In Defence of the Republic - a Roman Republic TL

[LumineVonReuental]

Right, after running a poll victory belonged to "In Defence of the Republic", and after experimenting a bit I've decided to run this timeline with some of the elements we saw on "Sons of Neptune", although at least for the first chapters I'll refrain from writing them like a novel considering just how much is there to establish. I hope you will enjoy it!

In Defence of the Republic:​

Index:

Prologue
Introduction
Dramatis Personae
A Note on Sources

Book One: Triumvirs and Liberatores
Part I: Octavianus, Divi Filius
Part II: Cassius Aegyptiacus
Part III: Brutus in Asia
Part IV: The Second Triumvirate
Part V: Sextus Pompeius Magnus
Part VI: The War of the Triumvirs
Part VII: The Pact of Neapolis

Book Two: Concordia Ordinum
Part VIII: The Consulate of Brutus and Cassius
Part IX: The Antonian Revolt (being worked on)
Part X: Cicero's Constitution (being worked on)

Prologue:


Introduction:
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Gaius Julius Caesar, now a Roman God​

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Across the Roman Republic, 43 BC / 711 AUC:

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More than a year had passed since Caesar had been stabbed to death by the Senators at Pompey’s Theatre, and the specter of civil war had expanded to the whole of the Republic. The past year itself had been a monstrous doubt altogether as the Liberatores and the heirs of Caesar had fought their own political battles, and the current one had made it clear one of them would necessarily have to prevail by military force. Some had hoped for an arrangement, for Rome to continue its life without restoring to another war… and such hopes were over.

The Liberatores were struck the first blows, fleeing Rome as some of their more capable Generals fell one by one: Gaius Trebonius as the treasonous hands of Dolabella, Lucius Minucius Basilus killed by his own slaves, and Decimus Brutus killed while fleeing a desperate situation in the Cisalpine Gaul. The war had forced endless changes of positions between those who had stayed in the west, as Cicero tried to steer the Senate as an independent force once again and Lepidus, Plancus, Antonius and the unexpected force Octavian had proved to be fought each other in a seemingly endless cat and mouse. To the shock of many, what should have been a monstrous battle turned into the most unlikely of arrangements, for Lepidus, Octavian and Antonius had joined forces as the new Triumvirs, marching on Rome to correct a Senate which had proved too independent.

The west left to the heirs of Caesar, the Liberatores split across the East and step by step their power grew. Gaius Cassius, left as the best of their generals on account of Trebonius and Decimus’s deaths, led the fight against Dolabella in Syria, not only being hailed as Imperator as he utterly defeated his rival, but also amassing a fearsome fighting force. Marcus Brutus, never the man of action others were, would also amass his own power as Macedonia, Asia, Achaea and Bithynia would slowly fall to his lieutenants. If that was to be added to the fleets of the great naval renegades Ahenobarbus and Sextus Pompeius, it was a fearsome war machine not to be underestimated, far stronger than anything the Optimates had put in place against Caesar.

In the timeline we know as our history Cicero would be killed as the Triumvirs instituted proscription across Rome, and Cassius would return early to join Brutus at his request, forcing a tense campaign that would end in Philippi as the Liberatores were crushed and dozens of Rome’s most influent aristocrats met their end. It would be a victory that would eventually fall under the propaganda of that most ruthless of Caesar’s heirs, the future Caesar Augustus; victor over his colleagues in the Triumvirate. But what if? What if, in a different scenario, Cicero was to escape this bloody proscription? What if Brutus had assessed the situation differently and not called for Cassius too early? What if, as Octavian would always insist, Lepidus had been messaging Sextus Pompeius to craft a backup plan of his own?

What would have been of the Roman Republic on this different world?

Dramatis Personae:
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Liberatores:

Gaius Cassius Longinus
The energetic general who saved the day after Carrhae, one of the heads behind the Ides of March and current master of Syria after his triumph over Dolabella.

Marcus Junius Brutus
Far more of a political man than Cassius, currently the richest man in Rome and sole heir to the Junii Bruti and the Servili Caepionis, slowly gaining control over the East.

Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius
The “Son of Neptune”, Pompey Magnus’s surviving son and unparalleled admiral, his fleets control Sicily and Sardinia and gives Pompeius full power over the grain supply.

Marcus Tullius Cicero
Pater Patriae, the man who saved the Republic from Catiline only to go through a humiliation conga thanks to Clodius, Curio, Caesar, Pompeius, and company. Now trying to destroy Antonius by manipulating the Senate.

Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
Noblest of his family according to Suetonius and son of one of Caesar’s most bitter enemies, about to be made admiral of Brutus’s fleets to try his luck on the sea.

Caesarians:

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
OTL Triumvir, Lepidus’s own role has been less important that many would have expected after the Ides of March, but the war is young and killing the man would be sacrilege as he is Pontifex Maximus.

Lucius Munatius Plancus
Our OTL would deem him Ancient Talleyrand, as Plancus, formerly a loyal legate of Caesar, would change his allegiances towards Cicero and the Senate, then to Decimus Brutus, then to Lepidus, and now to Antony. Will he change sides yet again?

Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
Current master of Rome after outmaneuvering Antony and the Senate, Octavianus has proved to be obsessed with avenging Caesar, as he is now his legal heir.

Marcus Antonius
OTL Triumvir, he has seen defeat and victory embrace him and change sides far too many times since the last year, but he’s still going strong and has a massive army.

Lucius Antonius
Antonius's brother, experience politician and a passable demagogue aiming to aid his brother on his quest for power. Tends to be controlled by Fulvia, his brother's wife.
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A Note on Sources:

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One of the advantages one has about writing on this period is the large amount sources one can use, although the loss that represents the death of Cicero is a noticeable one. In that sense, I’ve tried to keep a balance with the use of classical sources and modern studies in order to craft my interpretation of the facts. Mind you, a lot of what happened during this period of time is open to a certain degree of interpretation, so it is perfectly possible that some might disagree with my approach. That said I’ve tried to keep it as realistic as I possibly can with limited knowledge.

My classical sources will heavy borrow from Cassius Dio, with a lot of effort put as well on Appian, Veleius Paterculus and, of course, Plutarch. Cicero’s correspondence has also been helpful in many aspects, just like his fiery speeches against Mark Antony. Suetonius also came in handy for aspects of Caesar and Octavianus, but personally I’m not a fan of his. Regarding modern sources I’ve used Ludwig, Wertheimer and Fletcher’s biographies for Cleopatra, Weigel’s biography for Lepidus, Seager’s biography for Pompeius Magnus and Rogers and Syme’s studies for Sextus Pompey and the Pompeians in general (along with several Spanish studies on the Pompeian influence in Hispania), Goltz Huzar’s Mark Antony’s biography, and for certain issues Kelly’s History of Exile in the Roman Republic, Gruen’s The Last Generation of the Roman Republic, Wiseman’s New Men in the Roman Senate and David Rafferty’s studies on the Princeps Senatus.

In terms of references and info, my limited knowledge on roman officeholders comes from Broughton’s brilliant The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, the chronology is often sustained by Venning’s A Chronology of the Roman Empire, and the finer details of some of the minor characters are sustained by the venerable William Smith´s Dictionary of Roman and Greek Biography. All in all, the sheer scope of characters and wildcards one can find can be very daunting, and in keeping track of dates and people I am bound to make mistakes. Please do let me know if something looks implausible or is incorrect!​

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Book One: Triumvirs and Liberatores


Part I: Octavianus, Divi Filius:

Bust of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ​

(The entire Chapter is OTL, aiming to establish the situation inside Rome itself and not start the timeline without a proper context.)

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Rome and Italy, July-October 43 BC/711 AUC:

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When it came to interesting transformations, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus surpassed everyone in Rome. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus [1], he had virtually everything against him to play an important role in the Republic considering his Octavian ancestry was incredibly poor, the few Julian blood he had the only real merit he could count upon as in those times not even Caesar was a true force to be reckoned with. And yet it was he, mere grand-nephew, who would inherit the illustrious name and lead one of the most ruthless quests for power of his times. Caesar could have had other heirs, yet all of them were removed by one reason or another as he failed to produce a legitimate son of his own: Julia and Magnus’s son, dead in childbirth. His nephews Sextus and Lucius Caesar, both dead during the civil war. Marcus Antonius, who made an idiot of himself as Master of the Horse. His other grand nephews, Pinarius and Pedius, whose blood was even poorer than Octavian’s. Even Decimus Brutus, his distant cousin, who for some reason we can only speculate upon why he was only his second heir. It is true Octavian had impressed Caesar by going to Hispania on a dangerous trip shortly after Munda, but the amount of honors bestowed upon the young man could very well have been a source for envy, as even at his young age he was one of the two Master of the Horse-designated for the year of the assassination. Even so, whether he was openly being groomed or not, Rome was not prepared to learn of his adoption, and especially not Marcus Antonius.

Yet Octavian had dismissed the concerns of his mother Atia and his step-father Philippus, and had fought for what he saw as his rightful inheritance as hard as he could. Step by step, he raised companions of his own to aid him on his quests (men like Agrippa, Salvidienus Rufus and Maecenas), formed a Senatorial faction with those Caesarians who distrusted Antonius, and even more importantly he illegally appropriated wide sums of money to raise an army of his own, which went from a few cohorts of veterans to entire legions that defected from Antonius by the end of that fateful year. Step by step. He swiftly navigated between Cicero, Antonius and Decimus over the next year as the cult of Caesar grew stronger (and so did his prestige as Divi Filius, the literal son of a god), and was not only included in the Senate, but also granted Imperium to march with the Consuls Hirtius and Pansa north and take part in the Mutina campaign. Be through luck or other means, both Consuls found their untimely deaths on the battlefields, leaving Octavian sole commander of a large army in the Cisalpine Gaul. Refusing to have anything to do with Decimus as he left him to his gruesome fate when he eventually escaped Italy, by July 43 BC Octavian had the army and the followers to take one step ahead. And much like the deceased god, he marched on Rome to impose his will.

