Pompey, Cicero & Caesar

A History of Mankind (207)

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The so-called Sertorian War went on well after Sulla’s death. Sertorius, with a backbone of Roman and Lusitanian fighters, set himself up as the effective, yet unrecognized, king of Hispania.

As a former local governor, Sertorius knew the region well and had good connections with both Roman and tribal notables, many of whom were still half-Romanized at best. As a former supporter of Gaius Marius, he also kept connections back home at Rome that he tried to use in his benefit.

Using guerrilla tactics, Sertorius’ troops pushed several Roman armies back between 80 and 77 BC, taking advantage of an Italian political landscape that remained unsettled: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, a consul of 78 BC, tried to lead the populares faction right after Sulla’s passing, challenging the dictator’s reforms in various ways, including an attempt to stand for re-election as consul; having raised a small army after he was declared an enemy of the state, Lepidus was defeated by Pompey and other Sulla loyalists in a quick, confused campaign just north of Rome and escaped to Sardinia.

As a consequence of these events, by 76 BC Sartorius was still receiving reinforcements from populares disaffected with the post-Sulla regime in Rome, dominated by Crassus and Pompey.