Iclingas
List of kings
The following are Iclinga kings of Mercia whose historicity is certain. Creoda of Mercia is of uncertain historicity (if historical, he would date to the end of the 6th century).

Iclingas

Section Title: List of kings
Table Section Text: The following are Iclinga kings of Mercia whose historicity is certain. Creoda of Mercia is of uncertain historicity (if historical, he would date to the end of the 6th century).

Ruler	Reign	Biographical notes	Died

Penda	c.626–655	Son of Pybba. Raised Mercia to dominant status amongst the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.	15 Nov 655

Eowa	c.635–642	Son of Pybba. Co-ruler. Killed in battle.	5 Aug 642

Peada	c.653–656	Son of Penda. Co-ruler in the south-east Midlands. Murdered.	17 Apr 656

Wulfhere	658–675	Son of Penda. Restored Mercian dominance in England. First Christian king of all Mercia.	675

Æthelred I	675–704	Son of Penda. Abdicated and retired to a monastery at Bardney.	716

Cœnred	704–709	Son of Wulfhere. Abdicated and retired to Rome.	?

Ceolred	709–716	Son of Æthelred I. Probably poisoned.	716

Ceolwald	716	Presumed son of Æthelred I (may not have existed).	716

Æthelbald	716–757	Grandson of Eowa. Proclaimed himself King of Britain in 736. Murdered by his bodyguards.	757

Offa	757–796	Great-great-grandson of Eowa. The greatest and most powerful of all Mercian kings, he proclaimed himself King of the English in 774, built Offa's Dyke, and introduced the silver penny.	26 or 29 Jul 796

Ecgfrith	787–796	Son of Offa. Co-ruler, died suddenly a few months after his father.	14 or 17 Dec 796

Sentence(s)

Penda became the first king of Mercia in 626.

final_sentence: Penda became the first king of Mercia in 626.