Hiero II, king of Syracuse from 269 to 215 BC, the long-lived ally of Rome through the First and (until his death) Second Punic Wars. His grain-tax system, the lex Hieronica, remained the legal basis of Sicilian provincial revenue and is the standing contrast to Verres's exactions (Verr. 2.3; 2.4.29; 2.5.30). The praetorian residence at Syracuse was originally his palace.