How would you rate Quintus Sertorius as general? - Page 2 - Historum

**M.E.T.H.O.D.** · May 6th, 2012, 09:00 AM

My favourite man of the Late Republican Era...Alcibiades strikes again

I gave him an honourable 8,5.
By the way,I still have to find a "perfect" general(10)

Sertorius' efficiency impresses me, from the Cimbrian War to the fights in Hispania,moreover he always behaved correctly(no massacres,no political proscriptions) during his military campaigns.
The fact that he managed to put up an impressive defense using motley troops(Marians,Lusitanians,Iberians) is a great display of his skills: he trained them,led them in guerrilla actions and battles and also gave them a "sense of unity" that still exist today(Sertorius is greatly esteemed in the Iberian Peninsula).
Sertorius' tactics "taught" precious lessons to the cocky Pompeius and at the end he was only defeated by the sheer Republican weight (especially Roman money).
Considering what he did with such limited resources, I think that his contemporaries never got to see his full potential.
But for me Sertorius' greatest achievement is the intelligence operation that he conducted against the Cimbrian and Teutones, where he entered their camps dressed as a barbarian to gather informations about their armies.

Abracadabra123 · May 6th, 2012, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarloStanfield

Poorly

Do you have any clue as to who or what you're talking about? You seem to be insulting other users, yet you spew complete nonsense without anything to back it up.

**Alcibiades** · May 6th, 2012, 09:30 AM

2 votes for 1 star?

I mean,its true,there is no accounting for taste,but its hard not to see this as a trolling.

**Alcibiades** · May 6th, 2012, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.E.T.H.O.D.

My favourite man of the Late Republican Era...Alcibiades strikes again

Great minds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.E.T.H.O.D.

I gave him an honourable 8,5.
By the way,I still have to find a "perfect" general(10)

Its off-topic,but can you tell me who belong in the top grades for you (I assume that would be 9,5?)?If you dont want to answer here,you can send me PM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.E.T.H.O.D.

Considering what he did with such limited resources, I think that his contemporaries never got to see his full potential.

Well said.And it does make one wonder,what if...

Darth Roach · May 6th, 2012, 09:39 AM

8. A solid general, with a good understanding of warfare and politics. Definitely gave the authority back in Rome a run for their money during his wars in Hispania, against Rome itself.

Cornelius · May 6th, 2012, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcibiades

Inspired by a Pompey thread,and being fascinated by this person (who is also discussed extensively in that thread),I thought I should create one for Sertotius.

So,have at it,how would you rate him,on a scale from 1 to 10?Additionally,how would you rate him in overall Roman history?Who would be better than him,and from whom (of the good ones) would HE be better?

Alcibiades

On a scale from 1 to 10, I give Quintus Sertorius 9. Giving him any less than 8 is, IMHO, unreasonable. If one has read a military biography on him, it is impossible not to appreciate his military genious.

For some eight years, Sertorius outwitted and out-generaled numerous Roman generals, among them the military prodigy Pompey the Great and the highly competent Metellus Pius. This he achieved despite being heavily outnumbered, and despite facing Sullan veteran legions with Spanish tribesmen. His most famous victories are those at Lauro and the Sucro, both against Pompey, but Plutarch also tells us of how Sertorius inflicted severe defeats on Metellus Pius and others:

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For with the twenty-six hundred men whom he called Romans, and a motley band of seven hundred Libyans who crossed over into Lusitania with him, to whom he added four thousand Lusitanian targeteers and seven hundred horsemen, he waged war with four Roman generals, under whom were a hundred and twenty thousand footmen, six thousand horsemen, two thousand bowmen and slingers, and an untold number of cities, while he himself had at first only twenty all told. 3 But nevertheless, from so weak and slender a beginning, he not only subdued great nations and took many cities, but was also victorious over the generals sent against him: Cotta he defeated in a sea-fight in the straits near Mellaria; Fufidius, the governor of Baetica, he routed on the banks of the Baetis with the slaughter of two thousand Roman soldiers; Lucius Domitius, who was pro-consul of the other Spain,23 was defeated at the hands of his quaestor; 4 Thoranius, another of the commanders sent out by Metellus with an army, he slew; and on Metellus himself, the greatest Roman p33of the time and held in highest repute, he inflicted many defeats and reduced him to so great straits that Lucius Manlius came from Gallia Narbonensis to help him, and Pompey the Great was hurriedly dispatched from Rome with an army.

I rate Sertorius as follows in comparison to other great Roman generals:

1. Caesar
2. Sulla
3. Scipio Africanus
4. Marius
5. Sertorius

It is difficult, however, to give an exact rating, because we know quite little about his campaigns. Plutarch gives a decent account of his military exploits, but without knowing more it seems wrong to put him higher than 5th place. On the other hand, it is very possible that he deserves a considerably higher ranking. In any case, Sertorius was a brilliant general - a true military genious and one of the greatest generals Rome ever produced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.E.T.H.O.D.

Considering what he did with such limited resources, I think that his contemporaries never got to see his full potential.

Indeed. I'd like to see what he could have done with ten veteran legions.

Gunluvr · May 11th, 2013, 08:31 PM

I rated him a seven because he couldn't foresee himself being betrayed as he was but he was equal to or better than a lot of his contemporaries like Gaius Marius, Sulla, Metellus Pius, etc.