The Battle of Saguntum was fought in 75 BC between forces of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...

and an army of Sertorian rebels under the command of

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 – 73 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian peninsula. He had been a prominent member of the populist faction of Cinna and Marius. During the l ...

. The location of the battle is disputed, but most likely near modern Langa de Duero, as Sallust informs us the battle was fought on the banks of the river Duoro. The battle lasted from noon till night and ended in a draw.

Background

In 88 BC,

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla ha ...

marched his legions on Rome, starting a period of civil wars. Quintus Sertorius, a

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, joined his patron's faction and took up the sword against the Sullan faction (mainly

optimates Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...

). After the death of

Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...

and Gaius Marius, Sertorius lost faith with his factions leadership. In 82 BC, during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against Sulla, he left Italy for his assigned province in Hispania. Unfortunately his faction lost the war in Italy right after his departure and in 81 BC Sulla sent

Gaius Annius Luscus Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

with several legions to take the Spanish provinces from Sertorius. After a brief resistance Sertorius and his men are expelled form Hispania. They end up in Mauretania in north-western Africa where they conquered the city of

Tingis Tingis (Latin; grc-gre, Τίγγις ''Tíngis'') or Tingi ( Ancient Berber:), the ancient name of Tangier in Morocco, was an important Carthaginian, Moor, and Roman port on the Atlantic Ocean. It was eventually granted the status of a Roman c ...

. Here the

Lusitanians The Lusitanians ( la, Lusitani) were an Indo-European speaking people living in the west of the Iberian Peninsula prior to its conquest by the Roman Republic and the subsequent incorporation of the territory into the Roman province of Lusitania. ...

, a fierce Iberian tribe who were about to be invaded by a Sullan governor, approached him. They asked him to become their war leader in the fight against the Sullans. In 80 BC Sertorius landed at the little fishing town of Baelo near the

Pillars of Hercules The Pillars of Hercules ( la, Columnae Herculis, grc, Ἡράκλειαι Στῆλαι, , ar, أعمدة هرقل, Aʿmidat Hiraql, es, Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank t ...

(

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) and returned to Hispania. Soon after his landing he fought and defeated the Sullan general Fufidius (the aforementioned Sullan governor) at the Baetis river. After this he defeated several Sullan armies and drove his opponents from Spain. Threatened by Sertorius' successes, the Senate in Rome upgraded

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania ( ...

to a proconsular province and sent the proconsul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius with a large army to fight him. Sertorius used guerrilla tactics so effectively he wore down Metellus to the point of exhaustion while Sertorius' legate Lucius Hirtuleius defeated the governor of Hispania Citerior, Marcus Domitius Calvinus. In 76 BC the government in Rome decided to send

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

and an even larger army to help Metellus. In the same year Sertorius was joined by Marcus Perpenna, who brought with him the remnants of the army of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the rebel consul of 78 BC. Thus reinforced, Sertorius decided to try and take the Spanish east coast (because the cities there supported his enemies). His first target was the city of Lauron where he outgeneraled Pompey and massacred a large part of his army (see: the battle of Lauron). In 75 BC Sertorius decided to take on Metellus and leave the battered Pompey to his legates Perpenna and Herennius. Pompey defeated his opponents in a battle near Valentia forcing Sertorius to come and take charge of the situation. Metellus used the change in command to defeat Hirtuleius, left in charge of the Sertorian western army, at the Battle of Italica and marched after Sertorius. Pompey and Sertorius, not wanting to wait for Metellus, met at the Battle of Sucro, which ended in a draw. Sertorius had to give up his conquest of the Spanish east coast and withdrew inland. Metellus and Pompey followed him to "Saguntum" (probably not

Saguntum Sagunto ( ca-valencia, Sagunt) is a municipality of Spain, located in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community. It belongs to the modern fertile ''comarca'' of Camp de Morvedre. It is located c. 30 km north of the city of Valencia, cl ...

on the coast, for he had withdrawn inland, but one of the many Segontias in Celtiberia).

Prelude

After the disastrous battles of Valentia and Italica and the draw and retreat from the Battle of Sucro, Sertorius had to raise the morale of his troops. In this he succeeded by using the White Fawn. Sertorius owned a white fawn which he claimed gave him messages from the goddess Diana. With his forces morale raised he awaited the Roman armies while launching many guerilla raids to weaken them during their advance. The Romans were hard pressed for supplies and Metellus decided to march on the Celtiberian town of Segontia to feed his army on their stores. Sertorius's Celtiberian troops refused to let one of their towns fall into Roman hands and fighting ensued.

The battle

Plutarch remarks that this battle was forced upon Sertorius (probably by his Iberian and/or Celt-Iberian troops).

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, ''Life of Sertorius'', 21. The fighting started at noon and lasted well into the night. Sertorius first fought Pompey while his

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the office ...

Perpenna and Hirtuleius fought Metellus. After Hirtuleius had fallen Sertorius switched places with Perpenna and launched several personally-led ad hominem attacks on Metellus intended on taking him out of the fight. Metellus stood his ground and in the course of the fight he was wounded by a spear. This turned out to be a turning point in the battle for Metellus' men counter-attacked in revenge and pushed back the Iberians. ::All the Romans who saw or heard of this etellus being woundedwere filled with shame at the idea of deserting their commander. The same event filled them with fury against the enemy. So, they covered Metellus with their shields and carried him out of danger. Then they fell energetically on the Iberians and pushed them back. Victory changed sides. Metellus then complacently decided to rest his troops and made camp. Sertorius in the meantime had regrouped his men and in the evening launched an unexpected attack on Metellus' camp, and attempted to exploit its vulnerable position by cutting it off with a trench. Unfortunately for the Sertorians, Pompey and his army now showed up and forced them to withdraw. Over the course of the battle Pompey had lost 6,000 men while Sertorius had lost only 3,000, but to offset this Perperna had lost some 5,000 soldiers. Metellus's losses are unknown, but must have been significant as well. Sertorius' second-in-command, Lucius Hirtuleius, and Pompey's brother-in-law, Gaius Memmius (married to Pompey's sister), were among the casualties.

Aftermath

This was the last pitched battle Sertorius fought, and probably one he had not wanted in the first place. Sertorius ordered his army to break up and reassemble at a place he designated. He then made for the fortress town of Clunia and prepared for a siege.Livy, Epitome, 92. Even while fortifying Clunia Sertorius was dispatching messengers to his allies, requesting them to raise new levies. The war was far from over, Sertorius still had allies, his reputation and an army. After the Siege of Clunia he reverted to guerilla warfare and the war would drag on for another three years and only end because a few of his own men plotted against Sertorius and assassinated him.

References

{{Pompey 1st century BC in the Roman Republic 75 BC 70s BC conflicts

1st century BC in Hispania