinforced by the Lusitanians he marched on Lucius Fufidius, [[propraetor]] of Hispania Ulterior,{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=81, citing {{harvnb|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=12.3}}, reporting title as propraetor}} and defeated him at the [[Battle of the Baetis River]], consolidating control over the province.{{sfn|Konrad|1995|p=130}}{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=57-58}} News of Sertorius' victory spread throughout Hispania Ulterior, including a rumour that his army included fifty thousand cannibals.{{sfnm|Konrad|1995|1p=130|Sall. ''Hist.''|2loc=1.107}}

=== Lusitania and Lacobriga ===
The Senate learned that Sertorius had returned to Hispania, and as a result sent [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius]], an experienced Sullan general, with a proconsular command by the Senate specifically to defeat and drive him from Hispania Ulterior.{{sfn|Gruen|1995|p=18}} Metellus would be Sertorius' main antagonist between 80–77&nbsp;BC. Prior to Metellus' arrival, [[Marcus Domitius Calvinus (praetor 80 BC)|Marcus Domitius Calvinus]], proconsul in Hispania Citerior,{{sfn|Broughton|1952|p=84 – citing Sall. ''Hist.'', 1.111M; {{harvnb|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=12.8}} – reporting Marcus Calvinus' title as proconsul}} marched against Sertorius but was defeated by [[Lucius Hirtuleius]], Sertorius' legate. Sertorius, who referred to Metellus as "the old woman", employed guerrilla warfare effectively and outmaneuvered Metellus through rapid and relentless campaigning.{{sfnm|Leach|1978|1p=39|Plut. ''Pomp.''|2loc=17}} Sertorius also defeated and killed [[Thoria gens|Lucius Thorius Balbus]], Metellus' legate. 

Although initially outnumbered, Sertorius' repeated victories, along with his "uncharacteristically humane" administration impressed the native warriors, many of whom joined his cause.{{sfn|Konrad|1994|pp=50,188}} His character, in that he treated the natives as allies rather than subjects, may have also played a role.{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=63}} Sertorius organized the natives into an army and adjoined them to his core Roman forces, commanding them under Roman officers.{{sfn|Konrad|1994|p=188}} The natives are said to have called Sertorius the "new [[Hannibal]]" whom he resembled physically (having one eye) and, they believed, in military skill.{{sfn|App. ''BCiv.''|loc=112.1}} [[File:Statue of Diana, 2nd century AD, found at Italica, Archaeological Museum, Seville (39725000184).jpg|thumb|upright|A statue (2nd century AD) discovered at [[Italica]], [[Province of Seville|Seville]], portrays [[Diana (goddess)|Diana]] with a fawn skin draped over a tree stump]]Although he was strict and severe with his soldiers, Sertorius was considerate to the natives, and made their burdens light despite financial strain in his war effort.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2016|p=160}} This was likely partially pragmatic, as Sertorius had to retain the goodwill of the native Iberians if he had any chance of winning the war. Sertorius' most famous strategy to this end was his white fawn, a present from one of the natives that he claimed communicated to him the advice of the goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]], who had been [[Syncretism|syncretized]] with a native Iberian deity.{{sfn|Konrad|1994|p=124}}
{{quote|Spanus, one of the commoners who lived in the country, came across a doe trying to escape from hunters. The doe fled faster than he could pursue, but the animal had newly given birth. He [Spanus] was struck by the unusual colour of the fawn, for it was pure white. He pursued and caught it.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=11.2}}}}

