A skilled and popular leader of the Romans, Julius Caesar transformed what became known as the Roman Empire, by greatly expanding its reach and establishing its system.While he was from a rich family, he was far from rich. When Caesar was 16 his father, Gaius Caesar, died. He remained close to his mother, Aurelia.At around the time of his father's death, Caesar made an effort to side with the country's nobility. His marriage to Cornelia, the daughter of a noble, had brought the anger of Rome's dictator, Sulla, who ordered the young Roman to divorce his wife or risk losing his property. Caesar refused and found escape in the military, serving first in the province of Asia and then in Cilicia. Following the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome to begin his career in politics as a prosecuting advocate. He relocated temporarily to Rhodes to study philosophy, but during his travels there was kidnapped by pirates. In a daring display of his negotiation skills,he convinced the pirates to raise his ransom. He then organized a naval force to attack them. The pirates were captured and executed. When Caesar returned to Rome he began to work with Pompey, a former lieutenant under Sully, who'd switched sides following the dictator's death.Through a series of events, Caesar eventually went to war against Pompey, leading troops across the river Rubicon.But Pompey and his troops were no a match for Caesar and his army. Soon Caesar had pushed his enemies out of Italy and pursued Pompey into Egypt, where he was eventually killed. There, Caesar had a romance with Cleopatra, with whom he had a son, Caesarion.