After Actium: Two Caesars Are Not Enough

I like it, well written and thought out.

I've always wondered what could happen with Caesarion surviving.

Thanks, means a lot :) And not just surviving, but positively thriving, as we shall see ;)

Augustus' death will cause interesting times in Rome! For all his achievements, I regard Augustus more as a manipulator than a real great man like Caesar himself was, so I'm not shedding any tears for him.

And now the fun really starts. Does the title imply there will be more Caesars at the same time besides Agrippa and Caesarion?

As you say, NOW the fun starts :D. Everything so far has been just the groundwork, the introduction to the real story. Agrippa and Caesarion are just the beginning. The title of the TL itself is a play on a quote "Two Caesars are too many', or something like that, that an Alexandrian philosopher told Augustus, with the end result of Caesarion being put to death.

As mentioned above, Agrippa has a daughter, 6 year old Vipsania.

Another piece on the dynastic chessboard, not yet mentioned, is Caesar Augustus' 9 year old daughter Julia. IOTL Agrippa himself married her in 21 BC when she was 18; after she had already been married to the afore mentioned Marcellus - her 1st cousin.

What is Agrippa to do?

1) Decide what sort of dynasty he would like to start. Agrippa comes from the Knights class himself, which is not going to sit well with the Senatorial class in Rome (or what's left of it by this point).

1a) Marry Augustus' widow Livia or get her the hell out of Rome. Livia was very smart, very ambitious, and if "I Claudius" is to be believed VERY deadly. This match could well improve his political legitimacy by marrying Augustus' widow. But coming from a Senator family, would Livia be too prejudiced to lower herself to even marry Agrippa if given an offer? Or would she marry him to increase the chance her son Tiberius becoming the next Emperor? She would be a great tool to assist him in ruling. Personally, I avoid this match, but how is he to know what is in Livia's mind.

1B) Marry Augustus' sister Octavia the Younger. She's around 39 or 40 and single after divorcing from Anthony. That would increase his political legitimacy and make him step father to Marcellus. Likely due to her age no more children could come from this marriage. But would put him in an excellent position to arrange for the marriage of his daughter Vipsania to Marcellus, thus double binding his dynasty with the same bloodline as Caesar Augustus.

1C) Regardless of whether he marries anyone or not, arrange for the marriage of his daughter Vipsania to either Marcellus or Tiberius. Personally, I avoid connections with Livia and go with Marcellus.

1D) See if he can wait on his own marriage until Julia is 15 or 16, then marry Caesar Augustus' daughter himself.

1E) See if he can wait a couple years and then marry one of the older, non-Anthony related daughters of Octavia the Younger. This would be the full sisters of Marcellus. They would be 2 - 4 years older than Julia, so he might only have to wait 1 - 3 or so years before he could marry one of the them. Not as long a wait as for Julia.


2) marry off or arrange for the marriages of all Anthony's children to either foreign potentates (which IOTL is what was done with his daughters by Cleopatra) or to Roman's in the Knights class. Keep those offspring away from marrying into Senatorial Families and becoming future rivals. (Except for Octavia the Younger's children by Anthony if he opts for #1B above)

Thank you so much for this post! A lot of great ideas, and a lot of things I had already been going over in my mind. I originally intended to go into greater detail of Augustus' will, the thinking behind it and so on, but decided to cut out. It was also my original intention for Agrippa to marry Octavia before Octavian actually died (hence why I had her come from Greece to join her brother in Alexandria) but decided against it for two reasons - 1, her "advanced" age, 2, for whatever reason, she seems to have been pretty resolved not to marry after Mark Anthony, so it would seem out of character for her to do so here. Octavia seems so nice and placid, I could see her being a very pleasing Empress and greatly strengthening Agrippa's position, but alas it is not to be.