Rome panicked. Octavian sent a series of messages towards the Senate, first asking a Consulship, and then adding the demands of a Triumph over Antonius and land for his men while opening negotiations of his own by his foes in Gaul. Cicero and the Senate, perhaps recklessly, only offered a Praetorship. Lo and behold, Octavian proved as ruthless as Sulla on his prime and marched his eight legions into Italy, forcing the Senate to recall the armies of Africa in a desperate attempt to defend the city. It was by August that Octavian had reached the capital with an even larger army as more legions and veterans defected to his cause, and Cicero stalled for time by trying to negotiate, granting the young man (who was at best nineteen years old) his bounty, a land commission and, more importantly, a Consulship that was as illegal as they came [2]. The city struggled for a while as hope focused on the legions sailing from Africa, but the moment they landed on the city they immediate hailed Octavian as their sole Imperator.

Despairing over the triumph of the boy over the entire Senate the Praetor Urbanus, Marcus Caecilius Cornutus, fell on his sword while Cicero wrote to Brutus, finally powerless after months of trying to steer the Senators towards a course of his own. Many others fled Rome in fear of Octavian, including the Liberator Servilius Casca and Marcus Valerius Messala, one the young leading noblemen of Rome [3]. It was so that the Republic gained two new consuls to replace those dead in Mutina, Octavian and his cousin, Quintus Pedius. Finally the master of Rome, he wasted no time in passing his own legislative program, giving the cult to Caesar as much power as he could, seizing the treasury for the benefit of his large army an having the will of Caesar legalized by the Assembly, taking the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. For the remainder of his life it would be a rather common insult to be addressed as Octavian or even Thurinus rather than his adoptive name, suggesting as some aristocrats thought that despite his skill and his ruthlessness he was not worthy of the name and inheritance.

All the way until September 43 BC Octavian had been forced to limited action against the Liberatores and Caesar’s enemies, and while he had played his part on driving Brutus and Cassius out of Italy and leaving Decimus to his fate his taste for revenge had not been satisfied. Having his loyal Agrippa take over a Tribune of the Plebs from the missing Casca, he enlarged the list of the public enemies by adding not only those whom he deemed a part of the conspiracy of the Ides of March, but those who had knowledge of this, those that benefit with it and even those enemies that we provinces away. Even Sextus Pompeius, who played no part in the plot and had been allied to the Senate since last year, was condemned [4], and despite Rome still having Senators brave enough to speak up for some of the Liberatores their fortunes and properties were seized to the benefit of the state, or, as some put it, to the benefit of Divi Filius. From July to October Octavianus ruled Rome with his armies keeping the peace and Agrippa passing his laws before the Assemblies, facing no trouble but the familiar grief over the death of his step-father, the Consul Lucius Marcius Philippus, and a flawed assassination plot by the Praetor Peregrinus, Quintus Gallus, who was put to death. But this could not last forever, as after endless intrigue and background negotiation Plancus, Pollio, Antonius and Lepidus had formed a common front and marched their legions to the Cisalpine Gaul. The Caesarians were finally simplified into more or less two factions, and knowing too well that they could not afford a war between themselves Antonius, Lepidus and Octavian decided to negotiate. Onwards to Bononia they marched, ready to see what sort of pact could be arranged.

Notes on Part I:

[1] The jury is still out on whether Octavian really was named Thurinus or it was mere propaganda to try and hide his comparatively (to the other aristocrats) humble origins. Whether he had the name or not, it was often used as an insult, and given the later circumstances of the timeline Octavian would probably be retroactively addressed as this.
[2] On one side, he was a Senator unlike Pompeius Magnus in 70 BC, on the other hand he was 19 and essentially had the capital hostage with an army, which was not the case with the similarly young Marius the Younger.
[3] OTL.
[4] OTL, but this will be discussed in more detail in Part V.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Part II: Cassius Aegyptiacus:

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Alexandria, Capital of the Ptolemaic Kingdom​

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[FONT=&quot] Syria, Cyprus and Egypt, July-January 43-42 BC / 711-712 AUC:

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Gaius Cassius Longinus was one of those rare men who were favored by fortune, and that had not been more evident than during his successful storming (because it would be impossible to call it elsewhere) of the eastern provinces of the Empire. Already famous as one of the few survivors of Carrhae (having been Crassus’s quaestor), Cassius had been forced to take over the province and to his merit not only he had reformed the shell-shocked survivors, he had beaten a Jewish revolt and the Parthian invaders. His service on the Civil War had been less distinguished, but for a rabid Republican like him Caesar had been more than lenient, making him Praetor Peregrinus. Obviously, it had not been enough to stop Cassius from joining Trebonius and Decimus on their plot, and despite a tense year after the Ides of March Cassius had been able to flee to Syria and quickly win triumph after triumph.

His rival was set to be the opportunistic Publius Cornelius Dolabella, the corrupt and dynamic Caesarian who had become a hostis by having Trebonius killed. Dolabella would find some early success by winning over Cleopatra’s support, which meant that his legions would also count with Aulus Allienus’s Egyptian garrison, a four legion force enough to squash Cassius. Yet fortune had smiled to Cassius, as his admirals raised a fleet with the help of several cities (Rhodes being a noteworthy exception) and even the Egyptian fleet of Cyprus, as the Strategos, Serapion, had ignored Cleopatra’s orders to follow those of her sister, Princess Arsinoe, still captive inside the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus [1]. Maneuvering with speed as his forces kept Dolabella confined to Laodicea, Cassius won over Allienus’s legions and also those of the rebel Quintus Caecillius Bassus, whose revolt three years ago had resulted in the death of a potential heir for Caesar; his cousin Sextus. Commanding twelve legions and a massive fleet, it had not been hard for Cassius and his legates to starve Laodicea and fight back Dolabella’s breakout attempts, driving Caesar’s former legate into growing despair. Unable to resist any longer, Dolabella and his main legate, Marcus Octavius fell on their swords by the end of July. Cassius would have the other legates, Dellius and Figulus, executed as well as he gained the mastery of Dolabella’s legions [2].

Cassius was now undisputed lord of Syria, and the time had come for revenge. With Brutus advocating prudence but not being particularly alarmist over the recent developments in Italy [3], Cassius decided that the time was right to strike back at Cleopatra not only for supporting Dolabella, but for her recent proclamation of Ptolemy Caesarion, Caesar’s natural son, as Pharaoh of Egypt. Thus Cassius spent August reorganizing the province as best as he could, putting his supporter Marion to command Tyre and striking a deal with Antipater the Idumean, who did his best to pay Cassius’s requested tribute.[4] Giving a legion to Lentulus Spinther to guard Syria for him, Cassius sailed to Cyprus to enact the masterstroke of his plans for Egypt, having Artemis’s Priest Megabyzos release Arsinoe from Ephesus and send her with an escort. In Cyprus Cassius would meet Serapion and Arsinoe, offering the Princess Cleopatra’s throne in exchange for Cyprus, a substantial part of the Egyptian treasury and Egypt becoming a client state [5]. Hungry for power, Arsinoe swallowed her pride for once and accepted.

Thus Cassius and his admirals, Statius Murcus and Cassius Parmensis would sail to Alexandria with their diverse fleets as Cassius’s brother (Lucius Cassius the Elder) and his legatus, Crispus Marcius and Alienus, invaded Egypt from Syria. The news stuck Cleopatra with panic, as despite having a rather large fleet she did not have the proper means to defend Egypt without the four legions that had left. Seeing shadows on every corner she had several prominent Macedonians from Alexandria killed and appointed her loyal supporter Horemakhbyt admiral, entrusting the Egyptian Army (a mixture of mercenaries, lower Egypt levies and a few romans) to the Greek Callimachus and the government of Alexandria to the Grand Vizier Horemheb. Much like Gabinius’s invasion of Egypt fifteen years ago, land resistance was mostly token as the army was in no condition to resist, Alienus crushing a first and last stand from the Egyptians at Paraetonium, the gate to Alexandria (general Callimachus perishing on the flight). The real source of resistance for Cassius came from the Egyptian Fleet and their improvised admiral, who mounted a fierce resistance outside Alexandria with about seventy warships, some of them rushed off from construction. The battle would rage for a few hours as the Egyptians fought his bravery, but Cassius’s admirals not only were brilliant, they had a massive number superiority. It is assumed Cleopatra herself saw her beloved fleet burn from atop the walls of the Royal Palace.

The Romans thus flooded Alexandria and the Nile Delta with Cassius’s well trained and equipped force, putting an end to the reign of Caesar’s lover. Cleopatra would attempt to flee towards the South to seek the protection of the priests of Ptah (some of her strongest supporters), but the betrayal of one of her courtesans, Yuya Amenhotep, blocked her retreat and forced the Queen to hide inside one of the tombs she had prepared. Any potential standoff was over as Amenhotep led Cassius onto the location, the Roman General accepting a meeting with her. Whatever it was said between Proconsul and Queen is left open to history, for the Queen did not survive the day. Cassius claimed suicide, yet for the years to come the survivors of Cleopatra’s court (the adventurer Apolodorus of Sicily and the astrologer Sosigenes) would maintain that Cassius had had the Queen strangled. Either way, by the start of October Arsinoe was allowed to land in the capital with Serapion by her side, shocking Cassius by receiving the warm embrace of the Greek population of the city and being acclaimed as Basilissa [6].