The Iberians were greatly impressed by the fawn, who was calm in Sertorius' military camp and affectionate with him, and saw Sertorius as a divinely favoured leader.{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=63}} Sertorius would obscure information from military reports, claim Diana had told him of said information through the fawn in his dreams, and then act accordingly to further this belief.{{sfnm|Spann|1987|1p=63|Plut. ''Sert.''|2loc=11}} White animals were perceived as having oracular qualities among Germanic peoples, and in Hispania itself there existed a stag cult of [[Funerary cult|funerary]] and oracular nature; this cult was most popular in western Hispania and Lusitania, where Sertorius drew his most fervent followers.{{sfn|Konrad|1994|pp=124–25}} As a result of all of these factors, Sertorius' power and army grew exponentially in 80 and 79&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Spann|1987|pp=63-64}}
Sertorius successfully gained control over both Hispanian provinces with the aid of Hirtuleius in 79&nbsp;BC despite Metellus' efforts. From 78&nbsp;BC onward Metellus campaigned against Sertorian cities, but Sertorius thwarted his invasions into Lusitania and Ulterior. When Sertorius learned of Metellus' intention to siege [[Lacobriga]], Sertorius supplied the city in response, and then prepared to meet Metellus there. When Metellus arrived and sent out foragers, Sertorius ambushed them and killed many, forcing Metellus to leave, unsuccessful. In 77&nbsp;BC, Sertorius focused his attention on subduing Iberian tribes who had not yet accepted his authority in the interior. Metellus did not extensively campaign against Sertorius in the year due to the revolt in Rome of the consul [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (consul 78 BC)|Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]] (father of the [[Lepidus|triumvir]]). At some point during these years, Sertorius challenged Metellus to [[single combat]], and when Metellus declined, his soldiers mocked him. [[File:Setorius and the Example of the Horses, after Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|400px|''Sertorius and the Example of the Horses'', after [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]. The drawing illustrates the example Sertorius gave to his followers that in the same way a horse's tail can be picked out hair by hair but not pulled out all at once, so smaller forces could defeat the Roman armies.<ref>Christian Müller in ''Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515–1532,'' Christian Müller; Stephan Kemperdick; Maryan Ainsworth; ''et al'', Munich: Prestel, 2006, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-3580-3}}, {{nowrap|pp. 263–64}}.</ref>]]Sertorius made the Iberians an organized army through Roman formations and signals.{{sfnm|Spann|1987|1p=64|Plut. ''Sert.''|2loc=14}} He encouraged them to decorate their armaments with precious metals, thus making them more likely to retain their equipment between engagements.{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=82}} Many native Iberians pledged themselves to him, serving as bodyguards who would take their own lives if he perished.{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=82}} 

Famously, while organizing his armies, the natives under Sertorius' command wanted to take on the Roman legions head-on. Unable to convince them otherwise, he allowed the natives to do so in a minor engagement. Afterward, he had two horses brought in front of them, one strong, the other weak. He ordered an old man to pull hairs from the strong horses' tail one by one, and a strong youth to pull on the weak horses' tail all at once; the old man completed his task, while the youth failed. Sertorius then explained that the Roman army was similar to the horse tail, in that it could be defeated if attacked piece by piece, but if taken all at once victory was impossible.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=16}}<ref>Valerius Maximus, ''Memorable Deeds and Sayings,'' Book 7, 3.6</ref>

=== Contrebia and Lauron ===

In the summer of that year, with Lepidus' revolt having ended, the Roman Senate recognized a greater force was needed to defeat Sertorius, as to this point all Sullan generals had been defeated or killed and Metellus had proven to be no match for him.{{sfn|Gruen|1995|p=18}}<ref name=":4" /> Both sitting consuls, however, refused to command the war against Sertorius.{{sfn|Brennan|2000|pp=425,466}} The Senate resorted to giving an extraordinary command to [[Pompey]] to crush Sertorius' rebellion.{{sfn|Plut. ''Pomp.''|loc=17}} Soon after, probably in late 77&nbsp;BC, Sertorius was joined by [[Marcus Perpenna Vento|Marcus Perperna Veiento]], with a following of Roman and Italian aristocrats and a sizeable Roman-style army of fifty-three [[Cohort (military unit)|cohorts]].{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=15.1}} Although initially reluctant to place himself under Sertorius, Perperna was forced to do so by his own men. With this army Sertorius was able to meet the Roman commanders in open field engagements instead of only guerrilla warfare. 
[[File:(Venice) Pompey the Great, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.jpg|thumb|Starting in 76&nbsp;BC, a young [[Pompey|Pompey the Great]] campaigned against Sertorius, but was defeated by him in the [[Battle of Lauron]].]]
Sertorius successfully sieged the native city of Contrebia in that year. Afterward, he called together representatives of the Iberian tribes, thanked them for their aid in providing arms for his troops, discussed the progress of the war and the advantages they would have if he was victorious, and then dismissed them.<ref name=":12">Livy, ''History of Rome,'' Book 91</ref>

By the 76&nbsp;BC campaigning season, Pompey had recruited a large army, some 30,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry from his father and Sulla's veterans, its size being evidence of the threat posed by Sertorius to the Sullan Senate.{{sfn|Leach|1978|pp=44-45}} His arrival in Hispania stirred up rebellious sentiments against Sertorius in the peninsula, due to Pompey's reputation as a skilled general. Sertorius paid close attention to Pompey's movements despite his open contempt toward the younger general, who he called "Sulla's pupil".{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=18.4}} Sertorius was now at the height of his power, as near all of Iberia was under his control and he had several large armies throughout the peninsula with which to combat the Roman generals.{{sfn|Spann|1987|p=91}}

