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| He is perhaps best known for ], a great earthen wall between England and ]. However, although this landmark is named after Offa, it is not known with certainty to what extent he was responsible for its construction. Some attribute the building of all or parts of the dyke to earlier periods. | He is perhaps best known for ], a great earthen wall between England and ]. However, although this landmark is named after Offa, it is not known with certainty to what extent he was responsible for its construction. Some attribute the building of all or parts of the dyke to earlier periods. | ||
| Sir ] in his authoritative history, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', believed that Offa was perhaps the greatest king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the proof of his ability obscured by the lack of a historian to describe his achievements. "No other Anglo-Saxon king ever regarded the world at large with so secular a mind or so acute a political sense," |
Sir ] in his authoritative history, ''Anglo-Saxon England'', believed that Offa was perhaps the greatest king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the proof of his ability obscured by the lack of a historian to describe his achievements. "No other Anglo-Saxon king ever regarded the world at large with so secular a mind or so acute a political sense," wrote Stenton. | ||
| Offa died on ], ]. He had exerted himself to ensure that his son ] would succeed him, but Ecgfrith was able to hold onto the throne for only five months. After his death, Mercia fell into decline. Only a quarter of a century after his death (]), the role of leading English power passed to Wessex. | Offa died on ], ]. He had exerted himself to ensure that his son ] would succeed him, but Ecgfrith was able to hold onto the throne for only five months. After his death, Mercia fell into decline. Only a quarter of a century after his death (]), the role of leading English power passed to Wessex. | ||
Revision as of 03:34, 15 March 2004
Offa (d. July 26, 796) was a King of Mercia (757 - 796). Prior to the rise of Wessex under Alfred the Great, he was arguably the most powerful and successful of the Anglo-Saxon kings. He effectively ruled the whole of England south of the River Humber during the latter part of his reign.
He was a devout Christian, a contemporary of Charlemagne, and founded the archdiocese of Lichfield with the approval of Pope Adrian I. His power spread over such a large part of England, that he prided himself to be the King of England; he was the only king of Western Europe to be regarded as an equal by Charlemagne. He introduced silver coinage in England, producing the first English silver pennies, as well as a copy of the gold dinar of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur dated 157AH, which differs from the original by adding the inscription OFFA REX. Since this coin contains the Arabic profession of faith in Allah, it has been cited by some as proof that Offa had converted to Islam. However, it is infinitely more likely that the coin was produced in order to trade with Islamic Spain, and the king, his engravers, and officials, simply copied the Arabic coin without any comprehension of what the inscriptions said (particularly since "OFFA REX" is upside down in relation to the Arabic script, and the word "year" is misspelled in Arabic).
Following the murder of his cousin, King Æthelbald in 757, Offa defeated and exiled Beornrad, Æthelbald's successor, thus seizing the throne of Mercia. For most of his reign, he was in conflict with the Kingdom of Kent. His initial attempt to install a puppet ruler there failed when the puppet, Egbert II, rebelled and repelled Offa's retaliatory invasion at the Battle of Otford in 776. However, he established his authority there more fully with a successful invasion in 785. Elsewhere in England, his victory over the West Saxon king Cynewulf at the Battle of Bensington (in Oxfordshire) in 779 effectively crippled the power of Wessex for a generation, and by 786, Offa seems to have exercized authority over Wessex through Cynewulf's successor, Beorhtric.
He is perhaps best known for Offa's Dyke, a great earthen wall between England and Wales. However, although this landmark is named after Offa, it is not known with certainty to what extent he was responsible for its construction. Some attribute the building of all or parts of the dyke to earlier periods.
Sir Frank M. Stenton in his authoritative history, Anglo-Saxon England, believed that Offa was perhaps the greatest king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the proof of his ability obscured by the lack of a historian to describe his achievements. "No other Anglo-Saxon king ever regarded the world at large with so secular a mind or so acute a political sense," wrote Stenton.
Offa died on July 26, 796. He had exerted himself to ensure that his son Ecgfrith would succeed him, but Ecgfrith was able to hold onto the throne for only five months. After his death, Mercia fell into decline. Only a quarter of a century after his death (825), the role of leading English power passed to Wessex.
| Preceded by: Ethelbald of Mercia |
List of British monarchs | Succeeded by: Egbert of Wessex |
| Preceded by: Beornrad of Mercia |
List of monarchs of Mercia | Suceeded by: Ecgfrith of Mercia |