Caesar's early life began from 81 to 59 BCE. After Caesar's father died he somewhat followed some footsteps of him like "serving Asia Minor as a personal staff of Marcus Minucius Thermus, who was praetor." When Caesar was traveling back home Caesar got captured by Cilician pirates and was forced to pay ransom of 20 talents. Even though Caesar did what they wanted he warned them that he would be back for them and take revenge for what they had done. After he was released he had help from others to return back to the Cilician pirates and he had taken his revenge by cut their throats to lessen their suffering,but the damage towards them was just a lesson since they had treated him well. Caesar continued returning home, yet he was interrupted, however, when Mithridates of Pontus attacked Asia Minor for the second time in 74, Caesar had a small army which he raised to help defend the towns. The Roman commander Lucullus, who was the attacker had time to manage an army and attack Mithridates in Pontus. After the attack Caesar continued to return to Rome in 73. A career as a general and a politician had started. Caesar, however started to elect himself for positions yet after some events his positions got changed during this time. "In 68, he was quaestor and served in Baetica, a province in Hispania which is roughly equivalent to modern Andalusia. After the events of Hispania, Caesar was elected aedile in 65 which he tried to make the Roman nob remember his name, which he would also control the votes of the People's Assembly. Caesar on the other hand was accused of a plot of murder toward the consuls, but the leader of the plot was Catilina who was able to continue his career as a social reformer. Two years after Caesar had himself elected pontifex maximus or high priest. In this position Caesar had proposed a moderate line against the followers of Catilina, who had made a second attempt to seize power."