Siege of Panormus
| Siege of Panormus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gothic War (535–554) | |||||||||
First phase of the Gothic War campaigns | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Byzantine Empire | Ostrogothic Kingdom | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Belisarius | Unknown | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown garrison force | ||||||||
The siege of Panormus or siege of Palermo took place in late 535 AD, where the Byzantine forces captured the city controlled by the Ostrogoths. It was the first engagement of the Gothic War (535–554).
Part of the Byzantine plan to reclaim the Italian peninsula from Gothic control was to open with a sudden two-front attack, one in Dalmatia and one in Sicily. The Byzantine general Belisarius arrived in Sicily and swiftly took control of major towns due to a lack of resistance. Panormus refused to surrender because the Gothic garrison had confidence in the strength of the city's fortifications. Belisarius laid siege to the city, but did not approach by land as the defenses were strong. Instead, he ordered his fleet to sail into the harbor and anchor beside the wall. The Byzantine ships had archers hoisted on top of the ships' masts, which surpassed the height of the parapet. The Goths tried to protect the walls, but they had little protection against the archers, which led to their surrender. The fall of Palermo completed the conquest of Sicily.