Ah - what I intended to imply but haven't really gone into is this: Augustus' obvious heirs were his step-son and nephew, but they were too young, unexperienced, untested, etc. So he adopts Agrippa, but there's an understanding that Agrippa is to adopt both Tiberius and Marcellus as his heirs. How Livia feels about that, and about Agrippa, is yet to be seen ;)

Vipsania and Julia are aguably the two most eligible girls in the Empire now and their marriages are of the utmost importance. Agrippa has to be careful to not let Caesar's daughter marry someone outside of his immediate circle, and will obviously use his daughter as a very important designation of who his political heir is to be.
 
Chapter VI: A New Triumvirate?

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The dispositions of Augustus' will had been largely expected - given the young age of his nephew Marcellus (who he had been grooming as heir), his chief general and close friend Agrippa (thereafter Vipsanian) was the obvious choice for his successor. Provision was made for his daughter Julia, nephew Marcellus and step-son Tiberius, his co-heirs with Vipsanian; his younger step-son Drusus and kinsman Scarpus (who had defected from Anthony's side and brought Augustus the loyalty of Cyrenaica and the legions therein) were named heirs in the second degree. It was Augustus desire that Vipsanian marry Octavia and adopt both Marcellus and Tiberius as his joint heirs, with Marcellus marrying Vipsanian's daughter and Tiberius marrying a daughter of Octavia (also Marcellus' sister). The union was to the liking of neither party; Octavia was resolved never to remarry, whilst the thought of taking an aged woman past child-bearing age was not particularly attractive to Vipsanian, a man yet in his prime. Nevertheless, Marcellus and Vipsania Agrippina[1] were promptly betrothed, cementing Octavia's full-hearted support of Vipsanian as her brother's heir and sucessor.
Failing Octavia, the obvious choice for Vipsanian's consort was Livia Drusilla, widow of Augustus Octavian. At 28, she was of a reasonable age, had proven her fertility as the mother of two healthy sons, and was renowned for the esteem in which Augustus Octavian had held her. Livia welcomed Vipsanian warmly upon his return, agreeing to marry him after an appropriate period of mourning had elapsed. Her initial support went a long way towards strengthening Vipsanian's position as Augustus' successor and consolidating his hold on the Senate.

As it turned out, their entente was short-lived; Vipsanian's refusal to grant Livia's demand that her son Tiberius receive Julia Caesar (Octavian's only biological child and Vipsanian's legal sister) in marriage drove a wedge inbetween them. A disaffected Livia Drusilla was no small thing. She found ready allies in the consul Sextus Appuleius II and Quintus Pedius Publicola, respectively the nephew and cousin of Aug. Octavian. Marrying Publicola, she recruited a number of other supporters, including Lucius Marcius Philippus, with the promise of bringing about Vipsanian's downfall and a new triumvirate between Appuleius, Publicola and Philippus.

Unaware of the growing conspiracy, Vipsanian set out with the pronconsul Crassus the Younger and their men to protect the Dentheletae, Roman allies under attack from rival tribes. Arriving in Macedonia, they were joined by Rholes, a chieftain of the Getae, and Cotys VII, client King of Thrace. They arrived just as the Dentheletae were crushed in battle and their people savaged by King Dedus of the Bastarnae and his ally Zyraxes (a petty king of the Getae), who had also recently subjugated the Tribali also.

As Vipsanian and his men made the slow march northward, the defeat of the Dentheletae provided Livia and her conspirators with the political capital they needed. As Philippus and his agitators in the Senate set about accussing Vipsanian of dallying too long with his whores in Italy, allowing the defeat of Roman allies and to the detriment of the Republic's prestige abroad, Livia, Pedius and Publicola filed a suit in the Roman courts, seeking the anullment of Augustus "unnatural" will - so called because it neglected his biological relations. Livia charged the traitorous Vipsanian with extracting the will from her husband's deathbed, when Aug. Octavian was no longer of a sound mind to make such monumental decisions.

