Syrakousai

Syrakousai is a medium-sized Greek faction located in southeastern Sicily. It is the largest faction on Sicily and tied with Kroton for being the largest Greek faction overall. Syrakousai is one of a few factions playable in multiple scenarios, being available in both the Unification of Italy sandbox and the Sicily-only sandbox.

Its bordering factions at the start of the game are the Sikeloi and Selinous in the full Italy sandbox, and the Sikeloi and Sikanoi in the Sicily-only sandbox.

Syrakousai, like all of Sicily, is an addition of The Eagle King DLC and doesn't occur in the basic version of the game.

In-game Description
"Founded on the island of Ortygia in 734 BCE by Archias, Syrakousai (also known as Syracuse) is a prosperous Greek city-state in the east of Sicily. When the lower class seized power from the descendents of the first colonists, Gelo of Gela would restore said descendents to power while seizing the throne for himself."

Starting Cities

 * Syrakousai:
 * Heloros:
 * Akrai:
 * Kamarina:
 * Gela:

Strategy
From a geographic point of view, the Sikeloi may be the best target for early expansion as annexing their territory first will lead to less elongated borders than e.g. Selinous or the Sikanoi (depending on the scenario). However, the Sikeloi do have a morale bonus which can give them the edge in an even fight, though this can be overcome by using your greater starting economy to your advantage. The exact best target for initial expansion may depend on randomized factors such as AI vs AI conquest and diplomatic events.

Syrakousai is arguably the best faction for beginners in Sicily, as it starts with a territory that is larger than its neighbours without having borders that are too elongated, and has straightforward but solid economic bonuses.

Trivia & History

 * Gela was originally not a Syracusan dependency but an independent city-state that founded colonies of its own, such as Akragas. Gela and its colonies were presumably divided between the Syrakousai and Selinous/Sikanoi factions to simplify the in-game faction roster.
 * Syrakousai became a leading power in the early 5th Century BC when its throne was claimed by the king of Gela (as referenced in the in-game description), that had already secured a large territory in Sicily which then became subsumed by Syrakousai. Now controlling most of the Greeks in Sicily, Syrakousai grew to be one of the largest cities in the world at the time, of comparable size to Athens, and the dominant power of Magna Graecia. The Syracusans also scored notable victories against the Carthaginians and Etruscans in the early 5th Century BC, halting their expansion in Sicily and Campania respectively, though Syrakousai would remain in conflict against Carthage for control over Sicily for centuries.
 * Syrakousai played a major role in the Peloponnesian War when an Athenian invasion force attempted to besiege the city during the so-called Sicilian Expedition of 415-413 BC. The Athenian force was annihilated with the assistance of Spartan reinforcements. This marked a turning point in the war as Athens lost a large amount of manpower, which caused revolts in the Aegean Sea and encouraged Athens' enemies to take action and renew hostilities.
 * The city-state reached its greatest territorial extent in the early 4th Century BC under the rule of Dionysius the Elder, controlling most of Sicily as well as Rhegion and Kroton on mainland Italy. During this period the city also founded colonies along the Adriatic Sea, such as Adria in the Po Valley and Ancona in Picenum.
 * Syrakousai's power would begin to wane due to internal struggles in the later 4th Century BC, causing Carthage to regain the initiative in the struggle for Sicily. By the 270s BC, the situation was dire enough that Syrakousai appealed to help from Pyrrhus of Epirus during his invasion of Italy. Pyrrhus was briefly king of Sicily and almost entirely drove out the Carthaginians, but retreated from Sicily after just a few years due to being deeply unpopular with the Sicilian Greeks for his authoritative behavior.
 * Rome first came into contact with Syrakousai when the Mamertines, a band of Campanian mercenaries that had rebelled and taken Messene, appealed for Roman intervention against Carthage and Syrakousai. This soon escalated into the First Punic War of 264-241 BC, in which Syrakousai allied with Rome. Rome ended up annexing the entire island of Sicily, except for Syrakousai.
 * Syrakousai initially assisted Rome in the Second Punic War of 218-203 BC, but an intervention by the anti-Roman faction of the city and subsequent breakdowns in diplomacy brought Syrakousai and Rome to war in 214 BC. The Roman siege of the city was initially frustrated by the contraptions of the famed inventor Archimedes, but Rome eventually won the siege in 212 BC, ending Syracusan independence.
 * The faction's icon depicts the Triskeles, a rotationally symmetric symbol consisting of three legs which was associated with Sicily in Hellenistic art.