Mercia
The kingdom of the Iclingas, settled by Angles in AD 500 developed into the kingdom of Mercia. Mercia lay between the districts of Anglo-Saxon settlement and the Celts or Wealas (meaning foreigners), as the Welsh were known to the Anglo-Saxons.
One of the most powerful kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, Mercia held a position of dominance for much of the period from the mid seventh to the early ninth century.
The first King of Mercia about whom anything is known was Penda (died 655).
Wessex
According to the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle the founders of the West Saxon kingdom were Cerdic and his son or grandson Cynric who arrived, apparently in southern Hampshire, in 495 and subsequently conquered the Isle of Wight, but this may be a legend. The two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. The kingdom of Wessex eventually asorbed all of the other Saxon kingdoms.
Sussex
Sussex, the territory of the South Saxons, was established in the area of the Forest of Andred, which was occupied by the Celtic Atrebates tribe at the time of the Roman invasion.
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