Sicily had fallen in 440 to the…
December 535 CE
Sicily had fallen in 440 to the Vandals under king Geiseric, whose tribe, having relocated to Carthage, had invaded and occupied several of the islands in the Western Mediterranean.
They had soon lost these newly acquired possessions to the Ostrogoths when Theodoric the Great began the conquest of Italy and Sicily in 488.
Theodoric had sought to revive Roman culture and government and allowed freedom of religion throughout his realm.
Most of the Goths have settled in the north, forming little more than garrisons in the south.
Belisarius lands in Sicily and meets little opposition, save for the Gothic garrison of Palermo.
Laying siege to the citadel, he blockades the harbor with his ships.
On December 31, Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison and ending his consulship for the year.