Æscwine was a King of Wessex from about 674 to 676, but probably not the only king in Wessex

Wessex

The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...

 at the time.

Bede writes that after the death of King Cenwalh

Cenwalh of Wessex

Cenwalh, also Cenwealh or Coenwalh, was King of Wessex from c. 643 to c. 645 and from c. 648 unto his death, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in c. 672.-Penda and Anna:...

: "his under-rulers took upon them the kingdom of the people, and dividing it among themselves, held it ten years". West Saxon tradition has Cenwalh succeeded as ruler for one year by his wife Seaxburh

Seaxburh of Wessex

Seaxburh was a wife of Cenwalh of Wessex who according to tradition ruled Wessex as queen for a year following Cenwalh's death in 674. She should not be confused with her near-contemporary, Seaxburh of Ely, the saintly daughter of Anna of East Anglia....

, after which Æscwine appears. Another source claims that Æscwine's father, Cenfus , ruled for two years after Seaxburh.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...

 places Æscwine's reign as beginning circa 674. The entry supplies a genealogy, making him a fifth-generation descendant of Cynric

Cynric of Wessex

Cynric was King of Wessex from 534 to 560. Everything known about him comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. There he is stated to have been the son of Cerdic, and also to have been the son of Cerdic's son, Creoda...

. Bede's dismissal of Æscwine as a mere sub-king may represent the views of the supporters of the King Ine

Ine of Wessex

Ine was King of Wessex from 688 to 726. He was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla, who had brought much of southern England under his control and expanded West Saxon territory substantially...

, whose family ruled Wessex in Bede's time, as Ine's family were bona fide descendants of Cynric through Ceawlin's son Cuthwine

Cuthwine

Cuthwine, born c. 565, was a member of the House of Wessex, son of Ceawlin of Wessex. After the deposition of his father Ceawlin from the throne of Wessex in 592 he did not inherit the throne which passed to his cousin, Ceol...

.

In 675, Æscwine defeated an invasion of Wessex led by the Mercia

Mercia

Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...

n King Wulfhere

Wulfhere of Mercia

Wulfhere was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere...

 at Biedanheafde, a location which has not been certainly identified.

Æscwine was succeeded by Centwine

Centwine of Wessex

Centwine was King of Wessex from circa 676 to 685 or 686, although he was perhaps not the only king of the West Saxons at the time.The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Centwine became king circa 676, succeeding Æscwine...

.