Sertorius owes some of his success to…

Sertorius owes some of his success to his prodigious ability as a statesman.

His goal is to build a stable government in Hispania with the consent and cooperation of the people, whom he wishes to civilize along the lines of the Roman model.

He establishes a senate of three hundred members, drawn from Roman emigrants (probably including some from the highest nobles of Hispania) and keeps a Hispanian bodyguard.

For the children of the chief native families he provides a school at Osca (Huesca), where they receive a Roman education and even adopt the dress and education of Roman youths, following the Roman practice of taking hostages.

Although he is strict and severe with his soldiers, he is particularly considerate to the people in general, and makes their burdens as light as possible.

It seems clear that he had a peculiar gift for evoking the enthusiasm of the native tribes, and we can understand well how he was able to use the famous white fawn, a present from one of the natives that was supposed to communicate to him the advice of the goddess Diana, to his advantage.