Indeed. The trick is being cautious enough to advance through an indirect northerly route over rough terrain, rather than being dumb and letting yourself get caught in the desert. Against a skilled and cautious Roman commander, the Parthians didn't really have many options.
And perhaps the only thing that can increase Caesar's prestige at this point is recovering Crassus' Aquilae.
Who is left in control of Rome to sort out the aftermath of the assassination and make sure that no hostile power base develops? Antony seems too vital to Caesar as second in command...perhaps he engineers the consuls of 43 CE to be Lepidus and Octavian to give his grand-nephew a test at civil administration?
How do Caesar's reforms continue down the road?
Oh, and is the rise of Christianity possibly butterflied? Caesar was very tolerant of the Jews, and perhaps would have been able to prevent the power struggles emerging in Iudaea which ultimately resulted in Jesus' crucifixion...perhaps Judaism follows a more proselytizing/universalist path, with the Jews per se evolving into a semihereditary priesthood-esque institution whilst gentile proselytes--though they can convert in full--are given membership in the community as something of an evolution of the idea of ger toshav--and, crucially, not requiring circumcision? An evangelical Judaism did appeal to many people IOTL...if Caesar directly supports it, might it manage to supplant the old cults in similar way to Christianity and other mystery cults?
Alright, this is my piece on the whole subject.
Caesar reads the note given to him by the informer and is effectively forewarned of the assasination. Since he doesn’t have time to recall his bodyguards, he calls some of the men in Lepidus’ army, which is about to sail for Spain, surrounds the Senate with some of them, and enters the Senate with others. The conspirators panick, since, as we know, they hardly kept their cool, and proceed to kill themselves with their daggers. Those who didn’t do it are seized by Caesar’s men and confined somewhere, then they’re given trial where they’re sentenced with death. Caesar is merciful enough to give second chances, but he never gave third chances to any of his enemies. From there he proceeds to smooth things over with the remaining senators, reassure them that there would be no witch hunt and that everything would be fine. Considering several of the conspirators had been designated as consuls for the coming years, Caesar rearranges the list. Hirtius and Pansa were exactly the kind of Caesarian moderates Caesar needed to let things cool off while he was away, so I assume he would keep them for 43. I doubt Caesar ever meant to make Octavian consul just yet, he wanted him to be his magister equitum in the expedition against Dacia and Parthia, so I guess he would still leave with Caesar. Personally, although this is pure speculation, I believe Caesar was slowly paving the way for Octavian to eventually succeed him in what would have been an inherited position. Nicolaus of Damascus said he had access to Caesar like few others did. Caesar also made him a patrician, heir of most of his fortune and of his name, a member of the pontiff’s college and, at least nominally, his second in command for the incoming military campaign. Those are all clear hints to me of special favour granted to the youth. I also doubt Caesar would have ever changed his mind and named another successor in Octavian’s place. Antony, despite the role he had in OTL after Cesar’s assasination, was not his right hand man, he had just happened to be consul at the most convenient time. Antony was a popular guy, with a good network of clients and an overall reliable officer. But after his performance in 47 as magister equitum, I doubt Caesar ever considered entrusting him with his legacy, even if there had apparently been a reconciliation. He’d probably be sent to Macedonia and would lead campaigns in the Balkans. Lepidus was a tool, to be used when most useful, to be discarded when useless, Caesar knew it, everybody knew it, he’d go to Spain, where he was meant to go from the beginning, and stay quiet over there. As for Caesar’s exploits, I assume they’re going to go well, keeping Dacia in check, making Armenia a Roman client state and expanding the border to with Parthia to Mesopotamia, all in the best case scenario. Caesar was tolerant of Jews, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say he would, or even could, influence Hebraism in any significant way. Jews never took kindly to outsiders meddling with their business, doubt they’d let Caesar do that. He was tolerant, yes, but still a pagan nonetheless, and Jews aren’t forgetting that. Caesar would probably would do what Antony did, support Herod as king of Judea and leave things at that. As for the future, after the campaigns in Parthia? There’s really know way to know. I’ll just say what I think could have happened. Caesar was a reckless man, and despite his brilliance, not as wise a politician as Octavian would turn out to be. Plus, he was 56 in 44 BCE, I’d say he had 15-20 years on him tops, not nearly enough to lead a proper transition from a Republic where aristocrats used to compete with each other for prestige, to a Monarchy where one aristocrat is in power and the others have no chance to be. Caesar wouldn’t leave his rank, he thought Sulla was stupid for doing so, and he certainly wouldn’t bring the Republic back to what it was, he once said that “Republic” was just a word to him. Thus, things would be stable as long as he lives, presumably dying in his bed, still as dictator. When he dies though, I can see the likes of Antony and Dolabella questioning Octavian’s succession. Would Caesar arrange for things to run smoothly and seamlessly? Who knows, but my bet is that Octavian will have to fight for his position, and, eventually, he’d come on top in any case like he did in OTL. After that, he gets to shape the Roman world as he best sees fit, fixing some of Caesar’s mistakes, and making a more stable succession. Would he marry Livia? Would he have male children? Would he do things exactly as he did in OTL? Those aren’t questions that can be answered, but imo, the Roman Empire wouldn’t be that much different, except Caesar, and not Augustus, would be recognized as its founder.