Not wanting to repeat Caesar’s mistakes Cassius would only spend a couple of months in Alexandria, from October to December of that year. Despite the failure to apprehend Prince Caesarion when he escaped south to Nubia, the Egyptian Court was purged from Pro-Cleopatra elements as her status were brought down through Egypt, Arsinoe doing her best to destroy the cult of her sister as the reincarnation of Isis. Horemakhbyt, Horemheb, the courtesans Eris and Charmian and the High Priest of Ptah Pasherienptah III were all executed, a new court was set in place, led by the Grand Vizier Serapion. Yuya Amenhotep was also rewarded with nominal command over Arsinoe’s forces, and the rewards extended also to the Memphite Priest Acoreus [7]. Forced to keep her end of the bargain, the newly crowned Arsinoe IV Soteria returned Cyprus to Rome and opened the treasury chambers that she could (as some were still controlled by the new Priest of Ptah, Imhotep-Pedubas) to Cassius. With a staggering number of talents coming out of Egypt, Cassius now had more than enough funds not only to grease the entire war machine of the Liberatores, but to alleviate the financial situation of Rome after an eventual victory [8].

A more complicated decision would arise as Arsinoe needed a consort, all Ptolemaic males dead except for the missing infant Caesarion. Amenhotep produced a pretended that purported to be the dead Ptolemy XIII, but Cassius, not wishing to offend Sextus Pompeius by crowning the murderer of his father (in the assumption the pretender was to be the real Ptolemy) had him executed as well. Arsinoe did not want to follow the precedent of her sister Berenice in marrying an adventurer, as her throne would only be safe with a consort of Ptolemaic blood. In the end, it would be the wit of Cassius’s capable nephew, Lucius Cassius the Younger that would find a solution to the dilemma. As a young man with a keen interest in the history of the Diadochi, Lucius Cassius had done his homework on the remains of the burnt Library of Alexandria and found that there was an Eastern Royal Family whose blood was suitable. Antiochus Theos, the King of Commagene, not only descended from Darius I of Persia from his father, but from his mother had descent of several of Alexander’s Generals: Seleucus, Antigonus, Lysimachus, Antipater, and more important still, Ptolemy I, Queen Cleopatra VI being his grandmother [9]. While Antiochus himself was an unthinkable consort, Lucius merely pointed out that he just so happened to have a second son not set to inherit the throne: Prince Antiochus [10]. With Arsinoe more or less satisfied, Cassius decided to negotiate with Commagene as soon as he reunited with Brutus.

Having spent more than enough time in Alexandria and with an urgent dispatch at the end of December 43 BC informing him of the Second Triumvirate, Cassius knew the time was set for him to finally meet Brutus. In the end, his surprise choice to hold Egypt was his own nephew Lucius Cassius, who had proved so helpful over the consort issue and would not betray him like other legates could. Having left young Lentulus Spinther in Syria with a legion and orders to raise more, Cassius left his nephew on Alexandria with a couple of legions, his instructions to keep raising the tribute to send it to Asia and the new center of command of the Liberatores. A small detour would leave Caecillius Bassus with a reward for his long rebellion: the governorship of Cyprus. Taking pride on his accomplishments and on “conquering Egypt, not like the tyrant who had been conquered himself”, Cassius had his legions acclaim him as Gaius Cassius Longinus Aegyptiacus, and landed on Sardis by early January 42 BC. Now one of the richest men in the entire Republic, Brutus would famously salute him as “the favorite of fortune”.

Notes on Part II:

[1] One of our smallest POD’s. Why Serapion gave his fleet to Cassius is unknown, but ITTL Serapion is indeed a supporter of the exiled Arsinoe (something of which we are not sure of in OTL). This will mean a lot moving forward.
[2] Due to butterflies Cassius is not as lenient as in OTL, having Quintus Dellius killed. Considering how much corrupt he was, it’s not a big loss for Rome.
[3] We’ll see this POD on greater detail soon, but this is one of the two major changes introduced on this timeline. In OTL Brutus seems to have pressured Cassius into meeting with him as early as possible, thus forcing Cassius to abandon plans to invade Egypt.
[4] A minor POD, Antipater the Idumean avoids his assassination at the hands of Malichus for the time being.
[5] Cassius could annex Egypt outright, but I figured he would know very well that whoever was sent as a Governor there would necessarily become too powerful. Not wanting rivals, I think it would be safer for him to have a puppet Queen of his own.
[6] It is a fact that the population of Alexandria was mostly behind Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoe during the Alexandrian War, and over the past few years they have been forced to endure the murder of Ptolemy XIV and Cleopatra’s purges. Cleopatra may be respected as Isis in the native Egypt, but I think the capital would still hate her at this point.
[7] The sole voice to speak up against Pompey Magnus’s murder from Ptolemy XIII’s Court. My reasoning is that Cassius would not mind honoring Pompey’s memory with this simple gesture.
[8] Cassius is not getting as nearly enough money from Egypt as Augustus did given his limited time and the fact that this is not total conquest, but given the astounding amount of gold the Ptolemaic Kingdom seems to have had, I’d wager it’s more than enough to fund the war, help the financial situation in Rome and make Cassius a pretty rich man.
[9] Granted, it’s a bit of wishful thinking, but I couldn’t find a suitable consort from the rest of the Eastern Client States and since the ruling dynasty of Commagene backed Pompey in the Civil War, has some Ptolemaic blood and a suitable Prince… well, it solved that dilemma in a wonderful way.
[10] OTL Antiochus II of Commagene.

 

[MorningDew]

DAMN SON!

THIS IS AWESOME!

1st comment

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Part III: Brutus in the East:

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Coinage issued by Brutus while in Macedonia

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Macedonia and Asia, January 43 BC – March 42 BC / 711-712 AUC:

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Many of the conspirators had a rough few months after the Ides of March, yet Brutus seems to have it worse as he had essentially signed on to be the “poster boy” of the Liberatores. Cassius, Trebonius and Decimus might have been the heads of the planned assassination of Caesar, but it was Brutus who gave them the ultimate safeguard of his name and his family connections. Some of the Caesarians chose to ignore it, but Brutus was descendant not only of the Junii Bruti, but also the Servili Caepionis and thus related to Republican heroes like Servilius Ahala and the Brutus who had “founded” the Republic. Not only that, he was also the richest man in Rome with Caesar dead (and perhaps even with Caesar alive) as the unofficial heir of the Aurum Tolosanum. After all, it had been his great grandfather who had discovered the great treasury that the Tectosages had stolen from Rome before the battle of Arausio, and for all the claims of Caepio the Elder and his son few doubted were the money was. Last descendant of that noble family through his mother Servilia, it was only natural that exorbitant amounts of gold had passed to the hands of young Marcus after the death of one of his uncles [1]. His blood made him ideal to lead a conspiracy against Caesar, and it played no small role that he was Cato’s nephew and follower, and also his posthumous son-in-law by his marriage to Porcia Catonis. If his friend Cassius did not stand out on family connections, Brutus seems to have had them all as brother-in-law to Lepidus and Cassius, guardian to Lucius Bibulus, cousin to Lucullus Minor and related through family marriages to men like Quintus Hortensius Minor, Decimus Junius Silanus the Younger and Cato’s son. It was a brilliant family resume, and one that would play a large part in Brutus’s career.

Having to abandon Rome and his office of Praetor Urbanus due to the disturbances and the mounting influence of Octavian and those who desired revenge on the Liberatores, Brutus had been appointed Governor of Crete by mid-44 BC as some sort of an excuse to get him out of Italy, and in a show of energy he left the peninsula at once to try and raise support for a cause which might probably be involved in war as the situation evolved. Ever encouraged by Cicero, Athens gave an enthusiastic welcome to both Brutus and Cassius as tyrannicides, and Brutus got to work with what he had. Assembling a small group of friends of his own including Cicero Minor, young Lucullus, his ward Bibulus, and more importantly, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus [2] Brutus started to tour Greece in search of veterans from Pompeius’s armies in Pharsalus, many of whom had settled in the area. Slowly raising an army of his as methodically as Octavian (for Brutus, despite his many faults as a commander, was a good organizer [3]) yet taking unusually long time in account of his philosophical detours, he would have to wait to the end of the year for the situation to rapidly evolve. Antonius had forced the Senate to reallocate the provinces in later November [4], assigning his brother Gaius Antonius to hold Macedonia and its legions to turn the region into a powerbase of his own. It was then that the sitting Governor, Quintus Hortensius Minor (whose sister had once been married to Brutus’s uncle Servilius Caepio) threw his lot with Brutus, delivering the entire province and most of its army for the cause of the Senate.

