Palermo was founded in 8th century BCE by the Phoenicians. It was a part of Cathage until it was conquered by the Romans in 254 BCE. In 440 the city came under the control of Germanic tribes, before it was reconquered by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the Gothic War in the 6th century. In 904 Sicily was captured by the Arabs and Palermo became the capital of the Emirate of Sicily. During the Christian Reconquest of the island the County of Sicily was founded, which became a kingdom under Norman rule in 1130. In 1194 the Kingdom of Sicily fell to the House of Hohenstaufen. In the following centuries the kingdom was ruled in personal unions with the Holy Roman Empire (1220–1250), the Crown of Aragon (1282–1516), the Kingdom of Spain (1516–1713), the Duchy of Savoy (1713–1720), the Habsburg Monarchy (1720–1735) and the Kingdom of Naples (1735–1816). In 1816 the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was founded with Palermo as its capital, but already in 1817 the capital was moved to Naples. In 1861 it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia to form the Kingdom of Italy.
The Palazzo dei Normanni is the oldest royal residence in Europe. It was the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman domination. Later it was used as the main seat of power for the subsequent rulers of Sicily. In the 12th and 13th century it was the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV. Today it houses the Sicilian Regional Assembly.
The Arab-Norman Palermo is since 2015 on the UNESCO World Heritge List.
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