Brutus and Cassius Victory at Philippi

It seems that the fate of the Roman Republic held high in the events of the Battle of Philippi where the combined armies of Brutus and Cassius (the Republicans), the main plotters of Julius Ceaser's assasination, were defeated and both men were killed. In the battle first Brutus prevaled against Octavian, but to the south Cassius lost against Mark Antony and committed suicide, Brutus would then lose a second battle and commit suicide himself leaving the balance of power with Antony and Octavian leading to Antony's death in Egypt and Octavians ascension as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus.

Now curiously what if events had been different? With the defeat of Octavian and Antony and the victory of these 'Republicans' whoe power were mostly amassed in the East of the Empire. Such a victory would leave Marcus Porcius Cato, Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus alive.
 

Kharn

Banned
IIRC, technically, the Republicans were winning but they caught win they weren't and killed themselves.
 
Now curiously what if events had been different? With the defeat of Octavian and Antony and the victory of these 'Republicans' whoe power were mostly amassed in the East of the Empire. Such a victory would leave Marcus Porcius Cato, Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus alive.

Umm--no. Cato had already offed himself by this time. Sorry.
 
Oh, yeah, Cato the Even Younger... Forgot about him.

Honestly, I have severe doubts about the "Republicans" abilities to keep things going. Technically, they lost for a reason...
 
Sextus Pompey, Dictator for Life.

He certainly had the wealth and influence to rise to high power. After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius at Philippi he continued to raise armies and fight on. He even managed to capture the island of Sardinia in 40BC.

Sextus was a pleb, which means even though he was rich and powerful he was not part of Roman royalty. On top of his low social standing, he put other lower class citizens, even freemen like his admiral Menas, in positions of power in the military. With him in charge the status quo of the old nobility would certainly be in jeopardy. I doubt that they would allow that to happen without some resistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextus_Pompey
 
A victory at Philippi isn't enough to take control of Roman *cough* Republic. Lepidus can persue himself what he was the right man in the right place, and Rome is full of wannabe-first man at Rome, Brutus and Cassius known that.
The Pompeius faction is still active and may necessit the formation of a thrid triumvirat between Republicans and ex-Octavians/Antonians.

Further, principate regime could be replaced by an institutionallized triumvirate, at least for the 50/75 years to come.
 
Sextus was a pleb, which means even though he was rich and powerful he was not part of Roman royalty.


Istr that Octavian was originally a Pleb, but got "promoted" or whetever they did, into the Patrician Order. Could that happen to Sextus?
 
The 'patrician'/'plebian' thing is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Roman society. Simple explanation--no, the patricians were not the haves, and the plebians were not the have-nots. In point of fact, wealthy plebs were generally richer than many patricians--most consuls of Rome were in fact plebian. Several plebian families claimed descent from key figures in Rome's history--including kings.

So, no, Sextus being a pleb is not going to hold him back, any more than it held his father back. The bigger issue is that while "Republican" forces were more or less finished after their defeat at Philippi, it is foolish to think that the Triumvirate would have been in the same boat. Honestly, the fact that Brutus and Cassius got themselves into such a bad situation in the first place is a major reason for doubting their ability to successfully control Rome...
 
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