Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius (c. 121-72 bc), Roman general and statesman, prominent in the civil wars of the late Roman Republic. He was born at Nursia in Sabine territory. In 102 bc he served at Aquae Sextiae (now Aix-en-Provence, France) under the Roman general and statesman Gaius Marius in the war against the Teutons. Sertorius served in Spain in 98 bc, and in 91 bc he became quaestor of Cisalpine Gaul. Upon the outbreak in 88 bc of the struggle between the Optimates (aristocratic party) under Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the popular party led by Marius, Sertorius joined Marius. Together with the Roman patrician Lucius Cornelius Cinna, he fought in the Battle at the Colline Gate, which placed Rome at the mercy of the Marians, but he took no active part in the bloody massacres that followed. He became praetor in 83 bc.

With the triumphal return of Sulla from the East later in 83, Sertorius went to Spain, where he continued the struggle against Sulla and the aristocratic party. In 80 he led a native uprising in Lusitania (most of modern Portugal and a portion of western Spain) and introduced numerous reforms. He established a stable government, founded a Roman school for Spanish children, and trained the native forces on the model of a Roman army. As the head of a growing opposition to Sulla in Spain, he was joined by Marian troops from Italy and successfully defied the power of Rome, defeating the Roman generals who were sent against him, including Pompey the Great. Sertorius was virtually a monarch in Spain, but his power was undermined by jealousies among his supporters. He was assassinated by a conspiracy of Roman officers led by Marcus Perperna, who was in turn defeated by Pompey and put to death. This defeat marked the complete collapse of the Marian forces in Spain.