It having been confirmed that Augustus' will had been revised whilst he lay sick, the Senate moved to remove Vipsanian as consul, strip him of his command and call him back to Rome until such a time as the courts gave out a final ruling. Though Vipsanian's friends were able to obtain the appointment of Gaius Maecenas as suffect consul, blocking the complete ascendance of Livia's partisans, Livia was undeterred - once the new year rolled around and Maecenas was no longer consul, the new triumvirate would be brought into effect and Vipsanian appropriately desposed of.
[1] Upon adoption the adopted son adopted the full name of his father, adding his old surname at the end, as in, "Octavianus" and "Vipsanianus", demonstrating his old biological affiliation. With her father becoming Caius Julius Caesar Vipsanianus, her name would alter to Julia Caesar, but for the sake of clarity I'll continue to refer to her as Vipsania Agrippina.
 
Chapter VII: The Marriage of Isis and Serapis

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Isis & Serapis, fertility & agriculture Gods of the East


It didn't take long for Cleopatra to displace Rhodogune of Commagene[1] as Artavasdes' chief wife. Rhodogune was put away and relegated to an inferior position; sometime later she was divorced and dispatched back to the court of her father. No sooner had they arrived in their new kingdom than Artavasdes openly made Cleopatra queen, shortly thereafter associating her with him on the throne and having coins struck with her name alongside his.
Ever the mistress of royal propaganda, Cleopatra sought to consolidated her newfound positon with grand commemorations and expansive displays. The new dynasty founded by her and Artavasdes was nothing but the continuation and resurgence of the previous Seleucid dynasty, from whose illustrious bloodline they both sprung. A new dynasty warranted a new dynastic cult - not so new as to be entirely foreign to its audience, but new in that it refined and adapted aspects of its antecessors into an enlightened, superior teaching more suited to the needs of both the royal House and subejcted people.

Cleopatra and her "brother"-husband Artavasdes were presented as brother-sister gods Zeus-Serapis and Demeter-Isis; he the sovereign sun-god, king of Heaven, with power over nature and fertility, she the Queen of Heaven, goddess of the harvest and by extension fertility. Cleopatra had always been devoutly associated with Isis, even calling herself Nea-Isis ("new Isis"); the popular Greek goddess Demeter was often associated and easily with Isis and served perfectly Cleopatra's intentions, being well-known as the sister and sometime consort of her brother Zeus in the Greek pantheon. As for Zeus-Serapis, Serapis was a livelier aspect of the Egyptian Osiris, the traditional brother-consort of Isis, whilst Zeus (as 'Zeus Olympios') had been the chief deity of the early Seleucids. As Serapis, the sky god Zeus was more intrinsically identified with the sun, an important symbol in the religious affairs of the Seleucid empire (whose sucessors Cleopatra and Artavasdes now purported to be).

With Artavasdes' two eldest sons captive in Parthia and their mother side-lined politically, the position of crown prince and heir presumptive pertained to Cleopatra's son Alexander Helios, himself married to Artavasdes' daughter Iotapa. In the new dynasty and cult, the younger duo was just as important as the senior, for it was they that guaranteed the future prosperity of the dynasty, and by extension, of the entire land and it's people. If Artavasdes and Cleopatra were themselves King and Queen of Heaven, their heirs were appropriately the Crown Prince and Princess, the conquering Sun and splendid Moon. Alexander Helios was acclaimed and worshipped as Phoebus Phosphorus - Phoebus being a designation of the sun-god Apollo (who had superceded Zeus in later times as the chief deity in the Seleucid dynastic cult) and the surname Phosphorus meaning light-bearer. His "sister"-wife Iotapa was surnamed and adored as Phoebe Euryphaessa, "far shining" Phoebe, presenting her as the moon goddess sister-consort.

The double nuptials of Zeus-Serapis and Demeter-Isis and their twin children Phoebus and Phoebe were celebrated in appropriately extravagant opulence in Arsamosata, capital of the Sophene kingdom. Work was begun on a sprawling temple complex and all four (King, Queen, Prince and Princess) were worshipped by their subjects as living gods amongst men.

