King Offa

King Offa (779 - 796)

Born: c.750
House of: Mercia
Died: July 29, 796

Offa (son of Thingfrith, son of Eanulf), King of Mercia, was one of the leading figures of Saxon history. He obtained the throne of Mercia in 757, after the murder of his cousin, King Aethelbald, by Beornraed. After spending fourteen years in consolidating and ordering his territories he engaged in conquests which made him the most powerful king in England. After a successful campaign against the Hestingi, he defeated the men of Kent at Otford (775); the West Saxons at Bensington in Oxfordshire (779); and finally the Welsh, depriving the last-named of a large part of Powys, including the town of Pengwern. To repress the raids of the Welsh he built Offa's dyke, 150 miles long and roughly indicating for the first time what has remained the boundary between England and Wales. From 779 Offa ruled south of the Humber, with the result that England was divided into three political divisions, Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. Offa died in 796

Timeline

787	1st recorded Viking raids on England
793	St Albans Abbey founded by Offa. Offa annexes East Anglia and joins it to the kingdom of Mercia
795	Vikings raid Iona in Scotland
796	Offa's dyke between England and Wales is completed. Offa Dies