Quintus Sertorius - The "Braveheart" of Hispania/Iberia
Every culture has its folk heroes. In England they have King Alfred fighting the Vikings; in Scotland they have William Wallace "Brave Heart" fighting the English - here in Iberia/Hispania we have Quintus Sertorius, a Roman ....fighting the Romans.
Like King Alfred, Sertorius was a real person, and like King Alfred, his life is embellished by legend. Much of what we know about him comes from the Greek/Roman biographer Plutarch who was born 70 years after Sertorius died. Plutarch was not concerned with history so much as the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of men. Sometimes he barely touched on epoch-making events and devoted much of his writing to anecdote and incidental triviality....hence the legend of Sertorius.
When British people think of the Roman Empire, they tend to think of emperors such as Julius Caesar and Hadrian - but Rome was a powerful republic with many foreign lands under its control long before the Caesars. During the first century BC there were two main political factions in the Republic's senate: The Optimates (let's call them the aristocratic right wing) and the more liberal Populares, who favoured the cause of the common man. Their struggle for power in the Senate spilled over into full blown civil war.
Like King Alfred, Sertorius was a real person, and like King Alfred, his life is embellished by legend. Much of what we know about him comes from the Greek/Roman biographer Plutarch who was born 70 years after Sertorius died. Plutarch was not concerned with history so much as the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of men. Sometimes he barely touched on epoch-making events and devoted much of his writing to anecdote and incidental triviality....hence the legend of Sertorius.
When British people think of the Roman Empire, they tend to think of emperors such as Julius Caesar and Hadrian - but Rome was a powerful republic with many foreign lands under its control long before the Caesars. During the first century BC there were two main political factions in the Republic's senate: The Optimates (let's call them the aristocratic right wing) and the more liberal Populares, who favoured the cause of the common man. Their struggle for power in the Senate spilled over into full blown civil war.
Sertorius was a general and a member of the Populares. He was born a Sabine (an Italian tribe from the central Appenines) in 123 BC. and was said to have been brave, noble, and gifted with eloquence.
After success in fighting the Senate's Optimate-controlled armies in Africa he became the leader of a rebellion by the Iberian peoples of Hispania, who had been oppressed by Roman Senate forces and administrators. From 80 BC until 72 BC he waged war in Spain against the Senate regime lead by Lucius Cornelius Sulla and general Pompey (the Great). The Iberian warriors he organized spoke of him as the "new Hannibal". His skill as a general was extraordinary, as he repeatedly defeated forces many times his own size using guerilla tactics.
His goal was to build a stable government in Hispania with the consent and co-operation of the people, whom he wished to civilize along the lines of the Roman model. He established a senate of 300 members, drawn from Roman emigrants (probably including some from the highest nobles of Hispania) and kept a Hispanian bodyguard. For the children of the chief native families he provided a school at Osca (Huesca), where they received a Roman education and even adopted the dress and education of Roman youths.
After success in fighting the Senate's Optimate-controlled armies in Africa he became the leader of a rebellion by the Iberian peoples of Hispania, who had been oppressed by Roman Senate forces and administrators. From 80 BC until 72 BC he waged war in Spain against the Senate regime lead by Lucius Cornelius Sulla and general Pompey (the Great). The Iberian warriors he organized spoke of him as the "new Hannibal". His skill as a general was extraordinary, as he repeatedly defeated forces many times his own size using guerilla tactics.
His goal was to build a stable government in Hispania with the consent and co-operation of the people, whom he wished to civilize along the lines of the Roman model. He established a senate of 300 members, drawn from Roman emigrants (probably including some from the highest nobles of Hispania) and kept a Hispanian bodyguard. For the children of the chief native families he provided a school at Osca (Huesca), where they received a Roman education and even adopted the dress and education of Roman youths.
Here are two famous anecdotes about Sertorius:
In a well-known passage on the allegory of good government, Sertorius calms down his generals, who have become over-confident after the many victories of the previous two years and want to meet Pompey in open battle. Sertorius asks for two horses and calls forward one very strong man and one very weak. He asks them to pull off the horses’ tails. The strong man pulls the whole tail at once, unsuccessfully, while the weak one plucks off the hairs one after another until the tail is naked. Sertorius thus proves to his men that patience is the best strategy, delivering small but constant blows.
The second one describes the cunning use of a young deer and "fake news":
From the book "Ancient Rome: An Introductory History" By Paul A. Zoch 1998
A hunter scared a doe which had just given birth to a milk white fawn. The doe escaped, but the fawn was captured by the hunter who gave it to Sertorius. Soon the fawn grew accustomed to Sertorius who trained it so that it would follow him around, showing no fear of people or crowds, even in the middle of the camp, and would come when he called. Sertorius convinced the local people that the fawn was a gift from the goddess Diana and that it told him secrets. For example, he would receive secret scouting reports, tell the people that the fawn had told him and with that divinely given information he would then conquer the enemy. Or he would secretly hear of a victory through one of his lieutenants. He would then crown the fawn with garlands and tell the people that good news was on its way – news that eventually arrived. Hence the people believed he was some kind of god and followed his every command.
In a well-known passage on the allegory of good government, Sertorius calms down his generals, who have become over-confident after the many victories of the previous two years and want to meet Pompey in open battle. Sertorius asks for two horses and calls forward one very strong man and one very weak. He asks them to pull off the horses’ tails. The strong man pulls the whole tail at once, unsuccessfully, while the weak one plucks off the hairs one after another until the tail is naked. Sertorius thus proves to his men that patience is the best strategy, delivering small but constant blows.
The second one describes the cunning use of a young deer and "fake news":
From the book "Ancient Rome: An Introductory History" By Paul A. Zoch 1998
A hunter scared a doe which had just given birth to a milk white fawn. The doe escaped, but the fawn was captured by the hunter who gave it to Sertorius. Soon the fawn grew accustomed to Sertorius who trained it so that it would follow him around, showing no fear of people or crowds, even in the middle of the camp, and would come when he called. Sertorius convinced the local people that the fawn was a gift from the goddess Diana and that it told him secrets. For example, he would receive secret scouting reports, tell the people that the fawn had told him and with that divinely given information he would then conquer the enemy. Or he would secretly hear of a victory through one of his lieutenants. He would then crown the fawn with garlands and tell the people that good news was on its way – news that eventually arrived. Hence the people believed he was some kind of god and followed his every command.
Sertorius was assassinated in 72 BC - by Perpenna, one of his own lieutenants - who promptly lost the civil war.
There are several archaeological sites in this region containing Roman remains which are thought to be associated with the Sertorian Civil war:
1. The Tossal de la Cala in Benidorm
2. Small forts on Cap Negret,(Altea) Penyal d'Ifac (Calpe) and Punta de la Torre (Moraira)
3. A fort above El Passet - Segària mountain range, Benimeli.
4. An encampment, three defensive walls and a fort on the Montgó (Dénia and Jávea)
For more see: Penya de l'Aguila. illustrated summary from the University of Alicante (in Valenciano, Spanish and English)
Christine Betterton-Jones (AMUX)
1. The Tossal de la Cala in Benidorm
2. Small forts on Cap Negret,(Altea) Penyal d'Ifac (Calpe) and Punta de la Torre (Moraira)
3. A fort above El Passet - Segària mountain range, Benimeli.
4. An encampment, three defensive walls and a fort on the Montgó (Dénia and Jávea)
For more see: Penya de l'Aguila. illustrated summary from the University of Alicante (in Valenciano, Spanish and English)
Christine Betterton-Jones (AMUX)
