Marcus Perperna Veiento facts for kids

Marcus Perperna Veiento (died 72 BC) was an important Roman noble, politician, and general. He took part in several major conflicts of his time. These included Sulla's civil war, a rebellion led by Lepidus in 77 BC, and the Sertorian War from 76 to 72 BC. Perperna was involved in a plot to kill Quintus Sertorius, a famous Roman general. After Sertorius's death, Perperna was defeated and executed by Pompey the Great.

Name and Family

The name Perperna is the most common and correct way to spell his family name. This name came from the Etruscan people, an ancient civilization in Italy.

Early Life and Military Career

Before the Roman civil wars, not much is known about Perperna. He was part of the group that supported Cinna and Marius. This group was fighting against the forces of Sulla.

During the second civil war, Perperna served as a governor in Sicily. After Sulla won the war in Italy, he sent Pompey to take back Sicily and Africa. When Perperna heard about Pompey's large army, he left Sicily.

After Sulla became the powerful ruler of Rome, Perperna was declared an enemy of the state and had to leave Rome. When Sulla died, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus called Perperna back. Lepidus was a consul (a top Roman official) in 78 BC. Perperna joined Lepidus in a rebellion against Sulla's supporters.

Lepidus marched his army towards Rome. However, he was defeated by Quintus Lutatius Catulus outside the city. Meanwhile, Pompey defeated another part of Lepidus's army. Perperna and Lepidus then moved their forces to the island of Sardinia. Lepidus died there. In 76 BC, Perperna took command of their large army and continued the rebellion in Liguria. When he learned that Pompey was bringing a huge army to fight him, Perperna decided to take his forces to Hispania (modern-day Spain). Pompey was on his way to Spain to fight in the Sertorian War.

The Sertorian War

Perperna's soldiers were not happy with his leadership. When they found out Pompey was crossing the Pyrenees mountains, they demanded that Perperna lead them to Sertorius. They threatened to leave Perperna and join Sertorius if he refused. Perperna had to agree and led his army to join Sertorius. Perperna, who came from a rich and noble family, felt very humiliated by this.

Sertorius welcomed Perperna and his troops, which were a large force of about 53 groups of soldiers called cohorts. Sertorius used them well. He sent Perperna with 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,500 cavalry (soldiers on horseback) to join another general, Gaius Herennius. Their job was to guard a river crossing and try to trap Pompey. However, Pompey managed to cross the river easily and later fought Sertorius himself.

In 75 BC, Perperna, Herennius, and their army were defeated by Pompey in a bloody battle near Valentia. Herennius was killed, and 10,000 soldiers died. The city of Valentia was captured and looted. Perperna gathered the remaining soldiers and retreated to join Sertorius.

After this defeat, Sertorius returned to the eastern part of Spain to fight Pompey. Perperna was given a large force to stop Metellus, another Roman general, from helping Pompey. Both Sertorius and Perperna failed in their tasks.

At the Battle of Saguntum, Perperna commanded one part of Sertorius's army. He fought Pompey, then switched places with Sertorius to fight Metellus. This was the biggest battle of the war, and Perperna lost 6,000 men. After the battle, Sertorius and Perperna moved inland and began fighting using surprise attacks, known as guerrilla warfare.

In 74 BC, while Sertorius focused on defending his allies, Perperna went around the Roman forces. He marched to the west coast of Spain and captured the city of Portus Cale.

The war was not going well for Sertorius. The Roman nobles and senators who were part of his group became unhappy with him. They grew jealous of Sertorius's power. Perperna wanted to take Sertorius's place, so he encouraged this jealousy. These nobles started to cause trouble for Sertorius by treating the local Iberian tribes badly in his name. This made the tribes angry and caused revolts. Sertorius did not know who was causing these problems.

Perperna then invited Sertorius to a feast, pretending to celebrate a victory. Usually, feasts with Sertorius were very proper. But this one was rude and meant to upset the general. Sertorius was disgusted and tried to ignore them. At this moment, Perperna gave a signal to his fellow plotters. They then murdered Sertorius, who was not expecting it.

When Sertorius's allies in Spain heard about his death, some made peace with Pompey or Metellus. Most simply went home. After Sertorius died, people remembered his good qualities and forgot his recent harsh actions. His soldiers became very angry with Perperna for killing him.

When Sertorius's will was read, people found out that Perperna was named his main heir. Perperna had already dishonored himself by killing his commander, who had given him safety. Now it was revealed he had also killed the man who had helped him the most.

Death of Perperna

Perperna managed to keep control of some of the Roman soldiers who had followed Sertorius. But he needed a quick victory to gain their trust. Unfortunately for Perperna, Pompey set a trap. He pretended to retreat and then ambushed Perperna's army.

Pompey used 10 groups of soldiers as bait. He allowed them to be attacked while they were spread out, perhaps looking for supplies. As they ran away, they led Perperna's army into the hidden lines of Pompey's main army. When Pompey's hidden soldiers attacked, the 10 groups of soldiers turned around and attacked Perperna's men from the front. This led to a complete defeat for Perperna.

Perperna tried to beg for his life. He offered to give Pompey all of Sertorius's private letters. These letters would have shown that Sertorius had contacts with very important people in the Roman government. Pompey said he would take the papers. Once they were all collected, he burned them. This prevented the possibility of another civil war. Pompey then executed Perperna and all the men who had murdered Sertorius.

Ancient Sources

• Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Sertorius.
• Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Pompey.
• Velleius Paterculus, Roman History in Two Volumes, chapter 30.

Modern Sources

• Philip Matyszak, Sertorius and the Struggle for Spain, 2013.
• John Leach, Pompey the Great, 1978 (chapter 2).

See also

In Spanish: Marco Perpenna Ventón para niños