Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius was a Roman general who led an independent coalition in Hispania against the Roman Republic from about 80 to 72 BCE. His forces included Roman exiles and local Iberian communities.

Connect

Sertorian War: A conflict in which Sertorius and his allies resisted Roman rule in Hispania from about 80 to 72 BCE. This war was the prolonged rebellion that defined Sertorius’s career.
Social War: A war from 91 to 87 BCE in which Rome’s Italian allies fought for Roman citizenship and political rights. The conflict shaped Sertorius’s military career before his rebellion in Hispania.
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus: A Roman general and politician, commonly called Pompey, who campaigned against Sertorius in Hispania. Pompey was one of Rome’s leading commanders sent to defeat Sertorius.
Roman Hispania: The territories of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Rome from the late third century BCE through late antiquity. The rebellion unfolded within Rome’s expanding provincial territory in Hispania.
Lusitanians: An ancient people of western Iberia who resisted Roman expansion and later supported Sertorius. Their support gave Sertorius local allies and access to Hispania’s western regions.
Gaius Marius: A Roman general and politician who held the consulship seven times and led the faction opposed to Sulla. Sertorius served the Marian cause during the Roman civil conflict.
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius: A Roman general who campaigned against Sertorius in Hispania and held the consulship in 80 BCE. Metellus led Rome’s first major campaign against Sertorius in the region.
Roman provincial government: The system through which Rome governed territories outside Italy, usually under appointed magistrates. Sertorius’s rival administration challenged how Rome exercised provincial authority.
Roman Senate: The central deliberative and legislative body of the Roman Republic, composed chiefly of elite magistrates and former magistrates. Sertorius challenged the Senate’s authority by establishing a rival political center in Hispania.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla: A Roman general and dictator whose victory in the civil war brought the Marian faction’s opponents to power. Sulla’s victory drove Sertorius into exile and made him a rebel against Rome.