[1] Artavasdes' historical wife was an unnamed princess of Commagene. As her sisters already bore the names of obvious female relatives (grandmother, etc) I decided upon the Parthian 'Rhodogune' as an appropriate designation for her, given her own Parthian heritage.
 
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Great TL so far.

I am very happy to see Clea alife and prospering again. I admire the queen and would be very sad, if she has been disposed out of this timeline while Agrippa becomes Caesar himself. Disgusting imagination!
But so... :)

Carry on. This seems to be very intresting.
 
I am very happy to see Clea alife and prospering again. I admire the queen and would be very sad, if she has been disposed out of this timeline while Agrippa becomes Caesar himself. Disgusting imagination!
But so... :)

Carry on. This seems to be very intresting.

Thanks :) I won't reveal too much prematurely but there's a whole lot more in store for Cleopatra, this TL's Victoria of the East.
 
Chapter VIII: Advance into Moesia (29-28BC)

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When he set out to meet his Barbarian foes in late 29BC, Vipsanian Caesar had been recently confirmed with proconsular authority over the west and Syria, which provinces contained the bulk of Rome's legions. Marcus Licinius Crassus, who accompanied him, did so in his capacity as proncosul of Macedonia.
Protecting the Dentheletae tribe (allies of Rome) from outside aggression were merely the casus belli that gave Vipsanian grounds for expanding Rome's territory northward to the Danube, which would allow him to set up a new province and new frontier that would buffer Italy from the aggression of the barbarians of the north. Though the Bastarnae crushed the Dentheletae and came near to their stronghold Paulatia, news of Vipsanian's eminent arrival prompted them to make a hasty withdrawal over the Haemus.

Vipsanian and Crassus chased them closely into Moesia but was unable to draw them into battle; they proceeded to withdraw beyond the Tsibritsa (Ciabrus). Vipsanian now turned his attention to the Moesi, his real target in the campaign. Marching against a major Moesi fortress, Vipsanian and Crassus split their forces into two; whilst Crassus' vanguard was routed by a Moesi sortie, Vipsanian was able to push forward and take the actual stronghold. Having secured themselves from Moesi counter-attrack, Vipsanian and Crassus again sought out the Bastarnae. Discovering their location from some peace envoys they had sent o him, Vipsanian lured them into battle near the Tsibiritsa by a stratagem. Concealing his main body of troops in a wood under Crassus' command, Vipsanian strationed as bait a small vanguard in open ground before the wood. As expected, the Bastarnae attacked the vanguard in force, only to find themselves entangled in the full-scale pitched battle with the Romans that they had tried to avoid. The Bastarnae tried to retreat into the forest but were hampered by the wagon-train carrying their women and children, as these could not move through the trees. Trapped into fighting to save their families, the Bastarnae were routed. Vipsanian personally killed their king, Deldo, in combat, a feat which was promptly matched by Crassus, who cut down Deldo's ally Zyraxes - in so doing so, both qualified themselves for Rome's highest military honour, spolia opima (lit. "bountiful spoils"), the right to hang the armour stripped from the enemy leader in the temple of Jupiter Feretrius in Rome, in emulation of the Founder of Rome Romulus, a privilege granted only twice previously. Both Vipsanian and Crassus were acclaimed imperatores by their triumphant troops.

Thousands of fleeing Bastarnae perished, asphyxiated in nearby woods by encircling fires set by the Romans, others drowning as they tried to swim across the Danube. Nevertheless, a substantial force dug themselves into a powerful hillfort. Crassus pursued them across the Danube and set siege to the fort, but was only able to dislodge them with the assistance of Rholes, petty king of the local Getae, to whom the title of socius et amicus populi Romani ("ally and friend of the Roman people") was subsequently granted.