It was by January 43 BC that the Senate overturned Antonius’s decisions and stripped Gaius Antonius from his command despite the complaints of Quintus Fufius Calenus, as Cicero got Brutus a massive proconsular imperium which extended from Illyricum to Macedonia to Achaea. But Gaius Antonius refused to yield, landing in Epirus to take over the local garrison and join his forces with the Caesarian Vatinius, master of Illyricum. Alas, Gaius was not his brother when it came to inflame the passion of the soldiers, and was systematically refused as Brutus and Cicero Minor crossed the mountains to ambush Antonius. Easily winning the battle with the Macedonian veterans on his side, Gaius Antonius perished as he tried to escape back to Italy [5]. Summons from Rome would come from Cicero as the Mutina campaign degenerated into chaos, yet Brutus ignored those in favor of building up his forces with help of his new subordinates, their ranks growing with the addition of Gaius Clodius, Sextus Quintilius Varus and Cato’s own son. Having to look for more allies and a source for prestige as the war between Dolabella and Cassius raged in Syria and parts of Asia Minor, Brutus found a suitable target in Thrace, currently divided as the Bessi battled other tribes and caused a certain amount of mischief. Brutus and his legates would end up enlisting ambitious Prince Rhescuporis onto his side, for the Prince wished to get rid of his uncle Rhoemetalces and take the throne. The expedition moved onto Thrace invading and defeating several minor tribes first to eventually triumph against one of powerful King Sadalas, one of the key rulers in the area. Acclaimed Imperator by his men, Brutus suspended the campaign as he learned of Octavian’s growing power in Rome and returned to Macedonia with Rhescuporis, leaving the young Prince to gather an army of his own to aid the cause. Before embarking to Asia to set up a base of operations, Brutus also started to emit coinage of his own after changing his name, using the cognomen Caepio once again to stress his ties to Servilius Ahala [6].

So Brutus Caepio took advantage of the void left in Asia on the death of Trebonius to take over the area as he established a firm contact with his fellow Liberatores Tillius Cimber (governor of Bithynia) and Decimus Turulius (his legate) and commanded them to build him a fleet of his own. It was at Smyrna in August that Brutus would learn of Octavian’s march in Rome, forcing him to make a decision between having Cassius come from Syria to prepare an invasion of Italy or focus on setting up a strong hold in the East. With Cicero’s letters mounting Brutus meditated for days, until Hortensius and Cicero Minor won over the appeals of his cousin and his ward. Brutus thus sent a measured missive to Cassius, and his colleague departed for Egypt as the proconsul established himself on Sardis to pass judgement and welcome the client kings into his side. Key allies were found in old King Dejotarus of Galatia, who sent Prince Amyntas with a large cavalry force, most of the Ionian cities, contributing ships and gold and Antiochus of Commagene as well. On the other hand, lacking Cassius’s reputation and despite his growing forces Brutus’s was openly defied by Ariobarzanes of Cappadocia, Mithridates of the Bosphoran Kingdom, Rhodes (which had already refused Cassius’s requests) and Lycia, essentially on the issue of tributes. Lacking the sheer strength the legions invading Egypt could have given him, Brutus was immensely helped by the arrival of capable noblemen now condemned by the Lex Pedia, men like Servilius Casca and the young and competent Valerius Messala. In the end, he entrusted Domitius Ahenobarbus with reforming a fleet and subduing Rhodes, as he himself marched on Cappadocia [7].

Despite his best intentions to invade Lycia along with Cappadocia, Brutus found his task far less pleasant as he had originally expected, as the imminent punishment expedition saw King Ariobarzanes III ally himself with one of the most influent and richer clients of Caesar in Asia; Lycomedes, the High Priest of Bellona in Comana. Setting up a strong resistance up in the mountains caused Brutus no shortage of distress even as he took his time to extort those cites most loyal to Caesar’s memory. The war dragged on for weeks as news of Cassius’s triumphs in Egypt spread through Asia, and Brutus would have to end the campaign through subterfuge. Finding the old Archelaus, former High Priest of Bellona and former client of Pompeius Magnus, Brutus promised him the Cappadocian throne for him and his son Archelaus the younger [8] in exchange for support in defeating Ariobarzanes, and Archelaus used his influence to bribe Athenaeus, one of the King’s generals and also one of his two favorites. Allowing Prince Amyntas and Cicero Minor to enter Cappadocia with Brutus’s cavalry, Ariobarzanes and his general Methras were defeated and put to death at the battle of Dana. It took a few more weeks to end resistance as High Priest Lycomedes and Prince Ariararthes, the King’s brother, were caught and killed by the Galatians. No one left to oppose him, Brutus used his imperium to seat Archelaus the Elder as King of the Cappadocians, the younger Archelaus and general Athenaeus controlling his court.

It was at his return to the headquarters in Sardis at the beginning of 42 BC that Brutus learnt of Ahenobarbus’s victory, for the improvised admiral had gathered Brutus’s fleets from Bithynia and Jonia to challenge Strategos Euphranor's mighty Rhodian fleet. Laughed off at first, Ahenobarbus ambushed Euphranor on the island of Syme, inflicting the Rhodians a tough blow and setting up a harsh blockade of the island. Despite not having the men to physically assault Rhodes, his victory was enough for his opponent to seek peace and pay up a large amount of war reparations to Brutus’s coffers [9]. On his return to Sardis Brutus was able to meet with countless escapees from the proscriptions, men of the fame of Lepidus Paulus, Marcus Livius Drusus, Favonius, Ligarius, Appuleius, Varro Gabba and the great orator himself, Cicero, a meeting which brought years of joy for both men [10]. After holding out constant meetings with the men who were bankrolling part of his operations like Sextus Quirinus, Flavius Hemicilius and the famed Titus Pomponius Atticus, Brutus met Cassius at Sardis by early February of 42 BC, congratulating his friend over the triumph in Egypt. Both Lycia and the Bosphoran Kingdom of Mithridates II continued to defy the Liberatores, but as war with the Triumvirs was the priority Cassius and Brutus merely gave refuge to the deposed King Asander of the Bosphorans, planning a campaign to restore his throne at a later date. Thus began the grand reorganization of the war machine of the Liberatores, ready to take on the Second Triumvirate.

Notes on Part III:

[1] This was speculation from contemporaries, but I happen to believe in this theory regarding the “gold of Tolosa”.
[2] Son of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, the sole of the Optimate leaders to perish at Pharsalus. A brilliant man on his own, I intend on having him play a large role.
[3] After all, he did serve with distinction as Governor of Cisalpine Gaul, his tenure deemed extremely efficient.
[4] As OTL, later deemed unconstitutional.
[5] Minor POD, being that Brutus does not contract a disease while on Thessaly, meaning he gets to Antonius’s earlier and in the defeat Gaius dies. This makes Brutus’s situation a lot more secure, and prevents a later embarrassing situation.
[6] All OTL, but there is a discrepancy on whether Brutus went by Marcus Junius Brutus Caepio or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus. I’ve chosen the first one, and he will be named either Brutus or Brutus Caepio.
[7] With Cassius not available Brutus has to do what the Liberatores did in OTL which a lot less strength. As a result, he has to prepare for a longer campaign in Asia and has to give the Rhodes operation to someone else, in this case Ahenobarbus.
[8] This Archelaus is the adventurer to whom Mark Antony gave Cappadocia, probably in light of Antony’s romance with Glaphyra, Archelaus the Elder’s wife.
[9] Unlike Cassius’s total conquest of Rhodes, Ahenobarbus doesn’t have the men or the size of fleet, but his accomplishments are enough to ensure a settlement positive to the Liberatores. This also mean that Rhodes will keep a lot of its strength for the future…
[10] The issue of the escapees and the POD for them will come up in Part IV.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

DAMN SON!

THIS IS AWESOME!

1st comment

Thanks! I've never been able to write this much in a limited amount of time, the subject has encouraged me far more than expected.

On another note, Parts I-III are already up. Part V is done too, concerning Sextus Pompeius, but I need to get Part IV done before posting the first one (and Part IV is the Second Triumvirate and the Proscriptions). All in all, Book One should have about seven or eight parts.

 

[Agricola]

Very well written! Greatly and precisely investigated. I like this level of detail very much. I am really looking forward to watch your timeline wherever it goes.

Even if I hope, that it does not end in just another princeps. At least not in a principate with a perfidiously incorporated highway to autocracy. Or even worse in a more or less unchanged old-style res publica libera.

So far just a side note.

... although the loss that represents the death of Cicero is a noticeable one.
...
Cicero’s correspondence has also been helpful in many aspects, ...

I found Ciceros ideas about needed reforms to improve the republic very helpful. His ideas sound a bit naive. The most urgent problems, modern historians see, were ignored by him. Nevertheless, it shows how a roman aristocrat and the aristocracy in its entirety was thinking basically, and where are its boundaries, if it comes to reforms.

These ideas about reforms are heavily scattered over de legibus, de res publica and some of his letters and speeches. Inga Meyer collected all these hints in "Von der Vision zur Reform: der Staat der Gesetze : Ciceros Programm einer Neuordung der Römischen Republik: 56-51 v. Chr"
https://books.google.de/books?id=ZV...ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIooqnsu_9xwIVBLYUCh3EZwb1

After reading the complete book from my library, I am convinced, that we need much more political genius, than what the rather naive Cicero is able to contribute, in order to initiate effective reforms. On the other hand, Augustus was obviously very aware of Ciceros ideas. Technically, he implemented almost all of them. He just did it his way, which was not republican. And he fixed some more issues Cicero had overlooked.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Don't have time to read this at the moment before I get to class, but I am so psyched for this timeline. Just skimming the OP has me excited.

