Editing Dionysius I of Syracuse (section)

== Historical significance and legacy ==
{{Anchor|Historical Significance}}
Dionysius was one of the major figures in Greek and European history. He was a champion of the struggle between the Greeks and [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]] for Sicily, and was the first to bring the war into the enemy's territory. He transformed Syracuse into the most powerful city in the Greek world, and made it the seat of an empire stretching from Sicily across to Italy. It is said that Dionysius foreshadowed the accomplishments of [[Alexander the Great]] and beyond him of [[Augustus]].{{cn|date=July 2024}} He also foreshadowed these later rulers in being one of the first Greek rulers to be given divine honors during his lifetime, and he made innovations in military technique, such as siege engines, which became a standard feature of warfare under Alexander the Great and later generals.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great|last1=Bury|first1=J. B.|last2=Meiggs|first2=Russell|publisher=Macmillan|year=1956|edition=3|location=London|pages=664–665}}</ref>

It has been theorized that [[Brennus (4th century BC)|Brennus]] was working in concert with Dionysius, who sought to control all of Sicily. Rome had strong allegiances with [[Messana]], a small city state in north east Sicily, which Dionysius wanted to control. Rome's army being pinned down by Brennus' efforts would have assisted Dionysius's campaign.<ref name="Duncan2016">{{cite book|last=Duncan|first=Mike|editor=Peter D. Campbell|title=The History of Rome: The Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZSzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT125|date=4 December 2016|publisher=Herodotus Press|isbn=978-0-473-36101-3|page=125}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>