Retreating slightly for the winter, the Roman legions were back in full force the following year. Vipsanian descended into Moesia, eventually forcing the submission of the rest of the tribe after a long and arduous campaign. Crassus marched on Genucla, fortress of Dromichaetes, who had suceeded the slain Zyraxes. Dromichaetes escaped with his treasure and fled over the Danube into Scythia to seek aid from the Bastarnae. Combined land and fluvial assault brought down Genucla before Dromichaetes could return with reinforcements.

The permanent result of this campaign was the expansion of the Empire's frontier to the Danube and the annexation of Moesia.

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Livia Drusilla, widow of Augstus

Back in Rome, news of Vipsanian's success had turned the tide somewhat, significantly diminishing support for Livia's would-be triumvirs, especially in the Senate. Triumphs were voted for both Vipsanian and Crassus and the two were pardoned for ignoring the Senate's commands to return home. Maecenas was re-elected consul, together with Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor: both of them favourable to Vipsanian and neutral (at best) towards Livia.

As Vipsanian and Crassus regressed back into Italy, Livia and her husband Publicola withdrew from Rome, fearing potential reprisal from their now triumphant enemy. By sea Publicola removed himself to Hispania, similarly Philippus sailed to Sicily, both seeking troops with which to challenge Vipsanian if nececessary. Livia was left with Appuleius, in a safe place outside the city, from where they might escape once Vipsanian's intentions became known.

 
Chapter IX: Pax Romana



Any support Publicola, Livia and their associates might have had melted as soon as Vipsanian, Crassus and their men descended into Italy. Their entry into Rome was a grand affair, accompanied by prolonged festivities and lavish spectacles put on alternatively by Vipsanian, Crassus and the Senate for the entertainment of the whole city.
The successive triumphs of Vipsanian and Crassus were the highlight of these celebrations. The triumph was a religious rite and civil ceremony voted by the Senate to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievment of a commander who had won great military successes. On the day of his triumph, the general wore regalia that identified him as near-divine or near-kingly. He rode in a chariot through the streets of Rome in unarmed procession with his army and the spoils of his war. At Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline Hill he offered sacrifice and the tokens of his victory to the god. In this particular occassion, both Vipsanian and Crassus had won for themselves "spolia opima", the greatest honour that could ever be afforded to any Roman general - namely the armour, arms and other effects of the defeated opposing commander. Vipsanian's triumph went first, before Crassus', but as a mark of his esteem he awaited his deputy at the door of the Temple, so as to sacrifice and present themselves together.

Various youths of the highest birth - notably Caesarion, Antyllus and the brothers Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus and Faustus Cornelius Sulla among them - participated in these triumphs, having been present in the latter part of the campaign.

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Vipsanian was now unchallenged master of the Republic. It was expected he would assume his new role immediately and exact swift revenge on the trouble makers - Appuleius, Livia Drusilla, her husband Publicola, and Philippus - there would be no lack of grounds, now that the last two had gone abroad to drum up rebellion. Instead, Vipsanian proceeded directly to the Senate and played the move Augustus Octavian had planned on playing, had he lived long enough, after Actiun; relinquishing his powers, he reverted to being a mere private citizen.

The coup had the desired effect: the Senate would not accept his resignation from public life. He was named Augustus and Princeps, and invested with imperium proconsulare maius, "power over all the proconsuls" - allowing him to over-ride provincial governors - and tribuncia potestas - the power of a tribute, an office he did not properly hold, being legally unable to due to his rank as a patrician. This allowed him to convene the Senate and people at will and lay business before it, veto the actions of either the Assembly or the Senate, preside over elections, and the right to speak first at any meeting. Also included in his tribunician authority were powers usually reserved for the Roman censor; these included the right to supervise public morals and scrutinize laws to ensure they were in the public interest, as well as the ability to hold a census and determine the membership of the Senate.

