Ober, Josiah. "Not by a Nose"
Divergence: 36 BCE
What if: Marc Anthony was able to start his campaign against the Parthians on schedule and defeat them.
Summary: Essay which argues that Anthony's success in battle, and consequent lessened need for support from Cleopatra, would have enabled him to overcome Octavian. Subsequently, Rome would have remained governed by the Senate but would become ni-polar in its cultural development, the second pole being Alexandria.
Published: In What If? 2: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been (ed. Robert Cowley), q.v.