Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius - Sertorian War

Sertorian War

Sometime during his consulship, Quintus Sertorius, an opponent of Sulla, established himself in Spain and began a rebellion against the Senate. After defeating the governor of Hispania Ulterior, the Senate decided to send Metellus Pius once his term as consul had ended. Upgrading Hispania Ulterior to a consular province, they dispatched Metellus Pius to take charge of the war against Sertorius. Facing Sertorius and Marcus Perpenna Vento, Metellus Pius established his bases at Metellinum (today Medellín) Castra Caecilia (today Cáceres), Viccus Caecilius, at the Sierra de Gredos, and at Caeciliana, near Setúbal.

From the start, it was clear that Metellus Pius was no match for Sertorius, suffering repeated defeats through Sertorius’ use of guerrilla tactics. His legate Thorius, dispatched to come to the assistance of the governor of Hispania Citerior, Marcus Domitus Calvinus, was defeated by Sertorius (79 BC). After his unsuccessful push towards the Tagus in 79 BC, and suffering a defeat by Sertorius at Lacobriga in 78 BC, Pius was forced to ask for help from the governor of Gallia Transalpina, but he was defeated by Sertorius’ legate and unable to help. The end result was that an exhausted Pius was pushed out of his province of Hispania Ulterior.

When the consuls of 78 BC declined the opportunity of joining Metellus Pius as proconsuls in Spain once their terms ended, the Senate in late 77 BC, hearing of Pius’ ongoing reverses at the hands of Sertorius, decided to send Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus together with another army to give Pius what assistance he could, while Pius’ governorship was prorogued. Both men worked well together, but were hard pressed to win any encounter with Sertorius. With Pompey’s arrival in 76 BC, Sertorius turned his attention to him, freeing Metellus Pius to campaign against Sertorius’ subordinates.

Almost immediately this paid dividends; in 76 BC he defeated Hirtuleius, Sertorius’ quaestor, at Italica. This was followed by another victory over Hirtuleius at Segovia in 75 BC, where Hirtuleius died. Metellius Pius then came to the aid of Pompey after his defeat at Sucro (he had refused to wait for Pius before engaging Sertorius in battle), before both men finally won a battle against Sertorius at Saguntum. Pius was acclaimed imperator by his men.

Spending the winter in Gaul, Metellus Pius returned to Spain in 74 BC. He captured the towns of Bilbilis and Segobriga, before joining Pompey at the siege of Calagurris. They were forced to raise the siege when Sertorius approached, after which Pius returned to Gaul. Continued successes during 73 BC saw him ease up and allow Pompey to take the burden of the final phases of the war, with Sertorius’ murder in 72 BC. He imposed new taxes in Hispania Ulterior after the end of Sertorius’ rebellion. Pius’ governorship ended in 71 BC with the end of the war. He disbanded his army after crossing the Alps, and celebrated a triumph together with Pompey on December 30, 71 BC. Regardless of the triumph, during those eight years of resistance he was unable to conclusively defeat Sertorius, and it was only after Sertorius' assassination by his own men that the rebels were forced to cede to the military ability of Metellus Pius.