Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, ancient

Battle of Panormus

Battle of Panormus was a battle fought in 251 BC at Palermo, in what is now Italy. It was part of First Punic War, which ran from 264 BC to 241 BC. The recorded result: Roman victory. Recorded strength: 2 legions and 2 Alae (16,000–20,000 men) against 30,000; 60–142 elephants.

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Battle of Panormus (Histoire de Polybe, Volume 1)
Battle of Panormus (Histoire de Polybe, Volume 1). Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought251 BC
WherePalermo, Italy38.117N, 13.367E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRomeagainstCarthage
Casualties and lossesUnknown, but lightandHeavy; All elephants captured
Part ofFirst Punic War264 BC to 241 BC

Where it sits in First Punic War

Battle of Messana, 264 BCBattle of Agrigentum, 261 BCSiege of Mytistraton, 261 BCBattle of Mylae, 260 BCBattle of the Lipari Islands, 260 BCBattle of Sulci, 258 BCBattle of Tyndaris, 257 BCBattle of Cape Ecnomus, 256 BCBattle of Bagradas, 255 BCBattle of Adys, 255 BCSiege of Aspis, 255 BCBattle of Panormus, 251 BCSiege of Lilybaeum, 250 BCBattle of Drepana, 249 BCSiege of Drepana, 249 BCBattle of Mount Erice, 249 BCSecond Battle of Drepana, 243 BCBattle of the Aegates Islands, 241 BC264 BC241 BCBattle of Panormus, 251 BC
18 placed engagements of First Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date251 BC (year precision)
PlacePalermo, Italy
38.117N, 13.367E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength2 legions and 2 Alae (16,000–20,000 men)30,000; 60–142 elephants
Casualties and lossesUnknown, but lightHeavy; All elephants captured
Commanders
  • Lucius Caecilius Metellus (consul 251 BC)
  • Hasdrubal, son of Hanno
Battle of PanormusBattle of PanormusSiege of PalermoBattle of PalermoSiege of PanormusSiege of PalermoBattle of PalermoSiege of PalermoCataniaSiracusaMarsala100 km38.117N, 13.367E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 7 times between 254 BC and 1860.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 251 BC

Battle of Panormus is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1476126, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Panormus, revision 1370271469, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.