Offa and the Mercian Wars

The Rise and Fall of the First Great English Kingdom

by Chris Peers

Imprint: Pen and Sword Military

240 Pages, 6 x 9 in

Paperback
9781526711502
July 2017
Out of print. Available in digital formats at the links below.

$29.95

Hardcover
9781848844438
October 2012
Out of print. Available in digital formats at the links below.

$39.95

Digital download
9781781599921
October 2012

$8.99

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Description
Authors
Praise

In England in the eighth century, in the midst of the so-called Dark Ages, Offa ruled Mercia, one of the strongest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For over 30 years he was the dominant warlord in the territory south of the Humber and the driving force behind the expansion of Mercia’s power. During that turbulent period he commanded Mercian armies in their struggle against the neighboring kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex and against the Welsh tribes. Yet the true story of Offa’s long reign and of the rise and fall of Mercia are little known although this is one of the most intriguing episodes in this little-recorded phase of England’s past. It is Chris Peers’s task in this new study to uncover the facts about Offa and the other Mercian kings and to set them in the context of English history before the coming of the Danes.

Chris Peers is a leading expert on the history of ancient and medieval warfare and has written widely on the subject. He has contributed many articles to military history, wargaming and family history magazines, and his major publications include Warlords of China: 700BC-AD1662, Warrior Peoples of East Africa, Soldiers of the Dragon, The African Wars: Warriors and Soldiers of the Colonial Campaigns, Offa and the Mercian Wars: The Rise and Fall of the First Great English Kingdom, and Genghis Khan and the Mongol War Machine.

"an excellent look at life in Anglo-Saxon times, and at an overlooked but very important ruler" ~The NYMAS Review

"This account of Offa of Mercia and his battles against the other kingdoms of ancient Britain is as thrilling as a Bernard Cornwell novel..." ~Books Monthly

“Peers often explains his conclusions, since the evidence is frequently uncertain, a practice which helps make this book more useful than some others. An excellent introduction to Britain in the so-called “Dark Ages”.” ~The NYMAS Review, Winter 2018

“Much of this period is unrecorded but the author effectively fills in the gaps through his extensive research. Often histories of England begin with the Norman Conquest, but this work effectively argues that England was truly created hundreds of years earlier.” ~Military Heritage