The siege of Panormus was a Byzantine siege of the Ostrogothic fortified city of Panormus (modern

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

) in late 535, during the Gothic War (535–554). A Byzantine army of 7,500–9,000 and a fleet, both under the command of general Belisarius, laid siege to the city, which refused to surrender unlike all the other Ostrogothic-held cities in Sicily. Belisarius ordered his fleet to sail into the harbor and anchor beside the wall. Small boats filled with archers were hoisted on top of the ships' masts, which surpassed the height of the parapet. The fire from the archers convinced the Ostrogoths to surrender, completing the conquest of Sicily.

Prelude

Upon the beginning of the Gothic War (535–554), a Byzantine army of 7,500–9,000 men under Belisarius, supported by a fleet, landed in Sicily and took over

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

with little trouble. He made the city his

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and moved onto

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, which also fell without a fight. Belisarius' army and fleet then advanced on Panormus.

Siege

The Ostrogoth garrison at Panormus was confident behind the protection of its walls and refused summons to surrender. Belisarius considered a land-based siege impossible and ordered his fleet to sail into the city harbor, which was right next to the walls but outside them and without Ostrogoth guards. The masts of the Byzantine ships were higher than the parapet and Belisarius ordered small boats filled with archers to be hoisted on top of the masts. The fire from above from the Byzantine archers threw the Ostrogothic garrison into panic and convinced them to surrender.

Aftermath

All of Sicily was now under Byzantine control. Belisarius made a triumphal entry to Syracuse on 31 December 535, the last day of his consulship.

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panormus, Siege of (535) 530s conflicts Military history of Sicily Panormus 535 Panormus 535 Battles in Sicily Gothic War (535–554) 530s in the Byzantine Empire 535 History of Palermo