 

[Grouchio]

I wonder if Cicero's survival could help let the Roman golden age of culture and science continue onwards for a couple more centuries than IOTL.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Part IV: The Second Triumvirate:

​

​

The Proscriptions of the Triumvirs​

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[FONT=&quot] Italy, October 43 BC – Early 42 BC / 711-712 AUC:

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Having left Antonius off the bloody battlefields of Mutina Octavianus must have known he would return, but just how prepared he was for that scenario is now lost to history. Still, Antonius showed amazing political skill as he had to evade the swords of Lepidus and the provincial governors, and little by little he brought them over to a common cause against the Liberatores and Octavian in a lesser way: Lepidus, whom the Senate had antagonized by naming him an enemy and destroying his statues, Pollio, focused on the need to avenge Caesar and crush his enemies, and Plancus, who sensed the way the wind was blowing as he abandoned Decimus Brutus to his death at the hands of tribesmen to join the ever growing alliance. Against his enormous army of Caesar’s veterans Octavianus marched his own legions to establish strong defenses at Bononia, having Pedius lobby and threaten the Senate into further submission as they dismissed the current charges against Antonius and Lepidus. All willing to negotiate, all considering the Liberatores the enemy to fight, they met at neutral ground to discuss an arrangement between themselves. Realizing that being dictators would only bring further trouble and disrepute into their cause, they replicated the old alliance between Crassus, Caesar and Pompey, with the condition of making it an alliance legalized by the Senate. It was so that Lepidus, Antonius and Octavianus took the titles of Triumviri Rei Publicae Constituendae Consulari Potestate [1], and accepted an arrangement in which they would form a united group for a five-year term, open to being renovated. First they split the consulships, setting up Ventidius Bassus and Carrinas for a few weeks as suffect consuls of the year, naming Lepidus and Plancus to rule in Rome over the next year of war, and naming men like Lucius Antonius, Vatia Isauricus, Pollio, Domitius Calvinus, Censorinus, Norbanus, and Agrippa among others to be consuls until the Triumvirate expired. They also divided the provinces among themselves, Antonius winning over both Gauls, Lepidus taking Hispania, and Octavian being granted Africa, Sicily and Sardinia [2].

The war was also divided quickly, as it was decided Antonius and Octavianus would be the ones to take the fight to the East. Lepidus, despite being more experienced than Octavianus was left to rule Rome not so much for the need to leave someone experienced behind, but for his complicated connections as his brother was serving Brutus and he himself was brother-in-law to the leading man of the Liberatores. Having raised as much as forty legions to fight settling them would be complicated, but the soldiers would be placated by being sent to some of the best cities in Italy, coincidentally those who had backed Pompeius, or Brutus and Cassius. Yet the treasury was empty and none of them had the fortune to fund the war, all sources of wealth from the East being cut off by the enemy. Pressed for funding, proscription was chosen as the method to fill the coffers and secure the loyalty of Rome. Despite Lepidus’s desperate appeals for restraint [3], it was decided to purge the Senate and the Equestrian Order from potential traitors, and the list was a hefty one: Cicero and his male relatives at the head, followed by Lepidus Paulus, Lucius Caesar, Marcus Livius Drusus, Lentulus Cruscellio and hundreds of other noblemen, many of them only guilty of having a fortune that would help with the war effort. Refusing to enter the city of Rome themselves, Ventidius Bassus and Carrinas were installed as suffect consuls as Octavianus and Pedius renounced their offices, and at the end of November 43 BC the Lex Pedia passed, legalizing the Triumvirate. Thus the Proscription began.

Despite initially considering appealing to Octavianus, Cicero’s friends persuaded him of the danger and also reminded him of the hatred Fulvia and Antonius had towards him. Making up his mind to escape at once at the urgent request of Cato’s friend Favonius, Cicero rushed as he warned the rest of his family of how dangerous was to delay their escape, in no doubt remembering the horrors of Sulla’s own proscription some forty years ago [4]. With his brother Quintus and his son sailing towards Sicily to seek refuge with Sextus Pompeius, Cicero was aided and protected by many as he went south, popular and known as he was by many italics and especially many eques indebted to him, and he was able to sail with some of his friends towards Brutus in Asia. Some would survive the proscriptions, as men like Lucius Caesar and Terentius Varro were pardoned after losing all of their properties, and others would successfully sail away towards Brutus and Sextus Pompeius, as was the case of Cicero, Livius Drusus, Favonius and many others. But the carnage that expanded through Rome even before the Triumvirs set foot on the city was unprecedented, as the large sums offered for the heads of the noblemen excited not only slaves, but other noblemen themselves to turn on their friends and even their families at times. Two hundred to three hundred Senators alone captured and executed, hundreds and perhaps even a thousand or two knights suffering the same fate. Illustrious men like Quintus Ligarius, or Servius Sulpicius Galba, or Plancus’s brother Plotius, running away in panic from the city as slowly but surely they were beheaded, or drowned, or burnt to death, or even starved as they held up in their villas. Even Gaius Verres, old and forgotten in his exile at Massillia, was killed by the hand of the Triumvirs. Many would later proclaim Octavianus had been cursed by the gods by betraying the city, for he had to suffer the joint deaths of his mother Atia and his cousin Pedius (the former consul) as the killings went on [5].

As this went on, the year of 42 BC started as Lepidus and Plancus took over their new consulships, and the cowed and broken Senate (which had as few as half its usual members by then [6]) put no complaints in recognizing Caesar as a legal god (an act which both made Octavianus Divi Filius and put Cassius and Brutus on the odd situation of being murderers of a legal god) so he could be worshipped across Italy in temples and coinage, and also passed a crippling amount of new taxation to fund the Triumvirate which many found ruinous at best. It was so that the three Triumvirs entered Rome one by one to hold military parades of their own, and as Cassius returned from Egypt to prepare for war they did the same. Giving Lepidus three legions to guard Italy, Antonius made sure of giving his friend Quintus Fufius Calenus two more to keep an eye from the north in the Cisalpine Gaul, other minor garrisons being set in Gaul and Hispania. Antonius himself would take about fifteen to twenty legions to march on Epirus, as Octavianus’s forces would initially fight Sextus Pompeius and once victorious would back the operations in Greece. All the public offices were filled with supporters of the Triumvirs (save perhaps for Tiberius Claudius Nero [7]) as even Censors were appointed to solve the issue of the empty Senate, Octavianus proposing the venerable Publius Sulpicius Rufus and Antonius pressing for his uncle Gaius Antonius Hybrida, the man who had been expulsed from the Senate twice decades ago on his staggering corruption and cruelty [8]. Governors and legates were also appointed for those places still controlled by the Senate, Vatinius’s term in Illyricum was extended, Antonius left Ventidius Bassus, Pollio and Varius Cotyla to guard the Gaulish provinces for him, Lepidus left Canidius Crassus to keep Hispania, Octavian appointed Marcus Lurius to retake Sardinia and Titus Sextius to best Cornificius in Africa, and Fufius Calenus, as we have named earlier, was to guard the North of Italy and perhaps, ensure the good behavior of Lepidus as well.

As the Liberatores marched their armies into Greece, Antonius moved to Brundisium to prepare for the crossing and Octavianus began planning his invasion of Sicily, signaling the true start of the war between the united Triumvirs and the Liberatores.

Notes on Part IV:

[1] Personally, I found this a smart way to combine the first Triumvirate and Sulla’s Dictatorship, as they assumed a similar title like the one Sulla had.
[2] OTL, and in this timeline those provinces are even more against the Triumvirs, showing that Octavianus’s hand was a lot weaker before Philippi happened.
[3] Whether he did or not is irrelevant ITTL, for posterity will see Lepidus always insisting that the proscriptions were due to Antonius and Octavianus’s “bloody nature”.
[4] One of our two main POD’s, along with Cassius’s invasion of Egypt. Here I’ve chosen to have Favonius go to Cicero and persuade him of the danger, which allows Cicero and his relatives to escape death.
[5] Interesting bit of propaganda, I’d say. Quintus Pedius might as well have committed suicide to protest the proscriptions, but having many of your relatives die in that sort of situation as they are not marked for death might be seen as an “omen” by many.
[6] I mean, at least 200-300 Senators have been killed between battles and proscription since the death of Caesar, and if we are to assume the size by now was between 600 or a bit more the chamber would be quite empty…
[7] OTL Emperor Tiberius’s father, just married to Livia. Why on earth the Triumvirs would make a man of known Republican sentiments Praetor I do not know (and they would proscribe him later), but Claudius Nero did serve as one of Caesar’s legates before.
[8] Fascinating man, really, he was also Cicero’s colleague as Consul against Catiline. He won the nickname “Hybrida” (or half-beast) by torturing and maiming the population of the places in which he served as Magistrate.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Part V: Sextus Pompeius Magnus:​

Coins distributed by Pompeius in Massilia

…

Hispania, Massilia and Sicily, Mid 45-Early 42 BC / 709-712 AUC:

(Most of the Chapter is OTL, but I feel Pompeius deserves a proper analysis and I’d rather introduce him to readers than just have him pop out of nowhere)​

Bad luck was almost a rule for the sons of great men ever since the age of Marius and Sulla. It was hard to determine why, but these sons would often bring themselves down in account of their incompetence, or face incredible odds and bad luck if they were capable. Sulla’s first son, dead before becoming an adult. His second son Faustus, promising until his death in civil war. Marius the Younger, who lost an entire army and then his life within the walls of Praeneste. Publius Crassus, killed by his own father’s mistakes. Sextus’s brother’s Gnaeus, beheaded after Munda. Cato’s son, whose low skill would never match the spirit of his great father. And the list could go on, for the sons of great men did not seem to fare well. It was up to young Pompeius (and perhaps to Ahenobarbus as well) to change that precedent and attempt to triumph in an age in which his name did not meant “conqueror” anymore, it meant danger as young Octavianus plotted vengeance.

