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Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, his father died when he was young and three of Alfred's brothers ruled and died in battle before he ascended to the throne in 871. Alfred spent his first seven years of his reign battling the Viking forces, until with Wessex (the last of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms) half overrun he decisively defeated the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Edington in 878AD; subsequently the Vikings settled towards the east side of England. Following this, it is recorded that, Alfred reorganised national military service, improved Wessex's defence by building a ring of 33 'burhs' (fortified settlements) and designed and built a small fleet of longship, to protect against further Viking threats. From this base, his daughterÆthelflæd and son Edward the Elder began the conquest of the rest of England from Viking control. As Alfred's reign was pivotal it has often been regarded as the first in the lists of English monarchs.