For all this, Vipsanian was mindful to avoid the same end that had met his [legal] grandfather, Julius Caesar. He refused to play the role of dictator or lay himself wide open to accusations of monarchial aspirations. With the assent of a shocked Senate, he not only forgave his enemies, but declared his desire to restore peace to the Empire with a new triumvirate of himself, Crassus and Publicola; Appuleius he nominated to the vacant office of Pontifex Maximus and Philippus would fill the vacancy left by Maecenas (who had conveniently resigned just beforehand) as consul together with Cicero Minor.

Needless to say, his offers were not turned down. The triumvirate was to be in force for a set term of five years, with himself as it's head; Crassus, who had received the distinction Secundus [1] and the agnomen Scythicus [2], received the administration of Gaul, whilst Publicola received Hispania and Augustus Vipsanian held onto the Eastern Mediterenean. Italy would be left in the hands of the consuls, answering to Vipsanian. The entente was sealed by the marriage of Crassus to Vipsania Polla [3] and an elaborate ceremony in which Vipsanian and Crassus shut the Gates of Janus, signalling the restoration of peace within the Roman world.

Lastly, Augustus Vipsanian named his friend the Berber prince Juba [4] as the Roman client-king of Mauretania and a diminished Numidia, most of whose territory had been shaved off for the expansion of the province of Africa Nova. He also established Ptolemy Niger as client-King of Cyrenaica and his sister Lysandra he set up on the throne of Egypt, with Ptolemy Grammateus as her King.[5]

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[1] A novelty, meaning "second citizen" - basically, Crassus is to hold all the prerogatives of Princeps, the "first citizen", but subordinate to Augustus Vipsanian.

[2] The Bastarnae were a Scythian people. In honour of his great victory, Crassus would be entitled to adding the name to his own.

[3] Augustus Vipsanian's sister, as per OTL.

[4] Juba II of OTL.

[5] Ptolemy Niger is the half-black bastard they found in the Palace in Alexandria. Lysandra is the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes and his lesser wife Mithridatis, whilst Ptolemy Grammateus is the child of the usuper Queen Berenice IV and her Seleucid husband. These are all inventions of mine, although such bastards and half-bloods are very likely to have existed.
 
Nice update. And it's good to see Cyrenaica and Egypt (for now) return to being client states instead of directly ruled provinces. :)
 
Nice update. And it's good to see Cyrenaica and Egypt (for now) return to being client states instead of directly ruled provinces. :)

Thanks. Vipsanian will generally be inclined towards setting up client rulers who he can set up/depose/manipulate/tax at will, supervised by his own prefects, as opposed to outright annexation of provinces (bringing them into the whole orbit of Roman legality and such, and perhaps presenting a greater risk of rebellion).

What did you think of the reintroduction of the triumvirate, but with a certain hierarchy within the triumvirate itself?
 
Thanks. Vipsanian will generally be inclined towards setting up client rulers who he can set up/depose/manipulate/tax at will, supervised by his own prefects, as opposed to outright annexation of provinces (bringing them into the whole orbit of Roman legality and such, and perhaps presenting a greater risk of rebellion).

What did you think of the reintroduction of the triumvirate, but with a certain hierarchy within the triumvirate itself?

It's nice and novel but I don't think it would last too long. After all, why be second fiddle when you can axe the guy below and above you and become numero uno throughout the Roman Empire but I tend to be wrong. :p
 
It's nice and novel but I don't think it would last too long. After all, why be second fiddle when you can axe the guy below and above you and become numero uno throughout the Roman Empire but I tend to be wrong. :p

In first instance it allows for Vipsanian to mask his rule with two "colleagues" enjoying limited versions of the power he himself has. Obviously, it's just a ploy that can be thrown out (or adapted, as we shall see) as needs change.;) As of right now not even Crassus has wealth, power or popularity anywhere near Augustus Vipsanian's.
 
Chapter X: These Three Kings of the Parthians

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The first act of Phraates IV of Parthia upon being made his father's co-regent was to put his elderly father, thirty of his brothers and his own son to death. Having thus "secured" his throne, he set about slaughtering the most powerful amongst his nobles and eliminating any and all he perceived as threats. Needless to say, such policy lead to civil war; first against the prince Monaeses (backed by Mark Anthony) and then against Tiridates, who successfully established himself as rival-king in substantial parts of the land.