Born Sextus Pompeius Magnus on the glorious year of Glabrio and Piso, which had seen his father crush the pirates across the seas, and the last son of the marriage between Mucia Tertia and Pompeius Magnus. Sextus first years would be marked not only by the growing power and popularity of his father, but also by the situation leading to the final marriages of his father. Pompeius would divorce his mother while Sextus was still a boy, and Mucia would marry the much younger Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, who gave Sextus a stepbrother before being forced into exile to Massilia on account of his truly massive bribes [1]. Thus, the early life of Sextus would in many ways be influence by four remarkable women: his mother Mucia, his stepmothers Julia Caesaris and Cornelia Metella, and his sister Pompeia, wife to Faustus Sulla until his death and then married to Cornelius Cinna [2], who would later grow famous on his “disloyalty” to Caesar after dead.

Barely a young man when Pompeius held his consulship alone and not even twenty of age as he served as his father’s aide during the Pharsalus Campaign, it was Sextus who travelled with him to Egypt and watched helplessly as his father was killed on behalf of Ptolemy. After ensuring the safety of his young stepmother Sextus rejoined the Optimate resistance serving under Cato until Thapsus and then under his brother as Hispania proudly declared for the Pompeian cause, until tragedy struck again at the fields of Munda. Labienus and Attius Varus dead in battle, his brother beheaded by a man as insignificant as Caesennius Lento, and Sextus being forced to flee. It was there that fortune would declare for Sextus, as he, his wife Scribonia and his father-in-law Lucius Scribonius Libo reached the lands of the Lacetani, a tribe still loyal to the memory of Pompeius and his campaign against Sertorius. It was there that Sextus wisely held out through most of 45 BC, waiting for the next year to strike. Sure enough, Gaius Carrinas left his governorship to Gaius Asinius Pollio and Hispania was left with very few troops, allowing Sextus to strike. Gathering the Spanish tribesmen and many survivors from Munda, Sextus led two legions to harass the Governor. Threatened by Pollio as he moved towards Cartago Nova, Sextus fought and routed his forces, forcing the humiliated general to flee without his general’s cloak [3]. Pompeius then retook his brother’s former base at Carteia and was acclaimed Imperator by his men, thus ruling most of Hispania through rebellion few weeks after Caesar was stabbed to death in the Senate.

Luck would come to Pompeius’s aid again, for it was not an inflexible Caesarian who had been assigned Hispania. It was Lepidus himself, the Pontifex Maximus, who arrived into the region with his legates, and little taste for war. Asked by Antonius to reach a settlement [4], Lepidus held negotiations with Sextus and promised a pardon, the return of his father’s states and, furthermore the command of a fleet. Sextus did not dare refuse the tempting way out of the war that fortune had offered to him, and a peace was promptly sealed. Save from Octavian, the move had pleased virtually the entire Senate, as Cicero did the impossible to secure the Triumph for Lepidus and many other honors as well. The situation thus resolved by July of 44 BC, Sextus reorganized his army and the first squadrons of his new fleet and sailed away from Hispania. Not feeling confident enough in reaching Italy, it was to Massilia that Pompeius would head, knowing the city hated Caesar for the harsh punishments imposed after a siege by the Caesarian forces and perhaps to find good commanders on the many exiles still living on Massilia. Clever enough not to sail away with a force not yet ready, Pompeius would wait until the next year as his naval attributions grew and his fleet became more and more powerful through training and through new ships being sent to his new haven. It must have been a surprise for Sextus, who had never been able to start a Cursus Honorum, when Cicero convinced the Senate to give him a more than impressive undertaking: Praefectus Classis et Orae Maritimae, admiral with a proconsular imperium which in many ways reminded of some of the powers granted to Pompeius Magnus during the campaign against the pirates. The Senate courted him openly, as men as influent as Lepidus Paulus and Quintus Minucius Thermus were sent in an embassy by April to request his assistance against Marcus Antonius in what would become the Battle of Mutina. Yet Pompeius refused.

It would take until July for the fleet of the new admiral to become a truly formidable fighting force, and it was there that Pompeius and his admirals (his father-in-law Libo, his freedmen Menas and his half-brother Scaurus the Younger) sailed towards Italy. Alas, it was by then that Octavian had taken over Rome [5] and the Lex Pedia had passed, naming Sextus as one of Caesar’s assassins and thus enemy of the people. What Sextus thought of it we do not know, but he would lead his fleet through long journeys across the Italian coast as he waited for the situation to evolve as Antonius and Lepidus marched from Gaul. Unable to wait any longer, Sextus would finally land in Sicily, setting up a base for his fleet on Mylae. Any chance of reconciliation with Octavian was ruthlessly crushed as Sextus was named on the proscription edicts, making him an enemy of the state to be killed at the first opportunity. Pompeius decided to wage war as best as he could, taking city over city to build a larger fleet as he brought deserters, pirates and as many of the proscribed as possible into his own ranks. Despite most of the noblemen running to Brutus, Pompeius got new capable subordinates in Lucius and Marcus Titius, the son of Lentulus Cruscellio and especially on Marcus Licinus Crassus and Quintus Tullius Cicero Maior, both excellent generals on their own [6]. It was thus that Pompeius’s fleets began to sack towns in southern Italy until the Governor of Sicily; Aulus Pompeius Bithynicus [7] came out to fight him. Bithynicus would stop him in Messana, but as Sextus’s influence grew greater and greater the scared Governor would have to sign a pact, both men dividing the island to have equal authority over it.

It was here that Pompeius grew ambitious as his forces grew stronger, for he sent expeditionary forces under his freedman Menas to take over Sardinia and sustain a tighter grip on the Roman grain supply. He was also in an excellent relationship with Quintus Cornificius in Africa and both men would eventually sign a pact to assist each other as they shared survival as a goal, yet Pompeius followed Quintus Cicero’s advice and refused Cornificius’s offer of troops so he defend Africa as best as he could [8]. Initially inactive on the first couple of months of 42 BC, Pompeius finally marched on Rhegium to attempt an invasion, his attempt repelled by Salvidienus Rufus as Pompeius suffered many casualties. The initiative fell onto Salvidienus as Octavianus himself came to supervise the operations in Sicily, for the strain placed on the grain supply due to the situations in Sardinia, Africa, Sicily and Egypt had placed the city into hunger. Desperate to recover the grain supply, Salvidienus thus gathered a fleet to secure a place to land his troops, and pressed ahead as long as he could despite the dangers and Octavianus’s concerns. Ambushed by Pompeius, Octavianus’s fleet was soundly defeated and more than half of it sunk, Salvidienus Rufus drowning after his flagship was burnt by the faster liburnian vessels of the enemy [9]. It was this great victory in Scilleus that made the sailors proclaim young Sextus Pompeius (as he was only 25) their imperator, and their admiral not only decided to add another cognomen to become Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, but also mocked Octavianus’s claims of being Divi Filius by adopting the title of “Son of Neptune”, for his father had once ruled the seas [10].

As Antonius and Octavianus did the impossible to continue the campaign against the Liberatores despite mounting troubles, so did Pompeius cement his hold over Sicily, having Bithynicus captured and executed on the (probably false) grounds of plotting against him. Cautioned against inactivity by the Ciceroni and realizing his best hope rested on the victory of the Liberatores, Sextus sailed at once with his fleet to disrupt the supply lines of the Triumvirs and assist the efforts of Cassius Parmensis, Ahenobarbus and Statius Murcus. Most of the glory of the naval campaign belonged to Ahenobarbus triumph in the Adriatic Sea, but Pompeius’s fleets destroyed at least three legions in route to Macedonia on their strikes, significantly weakening the military position of the Triumvirs and contributing to the eventual battles of Siris [11]. His own relationship with Lepidus would also play an ever larger role in the aftermath of the twin battles, as the Pontifex Maximus kept the communication open with the victorious “Son of Neptune”.

Notes on Part V:

[1] Whether Scaurus ever returned from exile we do not know, but I will take the liberty of having him still reside in Massilia as in Sons of Neptune. In OTL the younger Scaurus would also betray Sextus to Mark Antony, but butterflies ensure a different scenario arises.
[2] It’s a bit of a poetic license to wonder about these women as we know little about Sextus’s personality beyond Augustus’s propaganda of him being a barbarian pirate, but personally I feel being surrounded by so many extraordinary characters would be one of the sources of Pompeius’s OTL strong tenacity.
[3] OTL incident, reported by Cassius Dio. As a knight by the name of Gaius Asinius Pollio was found dead too on the battlefield, Pollio’s troops took their general for dead and surrendered to Pompeius without a second thought. Talk about humiliation!
[4] Based on Richard Weigel’s assessment of Lepidus’s negotiations, I second his view that Antonius asked Lepidus to bring Sextus into the fold to prevent being forced to fight a war on Hispania. Either way, this sets a precedent for Lepidus and Sextus to trust each other.
[5] As we’ve seen on Part I.
[6] This is the first POD for Sextus, as Cicero’s survival also leads to his brother and nephew getting away of Italy. However, I’ve chosen to have both father and son get to Pompeius instead of Brutus along with Crassus’s grandson, since their advice would most certainly help Pompeius in making a couple different choices regarding strategy.
[7] Probably not related to Sextus, at best a very distant relative. Made Praetor by Caesar, he requested Cicero’s protection while the Senate had the upper hand in the contest.
[8] Butterflies already acting, as presumably under the advice of Crassus and Quintus Cicero Pompeius moves earlier and with more strength onto Sardinia to capture the whole island, and he also establishes a stronger alliance with Cornificius that will bring changes of its own when the Triumvirs send a force to Africa.
[9] A smarter approach by Pompeius and Cassius’s actions in Egypt make the grain situation much worse for the Triumvirs, forcing Salvidienus to do something bolder as the city needs the grain. The result, naturally, is a heavier defeat than in OTL.
[10] Most of that last part inspired by Cassius Dio, although we don’t really know when Sextus took the cognomen Pius. I took the liberty of choosing the aftermath of the Battle of Scilleus.
[11] It took a long time, but here is our second and main POD this part regaring Pompeius, being that with better advisers and a more successful campaign in which he avoids a couple of mistakes, Sextus Pompeius is not inactive in what was the OTL Philippi campaign, using his fleet to weaken the Triumvirs and thus cause major consequences.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Very well written! Greatly and precisely investigated. I like this level of detail very much. I am really looking forward to watch your timeline wherever it goes.

