Scipuar ( el, Σκιποῦαρ, ) was a commander of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) 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 Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...

in the final stages of the Gothic War against the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

mentions Scipuar along with

Gibal Gibal ( el, Γίβαλ, ) was a commander of the Ostrogoths in the final stages of the Gothic War against the Eastern Roman Empire. Procopius mentions Gibal along with Indulf (Gundulf) and Scipuar as "the most notable among the Goths" under Totil ...

and

Indulf Ildulb mac Causantín, anglicised as Indulf or Indulph, nicknamed An Ionsaighthigh, "the Aggressor" (died 962) was king of Alba from 954 to 962. He was the son of Constantine II; his mother may have been a daughter of Earl Eadulf I of Bernicia, ...

(Gundulf) as "the most notable among the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

." 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, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

and ordered to capture

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

Picenum Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...

. 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 Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. , Osimo had a total population of 35,037 ...

, 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 ( el, Ἄσβαδος; 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" acco ...

, 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