48 BC-44 BC: The Page Turns (Cupiditate Regni Adductus)

This is part two of the Cupiditate Regni Adductus timeline.

The Mediterranean in 48 BC, right before POD 2. Red-Area under control of Caesar. Salmon-Dependencies of Caesar (Eastern ,, the , , , and .)

Turquoise-Areas under Pompeian forces. Lime-Western Mauritania, an ally of Pompey.

Light Blue- Dark Green-Dacia Green-Parthia Purple- Brown-

Dark Blue-Armenia (client of Parthia) Yellow- White-Tribes or other small states

48 BC
September: Caesar and are killed in Alexandria. and become co-Pharaohs of Egypt, with,  and  as generals and advisors.

Ganymedes and Achillas cut the water supplies of Alexandria. The Egyptian fleet successfully prevents the thirteenth legion and from relieving the city. In early October, the remaining Caesarian forces surrender.

Caesar's death sends shock waves through the Roman world. assumed de facto control of Caesar's armies, due to being only fifteen. However, four veteran legions encamped near Rome revolt over pay, led by a centurion named. All attempts at negotiation fail, and the legionnaires plunder Latium and Campania. Meanwhile, the Pompeians take the opportunity to attack western Mauritana, under King and a Caesarian adventurer,. The Caesarians are defeated by the Numidian general and Pompeian forces at Tigni.

Upon hearing of Caesar's death, Mithridates III immediately orders to begin an invasion of Syria. They succeed in conquering Syria and the Roman client states around it. Mithridates wisely remembers the Parthian allowance of religious freedom in Judea.

47 BC
At the beginning of the year, the situation in the Western Mediterranean looks as such: As Caesar's fleet still holds slight superiority, the twelve Pompeian legions in Africa, under, , ,, and , as well as three in , under  and , must wait until a fleet is built. Mark Antony, now with five legions and Pergamene troops, marches south to confront Valens.

The East
The Parthian army continues its campaign of conquest. The Parthians destroy the power of in a three day campaign, culminating in the  and Surena's remark, "We Rode. They Saw. They Fled." Though the Pontic King,, escaped, one of his advisors, , killed him, and gave the remaining troops to the Parthians. Mithridates rewarded him with the title of Satrap. Rome's eastern provinces prove vulnerable, due to Antony stripping them of troops, and Surena's troops only stop at the sea. The Parthians then turn south, and quickly annihilate Natbea. The Egyptian army meets the Parthian in the. The Ptolemaic is all but destroyed in an hour. Three weeks later, Mithridates and Surena seize Alexandria. The Meroens attempt to seize southern Egypt, but the Parthians force them back. Their conquest is not a priority for Mithridates, so a peace treaty is signed with them. The Egyptian leaders commit suicide after their defeats, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty. The Parthians spend the rest of the year building a navy. However, they do conquer and, in the Eastern Arab peninsula. Mithridates orders that hoplite forces be raised, using surviving Pontic officers as teachers.

The West
Antony's men march south from Rome and confront Valens outside the small town of Aquae Salviae. Valen's veterans carve through Antony's green troops, but Antony saves his army by using the Pergamene troops and his cavalry to outflank Valens. When night falls, Antony retreats behind the walls of Rome. Valens beseiges the city, but has no engines to demolish the walls. The seige proceeds for a month, after which Valen's men, (now swelled by escaped and freed slaves) begin to wish easier targets. Meanwhile, in the, the Pompeian fleet, under Sextus, defeats the Caesarian, under. The fifteen Pompeian legions then land in southern. In, now stripped of troops, the locals rise up and expel the few Roman garrisons left. News of the Pompeian landings destroys the morale of Antony's army. Most either lay down their arms and go home or join Valens. Watching their men open the gates of Rome to Valens, Antony and Octavian commit suicide. Mithridates of Pergamon negotiates safe passage for his troops to. Valens attempts to keep his troops orderly, but they sack Rome and devolve into undisciplined bands, most looting their way north. The Pompeians land against virtually no resistance and drive out Valens' brigands and the Gauls.

46 BC
The Parthians have finished building their navy and ferry their army to, which they seize. Mithridates of Pergamon organizes the Greeks into the, mainly anti-Parthian, but with significant anti-Roman elements. of Dacia signs a treaty with Parthia and launches raids into Thrace. The Hellenic forces meet Burebista at Nicopolis and defeat the Dacians, who withdraw northward. However, the Hellenic army is destroyed and Mithridates of Pergamon killed when they face the Parthians at Plotinopolis. In Rome,, due to his reputation of beating the Parthians earlier, and Sextus Pompey are elected consuls for the year, also representing the more and less radical republicans, respectively. Sextus takes charge of the fleet and Cassius takes command of the army, which lands in Epirus. He quickly forces the Greeks into surrender. Meanwhile, Surena seizes Macedonia, and advances into northern Thessaly. Cassius marches north to engage. He emplaces his army in a long defensive line at Olooson, centered around an infantry line covered by Numidians, and large numbers of caltrops. Surena's initial attacks are repulsed on the first day, but Cassius has expended most of his caltrops. On the second day, Surena sends in his infantry to pin the Roman infantry into place and then retreat, allowing his cataphracts to get close without being hindered by the caltrops. However, Cassius manages to retreat in good order. When asked what defeated him, he said, "Lack of Caltrops." He withdraws south, towards Boetia. He establishes a defensive line at Chaeronea, complete with onagri and ballistae equipped to fire caltrops, and waits. Surena attacks for three days and finds no success. Surena chooses to exploit the Parthian's superior mobility and marches around Cassius' line, forcing him to retreat south, across Lake Copais. The two armies then race to Thebes. The Parthians surround the city, but in a bloody and desperate battle, Cassius' forces break through to the city. Both armies are exhausted. However, Cassius launches a surprise attack in the middle of the night on the Parthian camps, and gains a significant victory. The Parthians retreat northward. Meanwhile, the Parthians land and seize Euboea. A stalemate takes hold. The Parthians cannot break Cassius' defensive lines, but the Romans can't close with the fast-moving Parthians. Near the end of the year, a peace treaty is signed between the two powers. In Greece, the Parthians keep southern Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, and all the Greek isles. The Parthians keep all their other conquests.

45 BC
Rome and Parthia both wish to take all of Greece for themselves, but choose to wait before confronting the the other great power. In Rome, and Gnaeus Pompey are elected consuls. In the east, most Parthian troops face Rome, but early in the year, Parthia conquers, the eastern OTL Arabian peninsula. In Rome, serious dispute begins between the, more devoted to the republic, led by Cato, , , and Cassius, and the Populares, led by the generals, over the issue of which parts of the Marian reforms, if any, should be repealed in order to prevent another Caesar. The Senate overwhelmingly supports the Liberators, but are blocked by the Plebian Tribunes.