Sertorius, apparently, did not intend to march on Pompey or expect him to offer battle.<ref name=":12" /> He began the year with minor raids into the lands of the [[Berones]] and [[Autrigones|Autricones]], presumably wanting to set a reliable headquarters in northern Hispania.{{sfn|Leach|1978|p=46}} When Pompey marched toward [[Valencia|Valentia]], Sertorius rapidly moved south and blockaded the strategic city of Lauron in Citerior, which had recently allied itself to Pompey. Sertorius besieged the city, likely hoping to pull Pompey from Valentia by attacking a new ally of his. 

In response, Pompey made for Lauron, and saw Sertorius encamped there already, beginning the [[Battle of Lauron]]. Sertorius remarked that he would give a lesson to Pompey: that a general must look behind him rather than in front of him.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=18}} Sertorius outmaneuvered Pompey during the battle, forcing him to stay in place by threatening an attack from the rear, then killed his foragers and a Pompeian legion sent to relieve the foragers. When Pompey tried to form up his entire army to save his forces, Sertorius led out his own army. Knowing he would be outflanked if he gave battle, Pompey desisted, and a third of his army was slaughtered. Sertorius let the native Lauronians go and burned down the city. He then executed an entire Roman cohort due to their attempts to plunder and ravage the Lauronians after he gave orders that they were to be unharmed. 

==== The Sertorian Senate and school at Osca ====
Sertorius, in his efforts to build a stable powerbase in Hispania, is said to have established a Senate of three hundred members drawn from Roman emigrants in Iberia.{{sfn|App. ''BCiv.''|loc=108.1, though scholars doubt the figure of 300 specifically}} He probably did not start calling it a Senate, nor did it contain a significant number of senators, until the arrival of Perperna and the Marian/Lepidan exiles in 77&nbsp;BC.{{sfnm|Konrad|1994|1p=185|Spann|1987|2p=87}} Whether the title of Senate was given to this body because it was a "government in exile" or innately due to the [[Dignitas (Roman concept)|dignitas]] of its members is not known.{{sfnm|Konrad|1994|1p=185, who argues it was not a government in exile as Sertorius lacked the power of a consul to convene a Senate and only saw himself as a proconsul. Conversely |Spann|1987|2pp=88-89, who believes it was in fact a government in exile, and that the fact that it was a 'Senate' was manifest}} It included many men, possibly one hundred or more, who were genuine senators but had fled Rome.{{sfnm|Konrad|1994|1p=184|Spann|1987|2pp=86-89}} Sertorius probably rose men of equestrian rank and other young nobles to his Senate to swell its numbers, and personally appointed proquaestors and propraetors; some men (such as [[Marcus Marius (quaestor 76 BC)|Marcus Marius]]) apparently even advanced offices in his administration.{{sfn|Brennan|2000|p=503}} How often Sertorius convened his Senate aside from the treaty he formed with Mithridates VI, and indeed whether he had the power to do so regularly, is uncertain.{{sfn|Konrad|1994|p=185}} Though the quality of the Sertorian Senate deteriorated as Sertorius' war effort failed,{{sfn|Brennan|2000|p=503}} the body was numerous and powerful enough, for a time, to challenge the authority of the Sullan Senate.{{sfn|Spann|1987|pp=89}} 

For the children of the chief native families Sertorius provided a school at Osca, his capital city, where they received a Roman education and even adopted the dress and education of Roman youths; Sertorius held exams for the children, distributed prizes, and assured them and their fathers they would eventually hold some positions of power.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=14}} This followed the Roman practice of taking [[hostage]]s. Sertorius may have promised to grant these children, along with their families, [[Roman citizenship]].{{sfnm|Konrad|1994|1p=142|Spann|1987|2pp=80–81}}

