Panormus
Panormus, located in northwestern Sicily, was founded by the Phoenicians in the seventh century BC and became a significant administrative, military, and naval hub for Carthage. Its name, derived from Greek meaning "harbor for all," reflects its strategic position next to a fine harbor and fertile land, the Conca d'Oro. Throughout its history, Panormus experienced various cultural influences, as evidenced by the presence of Greek inscriptions on local coins. After being occupied by the Romans during the First Punic War, it became one of five "free and immune" communities in Sicily, flourishing in maritime trade. Under Roman rule, Panormus was granted Latin rights and later full citizenship, contributing to its economic and civic development. The city faced challenges, including a siege by Gaiseric the Vandal in 440, and eventually fell into the hands of Odoacer in 477. The urban layout of Panormus consisted of an Old City and a New City, with remnants of its ancient walls and a large necropolis that showcases a rich and diverse archaeological heritage.
Panormus
Panormos (Palermo)
A coastal city in northwestern Sicily, founded by the Phoenicians in the seventh century BC, and later the principal administrative, military and naval base of the Carthaginian zone in the west of the island. The position of Panormus, adjoining a fine harbor and fertile hinterland (the Conca d'Oro), explains why, according to Polybius, it was the most important city of Carthage's overseas dominions. The Greek character of its name, Pan-Hormos (`harbor for all’), suggests—and finds of Corinthian vases confirm—early contact with Greek settlements, and local coins, from the fifth century onward, bear Greek as well as Punic inscriptions.
Apart from a short-lived occupation by King Pyrrhus of Epirus (276), the city remained in the hands of Carthage until the First Punic War, when it was occupied by the Romans (254), and Carthaginian efforts to get it back failed (250, 247–244). Panormus subsequently became one of the five `free and immune’ communities of the Roman province of Sicily, and maintained a flourishing maritime trade. After Caesar had granted the Sicilians Latin rights (conferring Roman franchise on the principal city officials), Antony, after Caesar's death (44), proposed to confer full Roman citizenship on Panormus, which issued a bronze coinage as a municipium, displaying the caps of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) and a dolphin (44/43). From the same mint also (as overstrikings demonstrate) come pieces with the inscription (like similar coins issued at Syracuse) `Of the Spaniards’ (HISPANORVM), evidently issued in the name of Spanish immigrants imported by Sextus Pompeius after his occupation of the island in 43/2, in defiance of the central Roman authorities. Panormus became a Roman colony under Augustus (c 20), continued to coin under Tiberius, and was recolonized by Vespasian (AD 69–79).
In 440 it underwent a siege by Gaiseric the Vandal—who had been invited to the island by Maximinus, bishop of its Arian (anti-Catholic) communities—but in 477 passed with most of the rest of the island into the hands of Odoacer (who had recently became king of Italy). The habitation center of Panormus, bounded by two inlets of the sea, was divided into an Old City to the north and a New City to the south, and enclosed by walls of which a few (repaired) stretches remain. The large necropolis has yielded material of great variety and a wide range of dates.