Cassius Dio wrote that after the capture of Tarentum in 272 BC the Romans turned their attention to Rhegium, which had taken Croton by treachery, razed it to the ground and killed the Romans who were there. They prevented an intervention by the Mamertines (the mercenaries who had seized Messana, on the other side of the narrow Strait of Messina) whom Rhegium had expected to secure as allies, by making an agreement with them. The Romans besieged the city, but suffered from scarcity of food. Hiero II became the Tyrant of Syracuse after Pyrrhus left Italy. Since he was weary of the Carthaginians who were encroaching on Sicily, he favoured the Romans. He sent grain to the Roman troops which were besieging the city, thereby helping them to seize it. Rhegium was restored to its survivors and the rebel garrison was punished. We do not know when the siege started, but we do know that Hiero II assumed power in Syracuse in 270 BC.