For some time Tiridates had the upper hand and Phraates fled to nomad tribes on the fringes of his realm. Thanks to the support of the mighty Surén Oxyartes, he was able to turn the tide and by mid-30BC expulse Tiridates altogether. Defeated, Tiridates withdrew with his court to Syria, to seek Roman assistance. Pushing his advantage, Phraates placed Artaxias II on the throne of Armenia and defeated then expelled Artavasdes I from Media Antropatene (subsequently set up as King in Sophene by the Romans).

In 28BC Tiridates returned with the help of the Roman governor of Syria. Marching east, he entered the kingdom of Osrhoene and forced it's King, Abgar II, to recognise him as his rightful overlord (that is, King of Parthia) and assist him. With forces numerically far inferior to those Phraates could easily field, Tiridates remained for the mean time in Edessa (capital of Osrhoene) and sought to expand his alliances.

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Ruling as Roman clients, Artavasdes and Cleopatra had little option but to give Tiridates their official support. Privately Cleopatra induced Artavasdes to enter into a secret alliance with the Parthians, with a view of regaining his kingdom of Media Antropatene, substantially richer and larger than Sophene and further removed (though not entirely) from the Roman sphere of influence. Plans were concoted to bring Tiridates to Sophene and dispose of him there, after which Phraates would be rid of all his rivals and able to deal propely with the Romans.

With all this in mind, Phraates sent his most trusted general and supporter, Surén Oxyartes, for a secret congress with Artavasdes and Cleopatra on the Tigris. Son of the infamous Surena of Roman accounts, Oxyartes had made himself more powerful than any of his predecessors by playing king-maker in the Parthian realm, all the while establishing his own autonomous rule in the eastern provinces. Neither Phraates nor Tiridates could match his power within the Parthian Kingdom, where he was chief above all the King's princes, nobles, ministers and subjects; his power was such that foreign observers spoke of the three kings of Parthia. On the Tigris both sides exchanged numerous gifts and perfected their plans; Cleopatra's fluency in the tongues of the Parthians and Medes were finally put to good use. All that was required of Artavasdes was the swift execution of Tiridates - there would be no need for him to take up arms against the Romans. With Tiridates out of the way, a sound Parthian victory was guaranteed, after which a happy peace might be effected and Artavasdes spared from any backlash from his Roman overlords.

Captivated by the powerful prince - or rather, seduced by his power and tired of the relative poverty of her newfound realm - , Cleopatra employed all her charms to seduce him. Perhaps she had planned as such from the very start of any Parthian talk. The seduction having been accomplished and heartily consummated, she promptly defected to his side, effectively abandoning her husband and court so as to enter the realm of the Parthians. No doubt she had hopes that Rome's most dependable enemies would be of assistance in her eventual restoration. Artavasdes accepted the matter as best he could, though he was loathe to hand over her son Alexander Helios; after much bartering back and forth, Cleopatra was able to bring Oxyartes to exchange Alexander for one of Artavasdes' sons then in Parthian custody.
 
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Chapter XI: Out of the Bounds of Men;
Also On Penelope & Telegonus

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The restoration of Phraates IV to the Parthian throne and the inability of the Syrian governor to advance Tiridates' cause finally convinced Vipsanian Augustus to undertake the Parthian campaign which had been long overdue since 31BC. The Gates of Janus were opened in Rome; the Republic was once more at war. Before heading out East, Vipsanian decided to strengthen further his hold on power by a number of judicious marriage alliances; it had been a few years since his first wife's death and it was high time he remarry. Though there was no lack of possible heirs he might nominate - Caesarion, Marcellus, Tiberius - a legitimate son of his own would be welcome, as would a mother figure for his motherless young daughter.