Even if I hope, that it does not end in just another princeps. At least not in a principate with a perfidiously incorporated highway to autocracy. Or even worse in a more or less unchanged old-style res publica libera.

So far just a side note.



I found Ciceros ideas about needed reforms to improve the republic very helpful. His ideas sound a bit naive. The most urgent problems, modern historians see, were ignored by him. Nevertheless, it shows how a roman aristocrat and the aristocracy in its entirety was thinking basically, and where are its boundaries, if it comes to reforms.

These ideas about reforms are heavily scattered over de legibus, de res publica and some of his letters and speeches. Inga Meyer collected all these hints in "Von der Vision zur Reform: der Staat der Gesetze : Ciceros Programm einer Neuordung der Römischen Republik: 56-51 v. Chr"
https://books.google.de/books?id=ZV...ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMIooqnsu_9xwIVBLYUCh3EZwb1

After reading the complete book from my library, I am convinced, that we need much more political genius, than what the rather naive Cicero is able to contribute, in order to initiate effective reforms. On the other hand, Augustus was obviously very aware of Ciceros ideas. Technically, he implemented almost all of them. He just did it his way, which was not republican. And he fixed some more issues Cicero had overlooked.

Thanks! It does take a lot of time to research on various situations and characters, but given the situation I'm writing about I feel it's for the best to keep track of as much detail as I can.

I have been researching Cicero's ideas as well (I do wish Inga Meyer's book was in english, even if it's my second language it seems it would be helpful), and I agree with you on the account of Cicero being more than a bit naive in some regards, yet surprisingly progressive in others (his whole philosophy concerning the Equestrian class for example). All in all, when the time comes for reforms to be made to the Republic I'll do my best to keep them plausible, with the understanding that those responsible for them will not have the hindsight and won't be able to craft something perfect.

But there's a war or two to be fought first!

 

[Grouchio]

(BTW the AUC times for 43 and 42 BC are 711 and 712 AUC)

 

[SenatorChickpea]

Fascinating stuff!

 

[Magnum]

subscribed

 

[Agricola]

It seems that the Caesarians are loosing ground, by just a few minor changes to the OTL. Well done, thats why we call it the butterfly effect: small trigger, big consequences.

I am just afraid, that Caesars Murderer winning the war, does not mean, that the republic is really defended. This is a fully different beast and needs probably way more chapters, than we got so far. Actually the butterfly effect works very well in military affairs, where you fight armies. It is much more of a challenge in politics, where you fight structures, mindsets, cultures and societies, which are heavily resistant against many kind of changes.

 

[Alcsentre Calanice]

Now that the Liberatores have won,
the threat to the free republice is gone.

 

[LumineVonReuental]

Part VI: The War of the Triumvirs:​

Marcus Antonius, Triumvir of Rome (83-42 BC)​

…
Italy, Africa, Greece and Asia, January-October 42 BC / 712 AUC:​

Having spent the first weeks of 42 BC overseeing the proscription process, Antonius and Octavianus finally entrusted the legions to Lepidus and Plancus and marched south to follow their respective plans, Antonius taking camp in Brundisium as he prepared his fleets for an invasion of Macedonia and Octavian rushing with Salvidienus Rufus to Rhegium to repel Sextus Pompeius and prepare the invasion of Sicily. Initial success, however, was ruined as the increasingly desperate financial situation and the potential for starvation pressed Salvidienus into a reckless invasion attempt, its utter failure at the battle of Scilleus ending any thought of an invasion that year and costing several of his veterans to Octavian. As his colleague was humiliated by Pompeius, Antonius chose to replicate his strategy to bring reinforcements to Caesar before Pharsalus, racing ahead with his fleet to cross the Adriatic and prevent the Liberatore admirals from ending his invasion plans. As the Liberatores were only just setting up their armies and most of the fleets were with Cassius, it was left to Turulius and Ahenobarbus to try and block Antonius from his landing. Operations prolonged themselves as both sides played a game of cat and mouse, endless naval skirmishes causing attrition that other generals might have shied away from. Yet Antonius persevered, and in one swift stroke took the majority of his army into Epirus as the blockade of Brundisium failed on a lack of ships [1]. The second crossing phase belonged to Octavianus as soon as his fleet managed to reassemble following the Scilleus disaster, yet by this time Murcus and Cassius Parmensis had arrived bringing Cassius’s original fleet along with the Egyptian fleet, and the blockade grew tighter. It would be a storm that would allow Octavianus a few days without attacks from his enemies, yet in the crossing more men ended at the bottom of the sea. Having sustained significant losses yet still in command of a large army, Antonius and Octavianus were now firmly on Greek soil, having to decide on how to proceed and also how they would get the rest of their armies in Italy. It was there that Octavianus feel terribly ill [2], and seeing as he could not move Antonius took the initiative by sending Decidius Saxa and Gaius Norbanus with a few legions to invade Macedonia, as he himself sought an audience to win the support of Thracian Prince Rhescus (Rhescuporis’s brother), who would hopefully give them enough information to avoid many mistakes.

On their own side, Brutus and Cassius had met at Sardis by February of 42 BC, Cassius having subdued Egypt and used the massive sources of income his nephew was sending him to fund the war effort. Brutus had been able to vanquish most of their opponents in Asia either through politics or the help of his key legates, yet it was agreed by both men that campaigns against Lycia or Thrace would be a complete waste of time. Realizing the key advantage Antonius and Octavianus would have on account on having most of Caesar’s veterans and the invaluable Gaulish/Germanic cavalry, they entrusted Cicero Minor and Amyntas with the reorganization of the varied types of eastern cavalry, and focused on training their legions as they hoped their admirals would keep Antonius and Octavianus at bay. New allies were also sought as Quintus Labienus was sent as an ambassador to Orodes of Parthia, an act that would have its own consequences later on. Despite strong disagreements on how to conduct the war and what to do if Rome was conquered, Cicero used his influence to mediate between the two commanders, encouraging them to march as soon as possible and force a decisive battle. It was so that Brutus and Cassius left some of their minor commanders to guard most of the eastern provinces, and crossed the Bosphorus with a force that was seventeen legions strong, along with a stronger cavalry force than the one put in the field by the triumvirs. With Rhescuporis and Rhescus using their intimate knowledge of the area to outmatch one another, Saxa and Norbanus were forced from their camp at Philippi as the Thracian scouts let Cassius and Brutus to a road from were to overrun the enemy positions. Learning of the imminent battle Antonius took the ill Octavianus and took the entire army in forced march towards the north of Greece, instructing his generals to avoid combat as possible. Taking advantage of their naval squadrons under Tillius Cimber the Liberatores took control of Thessalonica and most of the naval ports, closing the possibility of a battle near the sea as Amphipolis would be guarded by a detachment under Aulus Alienus.

To his merit Antonius led his armies virtually without casualties to join with the forward legions of Saxa and Norbanus. However, not being fast enough to fully block the advance of Cassius and Brutus, Antonius found them preparing their fortified fields near Siris (also known as Serrhae), guarded on one of their flanks by lake Cercintis and on the other by the large mountains of the beginning of Thrace. Both armies were thus put opposite each other, evenly matched in numbers even if Antonius’s veteran legions were much superior in quality to those held by his opponents. With the Triumvirs setting up camp themselves as their instructed their rearguard to keep the supply lines open from the Adriatic, Antonius realized he had to force an early battle if he wanted to avoid a Fabian strategy that would ruin their plans. Murcus and Ahenobarbus were already making life very hard for the Caesarian troops daring to attempt a crossing of the sea, and entire cohorts were being lost in the attempt to reinforce the positions held by Antonius. What was worse, as positions were consolidated in July 42 BC Pompeius’s fleet join in the struggle, pursuing daring raids to further disrupt any attempts of a breakout by the increasingly weaker naval forces of the Triumvirs. Coordinating thus, the most brilliant victory came at the island of Sason near Apollonia, where Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus utterly destroyed the key reinforcements brought by Octavianus’s partisan Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus [3]. With Ahenobarbus being acclaimed as Imperator by his sailors once again, Antonius received the news of Domitius’s death along with the loss of at least three legions with despair. If they kept the attrition war going much longer, they were doomed.

