Marcus Perperna (or Perpenna) Veiento (also, incorrectly, Vento; died 72 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

aristocrat, statesman and general. He fought in

Sulla's civil war Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction (usually called the Marians or the Cinnans after their former leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna), in the years 83–82 BC. ...

Lepidus Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (; 89 BC – late 13 or early 12 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who formed the Second Triumvirate alongside Octavian and Mark Antony during the final years of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously been ...

' failed rebellion of 77 BC and from 76 to 72 BC in the

Sertorian War The Sertorian War was a civil war in the Roman Republic fought from 80 to 72 BC between two Roman factions, one led by Quintus Sertorius and another led by the senate as constituted in the aftermath of Sulla's civil war. The war was fough ...

. He conspired against and assassinated

Quintus Sertorius Quintus Sertorius ( – 73 or 72 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who led a large-scale rebellion against the Roman Senate on the Iberian Peninsula. Defying the regime of Sulla, Sertorius became the independent ruler of Hispania for m ...

, and was defeated and executed by

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

Name

The names Perperna and Perpenna are attested for this

nomen gentilicium The (; or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by Patrilineality, patrilineal descent. Howeve ...

(of

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

origin), but Perperna is more frequent and the form used in the most reliable inscriptions, followed by the prosopographical scholarship (e.g. Broughton).

Early life and career

Not much is known about Perperna before the civil wars against Sulla. Perperna was a member of the Cinna- Marius faction during their war against the

Sullan ''Sullan'' (spelt ''Sulaan'' onscreen) is a 2004 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action film written and directed by Ramana (director), Ramana. The film stars Dhanush in the main lead role along with Sindhu Tolani, Manivannan, Pasupathy and ...

faction. He governed the island of Sicily as

propraetor In ancient Rome, a promagistrate () was a person who was granted the power via '' prorogation'' to act in place of an ordinary magistrate in the field. This was normally ''pro consule'' or ''pro praetore'', that is, in place of a consul or praet ...

during the second civil war. After Sulla defeated the ''populares'' faction in Italy he sent his new stepson-in-law Pompey (Pompey had married Aemilia, Sulla's stepdaughter) to recover Sicily and Africa. Perperna abandoned the island upon hearing of the size and nature of the force sent against him. After Sulla became Dictator of Rome, Perperna was proscripted and went into exile. After Sulla's death he was recalled by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the consul of 78 BC, whom he joined in rebellion against the Sullan faction. Lepidus marched his army on Rome but was defeated by

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutons, Teutones marched south again and Cimbrian War, threatened ...

in a brisk military action just outside of the city while Lepidus' legate

Marcus Junius Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

was defeated by Pompey at

Mutina Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbi ...

. Perperna and Lepidus pulled their forces back through

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

to the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. Lepidus died while on Sardinia - by some accounts of a broken heart - brought on not by his failed bit for power but by the accidental discovery that his wife had been unfaithful to him. In 76 BC Perperna took their army - a substantial affair of several legions - to

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

and continued the rebellion. After he found out Pompey and a very large army had been sent to defeat him (on route to the Iberian Peninsula and the war against Sertorius) he decided to take his forces to Hispania.

Sertorian War

Perperna's soldiers were dissatisfied with his leadership, and when they learned that Pompey was crossing the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, they demanded that Perperna take them to Sertorius, or they would abandon him to Pompey's mercies while they took themselves to Sertorius. Perperna yielded to the demands of the legions, and handed them over to Sertorius. This was not done with good will, and Perperna, conscious of his noble bloodline and wealth, viewed the entire affair as a humiliation.Plutarch, ''Life of Sertorius'', 15. Sertorius welcomed Perperna and his troops (a sizeable force of 53 cohorts) and put them to good use. He sent Perperna with 20,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry to join Gaius Herennius (one of Sertorius' legates) in the territory of the Ilercavones, with instructions to guard the crossing of the lower Ebro and try and lure Pompey into an ambush. Pompey managed to cross the Ebro unhindered and marched to the plain of Valentia where he came to grips with Sertorius himself (see:

Battle of Lauron The Battle of Lauron (also known as the Battle of Lauro, not to be confused for the Battle of Lauro of 45 BC) was fought in 76 BC by a rebel force under the command of the renegade Roman general Quintus Sertorius and an army of Roman Republic u ...

