Egbert
Egbert (775?–839), king of Wessex (the area in southern England south of the Thames River and west of Kent and Sussex), 802–839. As a prince, he was exiled by King Offa of Mercia, who had conquered Wessex. Offa died in 796 and political turmoil ensued. Egbert returned in 802 and was proclaimed king by the West Saxon nobles. By 825, he had conquered the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and become the overlord of Anglo-Saxon England. Through conquest in 829, Egbert unified Wessex and Mercia.