While most of the war was confined towards Greece, Macedonia and the seas, there was another battlefield opened by Octavianus shortly before marching onto Greece. Realizing the need of opening a source of grain by an increasingly desperate Rome but without the means to crush Pompeius, Octavianus took a different route by targeting the Republican governor Quintus Cornificius, who had already backed Pompeius from Africa. Titus Sextius was sent with a force of his own into Numidia, and commanded to clean the region from enemies. Thus challenged, Cornificius took on his legates Laelius and Ventidius to prepare the defence as Sextius immediate invaded from the south, securing Hadrumentum and preparing a march on Carthage and Utica to storm the main camp of his enemy. Taking advantage on his superior numbers [4] Cornificius detached a force under Laelius to invade Numidia itself, and he and Ventidius took the field against Octavianus’s general. Sextius found initial success by setting up ambushes of his own to weaken the enemy, only to fall on one of his own as many of his own Numidian riders were bribed into changing sides. Betrayed by his scouts into a battlefield of Cornificius’s choosing, Sextius was led into an ambush and promptly defeated. Cirta would fall shortly after that, and soon the whole of Numidia as Cornificius opened up negotiations with the Kings of Mauritania, hoping to gain at least Bocchus’s neutrality in account of his earlier support for Sextus Pompeius. Having publicly embraced the cause of the Liberatores to avoid the potential troubles brought by independence, Cornificius’s victory meant the loss of the last source of grain for Rome, and thus pushed Antonius further into making his move [5].

With Calvinus dead, entire legions lost by crossing the seas and dwindling supports, Antonius exhausted his alternatives by having all the mountain passes checked while sending an additional legion south in search of supplies, yet all he did was gain some extra days as Cassius and Brutus stood still. Sick as Octavianus was still, Antonius’s strategy called for drawing out both generals to fight for separate, with the understanding that Antonius would ambush Cassius and take advantage of greater discipline on his ranks to crush him, whereas Agrippa and Octavianus’s legates would keep Brutus contained [6]. Trying to provoke combat with a series of cavalry raids and finally by trying to outflank Cassius with Rhescus’s help, Antonius was able to draw his opponent out and launch his expected assault to break the ranks of the Liberatores. Agrippa soon followed suit by covering Antonius’s flanks, prompting Brutus to send his own army while keeping Amyntas, Rhescuporis and Cicero Minor away with the cavalry. Antonius’s initial assault was very successful, cutting through Cassius lines and forcing the enemy to retire to an improvised line of defense after another. With both army lines extended and Cassius in trouble, Brutus commanded his own cavalry to take a long detour and outflank Antonius’s in full knowledge of the time it would take. The first battle of Siris began on the early afternoon of August 29th, lasted hours as the lines moved slowly, unnecessary carnage replacing swift movements. In the end, Antonius’s attacks began to falter as Cassius was able to defend his camp from collapse, giving enough time to Cicero Minor and the allied cavalry to cut through the flank of the Triumvir. Antonius had put himself far inside his own formation to coordinate the push forward, and without enough time to pull back and reorganize his formation he chose to make a stand to contain the cavalry. Now famous for its sheer bravery against the odds, Marcus Antonius’s last stand would end as the colossus was killed by a barrage of arrows from some of the Galatian mounted archers, signaling the collapse of his army. Recognizing the danger Agrippa, Carrinas and Flaccus did their best to disengage Brutus to avoid encirclement, eventually withdrawing to temporarily end the battle despite the losses suffered. With Cassius’s army having sustained heavy casualties and the arrival of the night, the Liberatores had to end the battle for the day. Having fought for hours, the first battle of Siris saw some ten thousand losses combined with the Liberatores, yet more than twenty five thousand within the Triumvirs as Antonius’s army all but disintegrated along with the Triumvir and half his legates, including Marcius Censorinus and Statilius Taurus. Despite the objections of Cassius and Cicero, Brutus insisted on a public funeral for Marcus Antonius that night as his body was retrieved, covering him with his cape and hailing him not only for his brave death, but for his skill at battle [7].

Octavianus despaired as the news of the loss of his colleague was relayed to him, knowing their chances of victory were much smaller. Had they been in a defensive position similar to the one Brutus and Cassius held waiting might have been a choice, but short on supplies and with the army damaged, all he could do was plan a second stand the next day or attempt a night retreat despite the exhaustion. Not feeling well enough to withstand the journey and learning of how tired the men were, Octavianus chose to take his chances and stand in battle the next day. What would be known as the second battle of Siris (to separate from the earlier day due to the significance of Antonius’s death) happened on August 30th, a battle as long and bloody as Munda was for Caesar and Pompeius the Younger. Matched against the twin armies of the Liberatores Octavianus took the field to command despite his weakening illness, putting Agrippa and Antonius’s legates against Cassius as the rest of his men fought Brutus, both armies locking in a stalemate as the Triumvirate army refused to yield the ground and lose the battle. Yet for all of Agrippa’s efforts, the difference in numbers and morale was too much to bear, Antonius’s heroic death having disheartened many of the veterans that relied on his skill [8]. It turned into a bloody rout, as the Triumvir camp was taken and the cavalry was swift in pursuing the survivors on their attempts to escape. It was so that several legates perished in battle, like Barbatius Philippus, Decidius Saxa, Prince Rhescus of the Thracians and Agrippa himself, who charged against the enemy as he was surrounded and the battle lost. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the man who would be Caesar’s heir, would take his own life by falling on his sword to avoid being captured, reportedly expressing that he was off to meet his father the god, Divus Julius [9].

Having won the battle and with it virtually the entire war, Brutus, Cassius, Cicero and the Liberatores present followed their own victory with celebration, two of the three Triumvirs and their best legions finished. Some mourning was in order due to the sheer loss of veterans, but for the poet Horace, officer of Brutus, “Siris was the place where the Republic came back to life”. Having captured a few surviving legates, the Liberatores agreed that Lucius Gellius Publicola and Gaius Carrinas should be put to death, the first for having deserted their cause by trying to have Brutus killed, the second for being Consul during the horrible proscriptions. Yet by intervention of Brutus, Hortensius and Livius Drusus the lives of Norbanus Flaccus and Cocceius Nerva were spared, and several soldiers who decided to join the cause of the Republic enrolled as well in the legions to repair some of the damage sustained. Leaving Hortensius as their new governor for Macedonia and Achaea and in charge of three legions to keep the peace, Brutus and Cassius took their fifteen or so remaining legions into Epirus, expecting to reach Apollonia as soon as they could. Deciding against an immediate campaign against Publius Vatinius and his legion in Illyria, transport was arranged with the fleets of Murcus, Turulius and the celebrated Ahenobarbus, allowing the Liberatores to land in Brundisium by mid-October. Dispatches were sent not only across the East, but also to Cornificius and especially to Sextus Pompeius to proclaim the victory of the cause of the Liberatores and what was expected to be the demise of the Triumvirate.

Having ruled Rome for most of the year, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus raced South with his own army, a date with destiny staring at him.

Notes on Part VI:

[1] Unlike OTL, Cassius’s fleets take longer to be ready due to the detour in Egypt, leaving Ahenobarbus insufficient ships despite his skill. He still inflicts heavy casualties, but unlike OTL Antonius succeeds in his first attempt to cross his army.
[2] OTL.
[3] A much worse version of Ahenobarbus’s OTL battle with Calvinus, as the Liberatore fleet is even larger and now supported by Pompeius’s fleets.
[4] In OTL Cornificius had sent men to Sextus Pompeius, probably weakening his position. In TTL, Quintus Cicero persuaded Pompeius to advice Cornificius into increasing his defenses, and thus the Governor has a better standing position.
[5] In OTL Cornificius initially won against Sextius, only to lose a few weeks later to a well-organized counterattack. Now proscribed by the Triumvirs yet still a victor, he would most certainly pledge to Brutus and Cassius now.
[6] Similar to the Battle of Philippi due to the circumstances being familiar, but butterflies ensure a very different battle is fought.
[7] Sorry, I couldn’t resist having Brutus grant Antony honors as the Triumvir did with him after Philippi. Cicero and Cassius might hate Antony with reason, but Brutus’s dignity would have probably called for honors for some like Antony. Had it been Octavianus though… it would have been a very different story.
[8] Probably worse than what happened to the Liberatores after Cassius’s death. Brutus at least had proved to be an average general with his campaigns in Asia, whereas Octavianus had never really won a battle despite his participation on Mutina.
[9] He never really was in a position in which he should surrender despite the many dangers of his later life, but I think Octavianus would take his own life rather to see what Cassius would do with him. They can’t let him live anyway, so…

 

[LumineVonReuental]

(BTW the AUC times for 43 and 42 BC are 711 and 712 AUC)

That's a curious mistake on my behalf... thanks for letting me know!

It seems that the Caesarians are loosing ground, by just a few minor changes to the OTL. Well done, thats why we call it the butterfly effect: small trigger, big consequences.

I am just afraid, that Caesars Murderer winning the war, does not mean, that the republic is really defended. This is a fully different beast and needs probably way more chapters, than we got so far. Actually the butterfly effect works very well in military affairs, where you fight armies. It is much more of a challenge in politics, where you fight structures, mindsets, cultures and societies, which are heavily resistant against many kind of changes.

Why would anyone think victory in Philippi (in this case Siris) would mean a full return to the "Republic" with no consecuences? If anything, this timeline will take a long time to be finished because, going with my current outline, Book One is about the war between Liberatores and Triumvirs, Book Two deals with its political aftermath and the changes some of the Liberatores would try to bring to Rome and the political system, and Book Three, would (likely) deal with consecuences across the Roman world and the ongoing political struggle.

Anyway, one update left for Book One to be finished!

 

[Grouchio]

Can I draw Rhescuporis, Arsinoe and Antiochus of Commagene?