Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/560

 544 PANORMUS. dominion in tlie island. (Polyb. i. 38.) Thus, it is mentioned in the war of n. c. 406 as one of their principal naval stations (Diod. xiii. 88); and again in B. c. 397 it was one of the few cities which re- mained faithful to the Carthaginians at the time of the siege of Motya. (Id. xiv. 48.) In b. C. 383 it is again noticed as the head-quarters of the Cartha- ginians in the island (Id. xv. 17); and it is certain that it was never taken, either by Dionysius or by the still more powerful Agathocles. But in b. c. 276, Pyrrhus, after having subdued all the other cities in Sicily held by the Carthaginians, except Lilybaeum and Panormus, attacked and made him- self master of the latter city also. (Id. xxii. 10. p. 498.) It, however, soon fell again into the hands of the Carthaginians, who held it at the outbreak of the First Punic War, b. c. 264. It was at this time the most important city of their dominions in the island, and generally made the head-quarters botli of their armies and fleets ; but was nevertheless taken with but little difficulty by the Pioman consuls Atilius Citlatinus and Cn. Cornelius Scipio in b. c. 254. (Poiyb. i. 21, 24, 38; Zonar. viii. 14; Diod. xxiii. 18 p. 505.) After this it became one of the prin- cipal naval stations of the Romans throughout the remainder of the war, and for the same reason be- came a point of the utmost import.ince for their stra- tegic operations. (Diod. xxiii. 19, 21, xxiv. 1 ; Polyb. i. 39, 55, &c.) It was immediately under the walls of Panormus that the Carthaginians under Hasdrubal were defeated by L. Caecilius Metellus in b. c. 250, in one of the most decisive battles of the whole war. (Polyb. i. 40; Zonar. viii. 14; Oros. iv. 9.) It was liere also that ihe Romans had to maintain a long- continued struggle with Hamilcar Barca, who had seized on the remarkable isolated mountain called Ercta, forming a kind of natural fortress only about a mile and a half from Panormus [Ei'.cta], and succeeded in maintaining himself there for the space of three years, notwithstanding all the eftbrts of the Romans to dislodge him. They were in consequence compelled to maintain an intrenched camp in front of Panormus, at a distance of only five stadia from the foot of the mountain, throughout this protracted contest. (Polyb. i. 56, 57.) After the Roman conquest of Sicily, Panormus became a municipal town, but enjoyed a privileged conc^ition, retaining its nominal freedom, and immu- nity from the ordinary burdens imposed on other towns of the province. (Cic. Verr. iii. 6.) It was in consequence a flourishing and populous town, and the place where the courts of law were held for the whole surrounding district. (Id. ib. ii. 26, v. 7.) Cicero notices it at this time as one of the principal maritime and commercial cities of the island, (fb. V. 27.) In the settlement of the affairs of Sicily which se(!ms to have followed the war with Sextus Pompeius, Panormus lost its liberty, but received a Roman colony (Strab. vi. p. 272), whence we find it bearing in inscriptions the title of " Colonia Au- gusta Panormitanorum." It would seem from Dion Cassius that it received this colony in b. c. 20; and coins, as well as the testimony of Strabo, prove in- contestably that it becaine a colony under Augustus. It is strange, therefore, that Pliny, who notices all the other colonies founded by that emperor in Sicily, has omitted all mention of Panormus as such, and ranks it merely a.s an ordinary municipal town. (Plln. iii. 8. s. 14; Dion Cass. liv. 7; Eckhel, vol. i. p. 232 ; Orell. Jnscr. 948, 3760.) It subse- quently received an accession of military colonists PANORIMUS, under Vespasian, and again under Hadrian. (^Lib. Colon, p. 211; Zumpt, de Colon, p. 410.) Nu- merous inscriptions prove that it continued to be a flourishing provincial town throughout the period of the Roman empire ; and its name is repeatedly mentioned in the Itineraries {Itln. Ant. pp. 91, 97; Tab. Pent; Castell. Inscr. Sicil. pp. 26, 27, &c.); but it is certain that it did not attain in ancient times to the predominant position which it now en- joys. It fell into the hands of the Goths, together with the rest of Sicily, and was the last city of the island that was wrested from them by Belisarius in A.D. 535. (Procop. B.C. i. 5, 8.) After this it continued subject to the Byzantine empire till 835, when it was taken by the Saracens, who se- lected it as the capital of their dominions in the island. It retained this position under the Norman kings, and is still the capital of Sicily, and by far the most populous city in the island, containing above 160,000 inhabitants. The situation of Palermo almost vies in beauty with that of Naples. Its beautiful bay affords an excellent roadstead, from whence it doubtless de- rived its name; and the inner or proper harbour, though not large, is well sheltered and secure. The ancient city pi'obably occupied the site immediately around the port, but there are no means of tracing its topography, as the ground is peri'ectly level, without any natural features, and all ancient remains have disappeared, or are covered by modern buildings. We learn that it consisted of an outer and inner city; the former, as might be supposed, being the more recent of the two, and thence called the New City (j) via TroAts). Each had its separate en- closure of walls, so that when the outer city was taken by the Romans, the inner was still able for some time to withstand their eff^orts. (Polyb. i. 38; Diod. xxiii. 18.) The only ancient remains now visible at PaJenno are some slight vestiges of an amphitheatre near the Royal Palace; but numerous inscriptions, as well as fragments of sculpture and other objects of antiquity, have been discovered on the site, and are preserved in the museum at Pa- lermo. The coins of Panormus are numerous : the more ancient ones have Punic inscriptions, and belong to the period when the city was subject to the Cartha- ginians, but the beauty of their workmanship shows the unequivocal influence of Greek art. The later ones (struck after the Roman conquest, but while the city still enjoyed nominal freedom) have the legend in Greek letters nANOPMITAN. Still later are those of the Roman colony, with Latin legends. On these, as well as in inscriptions, the name is fre- quently written Panhormitanorum ; and this ortho- graphy, which is found also in the best MSS. of Cicero, seems to have been the usual one in Roman times. (Eckhel, vol. i. p. 232; Zumpt, ad Cic. Verr. ii. 26.) [E. H. B.] oom ov PANomius.