Offa and the Mercian Wars: The Rise and Fall of the First Great English Kingdom

This biography of an overlooked but important Anglo-Saxon ruler sheds light on the Dark Ages of England.

In the eighth century, Offa ruled Mercia, one of the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For over thirty years he was the dominant warlord in the territory south of the Humber River and the driving force behind the expansion of Mercia's power. During that turbulent period, Offa commanded Mercian armies in their struggle against the neighboring kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex and against t...