How well could Julius Caesar have done against the Parthians?

[Night Gaul]

In 44 BCE, Julius Caesar was planning an invasion of the Parthian Empire. Of course, his planned invasion never happened, since he was assassinated before he could start it.

What if he had survived to invade the Parthian Empire? How well could he have done?

 

[trajen777]

Well, they knew what they were facing. Good logistics, balasticas on wagon, invasion down Tigris an euph. Rivers with Armenian cav support.

 

[Heldenhammer]

Mr. Caesar probably would've done fairly well. He would've combined his natural skill at commanding with the knowledge learned from previous campaigns against Parthia. I think he could've pushed back the Parthians back into the mountains of Persia, and probably hold Mesopotamia once he stabilized the front. If he managed to put the squeeze on Parthia, Roma might be able to hold on to Mesopotamia, but it might be a bit tough. However, with the Fertile Crescent firmly under Roman rule, it might be easier to establish trade with eastern empires and would give Roma much more food.

 

[Pax Americana]

Caesar almost certainly would have had a better time of it than poor Crassus. He was a master logician who had kept his army supplied even with the Gauls harassment tactics, which the Parthians would be sure to employ. He also would have made much better use of Armenian troops, as he had no qualms about having allied troops in his army unlike Crassus. Combine that with his innate grasp of tactics and strategy, plus his knack for divide and conquer, I see Mesopotamia becoming the next Roman provence. Whether or not the Parthian dynasty falls is anyone's guess.

 

[Mikestone8]

Probably about as well as Trajan would do later. He gats to the Persian Gulf and maybe to the Caspian Sea.

After that will probably depend on how Augustus feels about it all. If he decides that the provinces are costing more than they are worth, he may quietly pull back, as Hadrian was to do.