Scipuar (, ) was a commander of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

in the final stages of the Gothic War against the

Eastern Roman 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

mentions Scipuar along with Gibal and Indulf (Gundulf) as "the most notable among the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

." Together with the other two he was appointed commander by

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War, recovering b ...

and ordered to capture

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name was assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum became ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organisation of Roman Italy. It is now in Marche ...

. While Gibal and Indulf assumed command of naval forces, Scipuar led the siege of the city. After Gibal and Indulf suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Sena Gallica in the fall of 551, Scipuar's army retreated from Ancona to Auximum, enabling the Byzantine commander Valerian to assume control of the city. Scipuar fought side by side with Totila at the disastrous

Battle of Taginae At the Battle of Taginae (also known as the Battle of Busta Gallorum) in June/July 552, the forces of the Byzantine Empire under Narses broke the power of the Ostrogoths in Italy, and paved the way for the temporary Byzantine reconquest of the It ...

in 552. Along with other four men, he accompanied Totila during his flight from the battlefield. A party of Roman soldiers pursued them and caught up with them, killing Totila. Scipuar managed to wound Totila's killer

Asbadus Asbadus (; 520 – died 556) was a Gepid leader fighting for the Eastern Roman Empire against the Ostrogoths in the final stages of the Gothic War. According to Procopius, Asbadus, a "young ..and especially active man" accompanied Narses to I ...

, but was wounded in turn. The Romans then gave up the pursuit and left them alone. Nothing further is known of Scipuar thereafter.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book, editor1-last=Martindale, editor1-first=John Robert, editor2-last=Jones, editor2-first=Arnold Hugh Martin, editor3-last=Morris, editor3-first=J., title=The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641, year=1992, location=Cambridge, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-0-521-20160-5, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElkwedRWCXkC 6th-century Ostrogothic people Year of birth unknown Gothic warriors People of the Gothic War (535–554) Year of death unknown Year of birth uncertain