sentences:  John II led virtually all of the important campaigns conducted during his reign personally; as a result of this circumstance, Axouch is one of the few Byzantine commanders of this period to receive the notice of contemporary historians and chroniclers.Axouch's ability and character were recognized and lauded by his contemporaries.Thus Michael Italikos called him the "Tower of the Empire of the Romans" and "an invincible rampart", while writers such as Nicholas Basilakes or bishop Nicholas of Methone dedicated works to him.