Lucius Cornelius Cinna
In 85 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly, making Caesar the head of the family at the age of 16. His coming of age coincided with a civil war between his uncle Gaius Marius and his rival Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Both sides carried out bloody purges of their political opponents whenever they were in the ascendancy. Marius and his ally Lucius Cornelius Cinna were in control of the city when Caesar was nominated as the new (high priest of Jupiter), and he was married to Cinna's daughter Cornelia.