Egbert, King of Wessex - 802-839

Egbert was king of the West Saxons who gradually forced his dominance over the other Saxon kingdoms. He defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandune (near Swindon) in 825 and was acknowledged as 'Bretwalda' - an Anglo-Saxon term meaning a ruler with overall superiority to other rulers - by the other Saxon kingdoms, after the decline of Mercian power under Offa, south of the Humber at that date.

Various kings of some of these Saxon kingdoms continued to exist, so the dominance was not entirely clear-cut; nevertheless, Egbert is considered to be the first overall king of the English.