=== Sucro and Saguntum ===
[[File:Quintus sertorius glandes inscriptae.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Drawing of sling bullets from the Sertorian War, recovered near [[Ascó]] in Spain, dated either to the Sertorians' offensive in 77&nbsp;BC or the Sullan offensive {{circa|75–74&nbsp;BC}}. The bullets are inscribed with abbreviations for "Quintus Sertorius" and "proconsul". The reverses depict the word ''veritas'' (truth), a ''fascis'', and a [[Gubernaculum (classical)|gubernaculum]], from left to right.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Noguera |first=Jaume |last2=Valdés |first2=Pau |last3=Ble |first3=Eduard |date=2022 |title=New perspectives on the Sertorian War in northeastern Hispania: archaeological surveys of the Roman camps of the lower River Ebro |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/9DD77C6186FE97AFBE0C388AFBCBCC08/S1047759422000010a.pdf/new_perspectives_on_the_sertorian_war_in_northeastern_hispania_archaeological_surveys_of_the_roman_camps_of_the_lower_river_ebro.pdf |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology |volume=35 |issue=1 |doi=10.1017/S1047759422000010 |issn=1047-7594 |pages=9, 22 }}</ref> ]]In 75&nbsp;BC, Perperna and Herennius were defeated at the [[Battle of Valentia (75 BC)|Battle of Valentia]] by Pompey.{{sfn|Leach|1978|p=48}} Hearing this, Sertorius left the command against Metellus with Hirtuleius and marched his army to meet Pompey. Metellus defeated Hirtuleius at the [[Battle of Italica]],{{sfnm|Leach|1978|1p=47|Livy ''Per.''|2loc=91.4}}{{sfn|Frontinus|loc=2.1.2 and 2.3.5}} so Sertorius sent Perperna at the head of a large army to block Metellus from coming to Pompey's aid and engaged Pompey, who, for whatever reason, chose to accept the offer of battle rather than wait for his ally, beginning the [[Battle of Sucro]] late in the day.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=19}}

Each general took the right flank; Pompey faced a Sertorian legate, while Sertorius faced [[Lucius Afranius (consul)|Lucius Afranius]]. When Sertorius saw his left wing falling to Pompey, he rallied them and led a counterattack which shattered the Pompeian right, nearly capturing Pompey himself.{{sfn|Leach|1978|p=49}} Afranius, however, had broken the Sertorian right and was plundering their camp; Sertorius rode over and forced Afranius to depart back to Pompey. Both armies drew up again the next day, but Sertorius then heard Metellus had defeated Perperna and was now marching to aid Pompey.{{sfn|App. ''BCiv.''|loc=1.110}} Unwilling to fight two armies who would outnumber him if joined, Sertorius decamped, bitterly commenting:

{{quote|Now if the old woman had not made an appearance, I'd have thrashed the boy and packed him off to Rome.{{sfn|Plut. ''Sert.''|loc=19.6}}}} Sertorius negotiated with King Mithridates VI of Pontus during his war, likely in the winter of 75&nbsp;BC. Mithridates wanted Roman confirmation of his occupation of the Roman Province of [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], after relinquishing control of it to Sulla in the First Mithridatic War, along with the Kingdoms of [[Bithynia]] and [[Cappadocia]]. Sertorius assembled his Senate to discuss the issue, and decided that Mithridates could get Bithynia and Cappadocia (and possibly [[Paphlagonia|Paphlaglonia]] and [[Galatia]] as well) as they were kingdoms that "had nothing to do with the Romans".<ref name=":9">Appian, ''The Mithridatic Wars,'' 68</ref> But Asia, being a Roman province, would not be allowed to be his again. Mithridates accepted these terms and sent 3,000 talents of gold and forty ships to Hispania; in return, Sertorius sent the general Marcus Marius and other soldiers to Pontus.  

[[File:Léon Pallière - Sertório e sua corça, 1849.jpg|thumb|Sertorius and his White Fawn, by [[Léon Pallière]] (1849).]]Sertorius was eventually forced by his native troops to give battle against Metellus and Pompey, likely when Metellus marched on the Celtiberian town of Segontia. The coming [[Battle of Saguntum (75 BC)|Battle of Saguntum]] was the last pitched battle Sertorius fought, the largest battle of the war, and probably one he had not wanted in the first place. The fighting lasted from noon until night-time and resulted in the deaths of [[Gaius Memmius (proquaestor)|Gaius Memmius]] and Hirtuleius. Though Sertorius defeated Pompey on the wing, Metellus again defeated Perperna. The battle ultimately ended in a draw, with heavy losses for both sides. 

Following the battle Sertorius disbanded his army, telling them to break up and reassemble at a later location rather than organizing a concerted retreat, for fear of Metellus' pursuit.{{sfn|Frontinus|loc=2.13.3}} This was common for Sertorius, who "wandered about alone, and often took field again with an army... like a winter torrent, suddenly swollen".{{sfn|Plut. ''Pomp.''|loc=19|}}

=== 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}}