As the Roman Empire was falling apart, Palermo fell under the control of several Germanic tribes; first were the Vandals in 440 AD under the rule of their king Geiseric. The Vandals had already invaded other parts of western Europe establishing themselves as a significant force.[10] However, they soon lost these newly acquired possessions to another East Germanic tribe in the form of the Goths.[10] The Ostrogothic conquest under Theodoric the Great began in 488; although the Goths were Germanic, Theodoric sought to revive Roman culture and government instead.[11] The Gothic War took place between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. Sicily was the first part of Italy to be taken under general Belisarius who was commissioned by Eastern Emperor Justinian I who solidified his rule in the following years.After the Byzantines were betrayed by admiral Euphemius, who fled to Tunisia and begged the Aghlabid leader Ziyadat Allah to help him there was a Muslim conquest of Sicily, putting in place the Emirate of Sicily.[14] The Arab rulers allowed the natives freedom of religion on the condition that they paid a tax. Although their rule was short in time, it was then that Palermo displaced Syracuse as the prime city of Sicily; it was said to have competed with Córdoba and Cairo in terms of importance and splendor.[15] The Arabs also introduced many agricultural items which remain a mainstay of Sicilian cuisine.[10] After dynasty related quarrels however, there was a Christian reconquest in the form of the Normans from the Duchy of Normandy, descendants of the Vikings.
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