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Historical person

Quintus Sertorius

124 BCE–73 BCE

Quintus Sertorius was a Roman commander and rebel who led resistance to Sulla’s regime from Hispania. His alliance with local communities and long campaign against Roman commanders made him one of the most capable figures of the late Republic.

A supporter of the Marian cause during Rome’s civil wars, Sertorius eventually established an independent power base in Hispania with strong Lusitanian support. He combined Roman military organisation with local alliances and for years frustrated commanders sent against him, including Metellus Pius and Pompey. His resistance ended not in battle but through conspiracy: Marcus Perperna and fellow officers murdered him at a banquet in 72 BC.

In Steven Saylor’s A Gladiator Dies Only Once, Historical figures including Quintus Sertorius and Lucullus appear as the collection moves through the Sertorian conflict, the Third Servile War and the Mithridatic era. In Simon Turney’s Marius’ Mules -V: Sertorius’ Ghost, the death of Quintus Sertorius does not immediately end the networks, grudges and displaced soldiers created by his long resistance to Sulla’s regime. Further fictional perspectives on Quintus Sertorius can be found in Vincent B. Davis II’s Son of Mars, Vincent B. Davis II’s The Man with Two Names, Vincent B. Davis II’s The Noise of War, Vincent B. Davis II’s Bodies in the Tiber, and Vincent B. Davis II’s Sulla’s Fist.

Periods

Periods linked to Quintus Sertorius

Late Roman Republic133–27 BCE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Quintus Sertorius (4 series)

Marius’ Mules in Order

by Simon Turney 17 books 4.6(34,619)

The Marius’ Mules series follows Marcus Falerius Fronto and Caesar’s legions from the invasion of Gaul to the destruction of the Roman Republic. Battles recorded in Caesar’s commentaries are viewed through officers and soldiers who must endure the practical cost of his ambition, while conspiracies in Rome steadily…

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The Sertorius Scrolls in Order

by Vincent B. Davis II 7 books 4.4(19,019)

The Sertorius Scrolls follow Quintus Sertorius through the late Roman Republic, beginning with his youth and military service before moving into the crises of Marius, Sulla, the Social War and civil conflict. The series is strongest for readers interested in the generation before Caesar, when Roman politics was…

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Roma Sub Rosa in Order

by Steven Saylor 13 books 4.1(53,315)

The Roma Sub Rosa series follows Gordianus the Finder through the last generation of the Roman Republic. His investigations begin in the aftermath of Sulla’s dictatorship and continue through slave revolt, aristocratic trials, Catiline’s conspiracy, Caesar’s civil war and the assassination of Julius Caesar. The series uses murder…

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The Marius Scrolls in Order

by Vincent B. Davis II 2 books 4.1(1,723)

The Marius Scrolls are short Roman novels centred on Gaius Marius before his dominance of late Republican politics. They work as companion pieces to the Sertorius Scrolls, showing the early military and political experiences that shaped Marius and the Republic before the Social War and Sullan crisis.

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