Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman, spy, soldier, general, and insurrectionist. He is best known for leading the Sertorian War (80-72 BCE), in which his loyal Roman and indigenous Iberian forces fought Rome for control of the province of Hispania.

In the series[]

Sertorius is first mentioned in Fugitivus, when Glaber and his military tribune Marcus are at the former's chambers in Rome. Glaber is eager for military glory after his humiliation in Thrace, and indicates that he hopes to lead an army to Hispania to support Pompey. Pompey had recklessly moved to join the failing war against Sertorius, and there was concern in Rome that he was unprepared for the task. By shoring Pompey's numbers and aiding in defeating Sertorius in Hispania, Glaber would receive partial credit for the victory. But his resentful father-in-law Senator Albinius reminds Glaber that he is lucky to have his current position at all, and given his many mistakes and entanglements, is in no place to be plotting to join a war.

Later, Pompey himself returns victorious from Hispania after assassinating Sertorius and defeating his supporters. Crassus is eager to defeat Spartacus and hold sole credit for the deed, but knows that Pompey, marching back from Hispania, was physically and bureaucratically poised to take at least part of it. In Victory, Crassus' army declares a win in the final battle, and Crassus stays nearby to crucify six thousand captured rebels, lining the road from Capua to Rome with crosses. During that time, Pompey defeats one clutch of rebels who fled the final battle, and immediately journeys to Rome to inform the Senate of his complete victory over Spartacus. His pre-existing favored position with the Senate as a victor in many wars, especially the most recent against Sertorius, prompts them to grant him most of the credit for the rebel defeat. This would create a bitter rivalry between Pompey and Crassus that would dominate politics for most of the remaining late republic era.