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Mercians

Kingdom of Mercia
Miercna rīce
Merciorum regnum
Independent kingdom (527–879)
Client state of Wessex (c. 879–918)
527–918


Flag

The Kingdom of Mercia (thick line) and the kingdom's extent
during the Mercian Supremacy (green shading)
Capital Tamworth
Languages Old English, Latin
Religion Paganism, Christianity
Government Absolute monarchy
Monarch
 •  527–? Icel (first)
 •  c. 626–655 Penda
 •  716–757 Ethelbald
 •  757–796 Offa
 •  c. 881–911 Ethelred
 •  918 Ælfwynn (last)
Legislature Witenagemot
Historical era Heptarchy
 •  Established 527
 •  Disestablished 918
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Labarum.svg Sub-Roman Britain
Hwicce
Kingdom of Lindsey
Kingdom of Wessex
Today part of  United Kingdom
  West Midlands
  East Midlands
  East of England
  Greater London
  northern parts of South East
of England
(incl. Oxon. and Bucks.)

  Cheshire


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Mercia (Old English: Miercna rīce) was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. The name is a Latinisation of the Old English Mierce or Myrce, meaning "border people" (see March).

The kingdom was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries, in the region now known as the English Midlands. The kingdom's "capital" was the town of Tamworth, which was the seat of the Mercian Kings from at least around AD 584, when King Creoda built a fortress at the town.

For 300 years (between AD 600 and 900), having annexed or gained submissions from five of the other six kingdoms of the Heptarchy (East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex), Mercia dominated England south of the River Humber: this period is known as the Mercian Supremacy. The reign of King Offa, who is best remembered for his Dyke that designated the boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms, is sometimes known as the "Golden Age of Mercia". Nicholas Brooks noted that "the Mercians stand out as by far the most successful of the various early Anglo-Saxon peoples until the later ninth century", and some historians, such as Sir Frank Stenton, believe the unification of England south of the Humber estuary was achieved during the reign of Offa.


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