Following the marriage of his sister Vipsania Polla to Crassus, Imperator Occidentalis, Vipsanian had arranged for the marriage of his elder brother Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa to Claudia Marcella Major, daughter of Octavia. It served as the prelude to his own, grander union of Vipsanian and Julio-Caesarian blood, by his own marriage to Augustus Octavian's twelve year old daughter, Julia Caesaris. Thought she was perhaps too young to conceive in the short time they had together, marrying her assured him that no one else could do so in the time (however long that might be) that he would be away. At the same time the betrothal of Vipsanian's daughter Vipsania Agrippina and Marcellus (brother of Marcella Major & cousin of Julia) was re-affirmed.
If Vipsanian had intended for these celebrations to be forefront in the hot topics of the Roman élite, he was to be sorely disappointed.
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Telegonus was the son born to Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the godess Circe, conceived during the years in which Odysseus endured many hardships and struggles in his voyage home to his wife and queen, the faithful Penelope. At length Odysseus triumphed, was reunited with Penelope and restored to his kingdom. In due time, when he was a grown, handsome young man, Telegonus sought out his father. Unfortunately their reunion was fated to be incredibly brief, for he accidentally killed his father, fulfilling an old prophecy from the Oracle. How this particular feat was achieved is disputed - either with the spine of a string ray whilst raiding Ithaca (thinking it was Corcyra) or defending huimself when Odysseus rushed out at him, thinking he was his other son Telemachus (who he had banished to a nearby island) come to kill him. Telegonus then took Odysseus' body back to Aeaea, his mother's magical island home, bringing with him Telemachus and Penelope. There Circe made them all immortal, marrying Telemachus whilst Telegonus took Penelope for wife.

This was the precedent cited for Caesarion's actions that year. Returning to Rome with Vipsanian's legions for his triumph, he took up residence in the house of Mark Anthony, whose son Antyllus was his dearest friend and the closest thing he had to family in Rome. There he finally made the acquaintance of Calpurnia Pisonis, the widow of his own late father, who had been put up there by Mark Anthony years ago in the wake of Caesar's assassination. There she had stayed, mourning Caesar, and now Anthony; lost in her grief, she refused any and all offers of remarriage and return to public society. Her needs and wants were cared for by Octavia, mistress of the house, who occassionally impressed upon her the need to experiment the fresh airs of the country.

So busy was Octavia policing the honour of her four daughters that she forgot to pay any mind to the increased affections of Calpurnia for Caesarion. Perhaps predictably, it was not long before the two were shamelessly cavorting with each other. The 19 year old Caesarion's likeness to a young Caesar were well known and frequently commented, but she could not have imagined it to be so! She hailed him as Caesar reincarnate, refusing to let Caesar go ever again and ignoring all petitions to put him aside.

As for Caesarion, he was a virile young man, still a King at heart, come home from the army to a palace filled with children and grieving widows. The high-born Calpurnia, with her illustrious pedigree and sizeable fortune, was an interesting conquest; the son of the God and the God's widow made merry, and who could say anything against it? Calpurnia was held in the highest regard by all; consorting with her solidified Caesarion's claim to the entirety of Caesar's legacy immensely and asserted his masculinity and independence in the face of the spectating Roman society.

Vipsanian was furious, perceiving at once a threat to his own dominion. Upbraiding Octavia accordingly, he did what he could to keep the two apart; not having the power of a father over Caesarion, and Calpurnia having an ample fortune to provide adequately both for herself and her young lover, he was forced to turn to the Senate. The senators themselves were unsure of what to do; having just authorised an incesous union for Vipsanian with his legal sister Julia, they could hardly feign horror at Caesarion's affair. Caesarion and Calpurnia were both popular, and if the rumours were true - namely, that they had married -the Senate could not be seen branding Caesar's widow a harlot.

As one senator cooly commented: What is out of the bounds of propriety for mere mortals should not be considered likewise in dealings of elevated, divine nature.
 
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