Marcus Sergius Silus (Guardians)

Marcus Sergius Silus Ferrous was a Roman general and politician during the Punic and Epirote Wars. He was best known for his leadership in the Epirote War, where he defeated the Aeacids who ruled over Epirus and annexed their realm into the Roman Republic. After serving a year as Consul, he was appointed as Proconsul to govern the new province of Epirus, which he is reported to have done for the rest of his life.

Silus served in great capacity during the Punic War, where he was captured by the Carthaginians yet managed to escape twice. During his time in battle he was wounded at least twenty-three times, also losing his right hand, which he replaced with an iron prosthesis. He became well known for this artificial hand, which following his success awarded him the agnomen of Ferrous or Iron. When the Epirotes declared war on Rome in 216 B.C. to support Carthage and marched on Roman garrisons in Illyria, Silus was chosen to lead the relief force, as many of the more capable generals were needed for stalling Hannibal Barca's campaign.

Defeating the Epirotes and their Illyrian rebel allies at the Battle of Lissus in 214, Silus began his long march down the Epirote countryside and began to lay siege to their cities. Epidamnus fell in 211 and two years later Apollonia also fell. Silus seized the sacred oracle of Dodona and defeated the last instance of Epirote resistance at the Battle of Phylace in late 208 B.C., leading to the capture of Ambrakia and the fall of the Aeacid Kingdom early the following year.

While he only served in the public sphere of the Republic for a brief instant, Silus was well known to the Roman public, famous for his victories, escapes, and iron hand. The later dynasty of Sergian Roman Emperors would look to him as an example of Sergian civic duty and Sergian right to rule. He is also well known in the field of prosthetics, where many doctors and historians speculate that he may have been the first recorded instance of a moveable prosthesis.