Bede writes that after the death of King Cenwalh in 672: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years".
[3] Another source claims that Æscwine's father, Cenfus (Old English: Cēnfūs), ruled for two years after Seaxburh.
[4][5] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle supplies a genealogy, making him a fifth-generation descendant of Cynric.
Bede's dismissal of Æscwine as a mere sub-king may represent the views of the supporters of the King Ine of Wessex, whose family ruled Wessex in Bede's time,[6] as Ine's family were bona fide descendants of Cynric through Ceawlin's son Cuthwine.
In 675, Æscwine defeated an invasion of Wessex led by the Mercian King Wulfhere at Biedanheafde,[4] a location which has not been certainly identified.