WI:Liberatores Take Over The Republic

This would mean the long-term survival of the Republic but perhaps not so much of Rome itself. Two PODs to achieve this are that Antony is also killed or that the Liberatores win at Philipii. What I have suggested are merely suggestions. What are your opinions?
 
Brutus imo was an idealist who really did want to keep the republic. Cassius I'm not too sure about. The republic likely limps on until someone else finishes it off later.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
If the former POD, Cicero is still alive. If the latter, he's dead. This would make a difference, methinks.
 
Cicero was certainly one of the most senior consulars, but neither Cassius nor Brutus were willing to be puppeteered by him. Additionally, Lepidus, Octavian, Ahenobarbus and Sextus Pompey would be around to demand consulates, proconsulates, legions and vast provincia.
 
Cicero was certainly one of the most senior consulars, but neither Cassius nor Brutus were willing to be puppeteered by him. Additionally, Lepidus, Octavian, Ahenobarbus and Sextus Pompey would be around to demand consulates, proconsulates, legions and vast provincia.

Well if the Liberatores win at Philippi, Octavian's a dead man. Lepidus, depending on his next move, might also be a dead man.
 
Well if the Liberatores win at Philippi, Octavian's a dead man. Lepidus, depending on his next move, might also be a dead man.

Lepidus was brother-in-law of both Brutus and Cassius. Antony's death would free him from being bound to him and allow him to throw all his authority and prestige as a surviving Caesarian leader (leader but not one capable of heading a faction of his own) behind the Liberatores. Or perhaps he might act to intermediate between Octavian and Senate with the Liberatores.

Octavian would still have dictatorial powers sanctioned by the Senate and provinces and legions at his back to provide him enough chips with which to barter with the Liberatores. For one, he could reconcile with cousin Sextus, legitimize the latter's position and take down the Liberatores in a year or two's time.
 
Lepidus was brother-in-law of both Brutus and Cassius. Antony's death would free him from being bound to him and allow him to throw all his authority and prestige as a surviving Caesarian leader (leader but not one capable of heading a faction of his own) behind the Liberatores. Or perhaps he might act to intermediate between Octavian and Senate with the Liberatores.

Octavian would still have dictatorial powers sanctioned by the Senate and provinces and legions at his back to provide him enough chips with which to barter with the Liberatores. For one, he could reconcile with cousin Sextus, legitimize the latter's position and take down the Liberatores in a year or two's time.

I don't see Octavian surviving Philippi if he loses. He was very nearly killed in his tent OTL but when they reached the tent he had hid in the marshlands. If they lose at Philippi, I think both Octavian and Antony are gonna die at the battle or shortly afterward. Philippi was a winner take all battle imo.

As for Lepidus, I'll concede there.
 

RousseauX

Donor
This would mean the long-term survival of the Republic but perhaps not so much of Rome itself. Two PODs to achieve this are that Antony is also killed or that the Liberatores win at Philipii. What I have suggested are merely suggestions. What are your opinions?
On the long run the Republic is dead anyway.

You have to keep in mind that Caesar was merely the latest in the long line of populist heroes with autocratic tendencies, going back all the way to Tiberius Gracchus. It's just that the "liberatores" (the conservatives) basically succeeded in killing/defeating every previous iteration of populist heroes before they accumulated too much power (the Gracchus brothers, Drusus etc, Marius is kinda an exception but they sort of restored the status quo after him).

So basically the underlying problem of the Republic are still all there, if the Liberatores won I suspect the situation would have looked like the aftermath of the Sulla/Marian civil war, except this time there is no strongman (unless you have a specific liberatore in mind) to enforce some sort of pro-optimate status quo and with a civil war that was a lot worse than the Marian-Sulla one. So basically they just kicked the fall of the Republic down the road one generation (or maybe even less), except the probability of the Republic staying alive in the next round of power struggle is even less than this time.
 
If Mark Antony die at the same time of Caesar then Octavian will not have any possibility to affirm himself because was Mark Antony who sobilled Rome's population against the Liberatores and without him likely Lepidus will support his brothers-in-law and Cicero also (and without Antony he will have not any need of young Octavian). Ahenobarbus also was always (being Cato's nephew) one of the Optimates (only after Philippi he left the Republican side for Antony and only befoire Actium left Antony for Octavian) and Sextus Pompey at the time was an allied of the republican faction.

And Cicero himself will not desire effective power (with none will give him, anyway) but only appreciation and a counsellor role...
 
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