Ascum () was a general of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, active early in the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(r. 527–565). He was in command of the

Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum (; , also termed simply the prefecture of Illyricum) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Later Roman Empire, Late Roman Empire was divided. The administrative centre of the prefecture wa ...

. His name is reported by John Malalas. Both Theophanes the Confessor and

George Kedrenos George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos (, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the time from the biblical account of cre ...

render his name "Ακούμ" (Acum).Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136

Biography

John Malalas writes that Ascum was a Hun and a godson of

. Some modern historians consider it possible that the "Huns" of the primary sources were actually

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136

Denis Sinor Denis Sinor (born Dénes Zsinór, April 17, 1916 in Kolozsvár (Austria-Hungary, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) – January 12, 2011 in Bloomington, Indiana) was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Central Asian Studies at the Department of C ...

and Michael Withby described Ascum as a Hun, as did Hyun Jin Kim, who specifies he was a Caucasian Hunnic sub-king.

Patrick Amory Patrick Amory (born 1965) is a historian and an executive in the recorded music industry. Early life Patrick Amory was born in New York City on July 10, 1965, to literary parents. His father, the late Hugh Amory, was noted as the most "rigorous ...

considers the name Ascum to be Germanic in origin, though with the Huns ethnicity and etymology rarely go hand in hand (the name of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

himself is considered to be of Germanic origin). Ascum first appears in 528, already holding the title of stratelates of Illyricum (). His title in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

would be

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

per Illyricum.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136 In 528, Ascum joined forces with Constantiolus and Godilas against an invasion force of Huns/Bulgars. Having passed through

Scythia Scythia (, ) or Scythica (, ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic steppe. It was inhabited by Scythians, an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people. Etymology The names ...

( Scythia Minor) and

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

( Moesia Secunda), the invaders were at the time raiding

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 748 The

Byzantine army The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct continuation of the East Roman army, Eastern Roman army, shaping and developing itself on the legac ...

defeated one group of invaders.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136 Shortly after their victory, the Byzantine forces were ambushed and routed by a second group of invaders. Both Ascum and Constantiolus were captured in this battle. While Constantiolus was ransomed back to the Byzantines, Ascum "was carried off into captivity". He is not mentioned again and his eventual fate is unknown.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 136

References

Sources

* * {{Huns Generals of Justinian I Huns Magistri militum Bulgars Byzantine prisoners of war Byzantine people of Hunnic descent