The Julian Paradox Movie

Any and/or all usage or copying of these images, without express written permission from the photographer, is prohibited by law.
© Copyright Lamplight Cinema - Australia. All Rights Reserved.

Essay written by Kurt Otto Peterson.

Essay

Quintus Sertorius

The ‘Godfather' of guerilla war

BORN 123BC

DIED 72BC

Although not a primary figure in Rome 's history he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Born in Sabine country his family was an obscure one. His father died when he was still a young lad and so he was raised by his mother Rhea, whom he esteemed highly.

He was a talented orator and built a solid reputation as a lawyer but it was in the army that his real talent came to the fore.

His first recorded campaign was under Quintus Servilius Caepio (the father of Servilia, Caesar's long time lover) at the battle of Arausio against the Germans. The Roman armies were routed and Sertorius was one of the few in his legion to survive the almost catastrophic defeat.

In 102BC he served under the great Gaius Marius at Aquae Sextiae, a great battle where the germans were utterly defeated. He also became a spy,( as did Sulla) travelling with the Germans. This provided Marius with valuable information about these enigmatic people of whom the Romans knew little.

In 97BC he served as a Military Tribune in Hispania ( Spain and Portugal ) under Titus Didius, a tough professional soldier whom Sertorius admired. It was at this time that he won the Grass Crown, the highest and most prestigious award a Roman soldier could win. Not even Marius or Caesar had won a Grass Crown, (although Sulla did).

Then, in 91BC he was Quaestor in Cisalpine Gaul where he recriuted and trained legions for the so called ‘Social War' (Fought by Rome against most of the other Italian nations) during which he was wounded , sustaining the loss of an eye.

When he returned to Rome he ran for the office of Tribune of the people but for what Sulla would have seen the difficulty his election might cause his own programe of legislation so ensured that he did not win the office. This caused Sertorius to align himself with Gaius Marius' faction the Populares and Lucius Cornelius Cinna. Marius was forced into exile but returned bent on vengeance the moment Sulla left to fight Mithradates of Pontus who at that time was in an expansive mood (as usual). Sertorius took no part in the ensueing bloodbath in Rome and he had a very low opinion of Marius now because of it. Marius had enlisted a slave army to carry out the atrocities against the citizens of Rome and they defeated the pro Sullan Consul Octavius. Now, in 87BC , Marius, Cinna and Sertorius were masters of Rome . Sertorius did what he could to minimise the actions of his collegues, even going as far as a rebuke of the great Marius and annihilating his slave army.

When Sulla returned to Rome (after making a hasty peace with Mithridates) and the populares collapsed, Serorius went to Spain as Pro Consul. His credentials were not recognised by the Roman officials there but they had little choice since he had a large army at his back. A Sullan commander named Gaius Annius defeated the Sertorian Commander Julius Salinator (only through treachery) forcing Sertorius to withdraw to North Africa where he carried on a campaign in Mauritania and defeated the Sullan commander and captured Tingis (Tangier). This victory gained him enourmous respect and prestige among the Lusitanians (Portugese who had suffered badly under Sullen administrators), so much so that he was invited to lead their armies. He returned to Spain with additional forces and was quickly given supreme command.

For Quintus Serorius this was to be the turning point as he not only commanded the armies, but he now constituted the government, setting up a Republic two thousand years before General Franco.

Because of his courage, intelligence, nobility and eloquence he soon won over the whole country and before long he increased his power by invading neighbouring territories. He was an exceptionally talented General of troops and defeated every army Rome sent against him, including Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius and Pompeius Magnus.

Sertorius was also a gifted administrator, setting up a 300 member Senate based on the Roman model; its members were a mix of indiginous nobles and Romans who had come to join him. He enjoyed great popularity with the ordinary people because he was sensitive the their need for peace and stability, both of which he was happy to provide.

Stories abound regarding the white fawn he kept as a pet and this was one of the things that helped him win over many of the wilder Spanish tribesmen. It was believed that the Goddess Dianna had given it to him so it's not much of a stretch to see how he would have used this to his advantage regarding them. There were also tales of his ‘animal magic' telling of his healing and taming of an injured eagle that was said to return to him year after year. He was said to have a way with big cats as well, but as far as I know only the eagle and fawn are mentioned by the ancient writers.

For around six years he and his senate held sway in Spain , then in 77BC he was joined by Roman renegade general Marcus Perpenna and his army as well as a brace of Roman nobles. That was the same year that Pompeius Magnus was sent by Rome to assist Metellus Pius in the final defeat of this last Marian outpost.

To no avail however. Sertorius' forces defeated every Roman army they met, even inflicting an humiliating defeat on Pompeius forcing him to write to Rome requesting more troops and money or they would most certainly be forced out of Spain altogether.

The difficulty faced by the Romans was not only the fiercely loyal Spanish legions trained to fight Roman style (in fact Caesar's best legions were Spanish.The VIIIth, the IXth the ‘Famous'Xth and perhaps the VIIth were all raised in Spain by the Great Man himself) , but their enemy's use of guerilla tactics, this was something to which the legions were unacustomed and for which they were totally unprepared. As well, Sertorius' knowledge of the land and the support of its people made this kind of warfare not only possible, but hugely successful.

What his long term aim was we don't know unforunately, but he certainly wanted a peaceful and prosperous Spanish Republic . Perhaps he had dreams of empire, or perhaps he wanted someday to return to Rome to oust Sulla. We do know that was in negotiation with Mithridates of Pontus, possibly for a fleet. He may have been in league with the Cilician pirates in the hope of disrupting Rome 's grain supply. He was in contact with leaders of a slave uprising in Italy led by the Gladiators Spartacus and Crixus.

Whatever his long term aims were, they would not be realised. He was on the verge of permanently establishing a free Spanish Republic , and despite the fact that he was undefeated on the battlefield, he was murdered in 72BC by his own Roman officers during a banquet, at the instigation of Marcus Perpenna. Jealousy would seem to have been the likely motive, along with good old fashioned Roman greed. Pompeius had offered a reward for Sertorius' capture and Perpenna claimed it. I doubt Pompeius would have been too impressed as I think it likely he would have wanted Sertorius apprehended rather than murdered given that Pompeius then had Perpenna executed. It is quite possible that he had developed a respect for Sertorius during the time they warred with each other and tried to outwit each other at every turn. I doubt Field Marshall Montgomery wanted Irwen Rommel murdered or vice verca.

In my view Perpenna did it at Sulla's ‘request',( the latter had a reputation for murdering his enemies) probably in exchange for permission to return to Rome with his reputation and his reward in tact.

With Sertorius dead the heart went out of the Spanish cause and the famous guerilla forces melted away. Metellus Pius and Pompeius exacted a terrible revenge burning whole towns and cities and then selling the populations into slavery.

Had Quintus Sertorius been less than he was he might have been of enormous value to the fledging Roman Empire ; but by and large I see him a as a man of real principle who could see that the Rome of Lucius Cornelius Sulla was not the Rome he had fought so valiantly for against the Germans. He must have known what kind of man Sulla was and what he was capable of. He was clearly disillusioned by Cinna and Marius and their violence against their countrymen, so it's likely that he was a Roman of the old kind, possessing the qualities all Romans admired, but few actually possessed any longer themselves. Had the Roman Republic not begun to tear itself apart the name Quintus Sertorius would likely be as well known as Julius Caesar.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note : Gaius Crastinus ( chief Centurion of the Tenth Legion) was NOT the son of Quintus Sertorius as stated in The Julian Paradox novel. This was just a little licence I took with the facts.