Civil War Series I, Roman Civil War (49-45 BC)

[Lumine]

Optimates. Yes, hindsight would have told me of Caesar's clemency and brilliance in government, but if at the time I had to choose between the legal government of Rome (backed by Pompeius Magnus, no less) and an overambitious general invading his own homeland to avoid being charged with treason, it would have been an easy choice.

[Lumine]

Still, it ought to be remembered only a particular set of circumstances gave us the Empire as we knew it (due to just how unique Augustus was as a historical character), and even then it took decades to turn it into full-scale autocracy.

Even if the old system of the Republic had become corrupt and flawed in many ways, it was by no means dead or doomed, and I would assert it was perfectly possible for a "republican" system to last. An Optimate win doesn't produce an individual strong and popular enough to duplicate Caesar's example within that generation (Pompey was old and had proved he didn't quite had what it took to seize full control, and his sons never appeared to enjoy much popularity outside of Sextus Pompey).

As for Sulla, I've always felt Marius has to take the ultimate blame for pushing Sulla too far.

[Lumine]

You mean 52-49, right? Pompey dies in early 48 and the rest of the war is a mop-up operation against Cato and Scipio in Africa that was never seriously in doubt.

Aye, the whole Africa campaign was sort of a done deal. But what about Spain? Caesar was ridiculously close to being defeated and killed at Munda by the Pompey brothers, and had he died there he would have gone down with most of his senior staff + Octavian. You then have Antonius and Lepidus in Rome against a victorious Pompeian army in Spain, which is by no means a one-sided affair.