caesar departed from egypt in about april 47 bc. the reason for his departure was said to be that pharnaces ii of pontus, son of mithridates the great, was stirring up trouble for rome in anatolia and needed to be confronted. it is possible, however, that caesar, married to the prominent roman woman calpurnia, wanted to avoid being seen together with cleopatra when she bore him their son. he left three legions in egypt, later increased to four, under the command of the freedman rufio, to secure cleopatra's tenuous position but also perhaps to keep her activities in check.