DBWI: What if Pompey Had Lost the Battle of Pharsalus?

Anaxagoras

Banned
Suppose that Julius Caesar, rather than Pompey the Great, had won the Battle of Pharsalus? Yes, I know Pompey had Caesar greatly outnumbered and was one of the greatest generals in history. But Caesar was quite a gifted commander himself (as can be seen by his extraordinary performance at the Battle of Alesia) and his troops were arguably better, man-for-man, than those of Pompey. It seems at least somewhat plausible that Caesar might have pulled off a victory.

So, what would have happened if Caesar had won the battle? He already controlled Rome itself at the time. Could he have gone on to achieve total victory over the Senate? Would Caesar have destroyed the Republic, as his political enemies claimed was his goal? Would he have set himself as a permanent dictator?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
I can't imagine a Caesarian dictatorship surviving for very long. Unlike that of Pompeius, Caesar's government would not have retained the support of any of the senatorial elites - it would have just been him and his Gallic army. Caesar's career before 49 does not lead me to believe he could have successfully reconciliated with Pompeius' former allies. He might have held onto Gaul - since Labienus probably wouldn't have revolted against him like he did against Pompeius - but certainly little else.

In addition, I can't see Caesar successfully reestablishing Rome's position in Egypt, or defeating any of Pompeius' partisans in Africa and Iberia. His regime would probably just have collapsed from without and within. There might be a series of part-Roman successor states dotting the Mediterranean - disgusting. In that case, Pacorus' Parthians might have conquered Anatolia, not just Syria as they managed to grab historically.
 
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