). At the beginning of the campaigning season of 75 BC Perperna, Herennius and their army were defeated by Pompey in a bloody battle near Valentia. Herennius was among the 10,000 casualties and the city of Valentia was taken and sacked. Perperna gathered what was left of his army and retreated westward towards Sertorius who was campaigning in Hispania Ulterior. After the Valentia disaster Sertorius himself returned to the eastern theatre (he had been in the west of the Iberian Peninsula campaigning against Metellus) to take command of the fight against Pompey. Perperna was given command of a substantial force to block Metellus from coming to Pompey's aid. Sertorius tried to take out Pompey at the

Battle of Sucro The Battle of Sucro was fought in 75 BC between a rebel army under the command of the Roman rebel Quintus Sertorius and a Roman army under the command of the Roman general Pompey. The battle was fought on the banks of the river Sucro near a tow ...

while Perperna tried to stop Metellus, both failed. At the battle of Saguntum Perperna was in command of one of the wings of Sertorius' army. He fought Pompey then had to switch places with his commander and took on Metellus. During the battle, the biggest of the war, Perperna lost 6,000 men. After the battle Sertorius and Perperna withdrew inland and reverted to guerilla warfare. In 74 BC, while Sertorius focused his attention on defending his allies in celtiberia, Perperna circumvented the Romans operating in the interior and marched to the Iberian westcoast where he took the city of Portus Cale. The war was not going well and the Roman nobles and senators that made up the higher classes of his domain became discontented with Sertorius. They grew jealous of Sertorius' power, and Perperna, aspiring to take Sertorius' place, encouraged that jealousy for his own ends. They took to damaging Sertorius by oppressing the local

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

tribes in his name. This stirred discontent and revolt in the tribes, which resulted in a cycle of oppression and revolt, with Sertorius none the wiser as to who was creating such mischief. Perperna then proceeded to invite Sertorius to a feast to celebrate a supposed victory. While under most circumstances, any festivities to which Sertorius was invited were conducted with great propriety, this particular feast was vulgar, designed to offend the skillful general. Disgusted, Sertorius changed his posture on the couch, intent on ignoring them all. At this, Perperna gave the signal to his fellow conspirators, and they murdered the unsuspecting Sertorius on the spot. Upon learning of the death of Sertorius, some of his Iberian allies sent ambassadors to Pompey or to Metellus and made peace, most simply went home. Now that Sertorius was dead, his virtues were remembered, and his recent atrocities forgotten.Philip Matyszak, ''Sertorius and the Struggle for Spain'', pp 156-157. ::People are generally less angry with those who died, and when they no longer see him right in front of them they tend to dwell tenderly on his virtues. So it was with Sertorius. Anger against him suddenly turned to affection and the soldiers clamorously rose up in protest against Perperna. When Sertorius's will was read his people found out he had named Perperna his chief beneficiary. Perperna had already dishonoured himself in the eyes of many by slaying his commander, the man who had given him sanctuary, and now it was revealed he had killed his main benefactor as well.

Death

Perperna managed to retain control of some of the Roman renegades who had followed Sertorius, but he needed a quick victory to gain his people's trust. Unfortunately for Perperna and his men, Pompey had set a trap: he feigned a retreat and ambushed them. Pompey lured Perperna's army into his ambush using 10 cohorts as bait. He allowed these to be attacked while scattered over a wide area, perhaps foraging, and as they fled they drew Perperna's army into the hidden lines of the main army. As these attacked from ambush the 10 cohorts turned and attacked their pursuers from the front. The ensuing massacre was decisive.John Leach, ''Pompey Great'', p.52. Pompey's successful ambush proved Plutarch's disparaging comment 'Perperna was as bad at command as he was at following orders'. Perperna attempted to plead for his life, offering to give Pompey all of Sertorius' correspondence, which would document contacts with the highest levels of Roman government and society. Pompey indicated he would accept the papers, and when they had all been gathered together, he burned them, averting the possibility of another civil war. He then executed Perperna and all of the men who had murdered Sertorius.

Ancient Sources

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''

Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

, Life of Sertorius''. *

, ''

, Life of Pompey''. *

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; ) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death of ...

, ''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).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perperna Veiento, Marcus 72 BC deaths 1st-century BC executions 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Roman generals Ancient Roman politicians Executed ancient Roman people People executed by the Roman Republic Veiento, Marcus Roman governors of Hispania Year of birth unknown People of Sulla's civil war People of the Sertorian War Ancient Roman assassins