Cædwalla (659–689) was the King of Wessex from about 685 until 688,
when he abdicated. His name is derived from the British Cadwallon. He
was exiled as a youth, and during this time attacked the South Saxons,
in what is now Sussex, killing their king, Æthelwealh, but he was
unable to hold the territory and was driven out by Æthelwealh's
ealdormen. In either 685 or 686 he became king of Wessex. He may have
been involved in suppressing rival dynasties at this time, as an early
source records that Wessex was ruled by underkings until Cædwalla.
After his accession Cædwalla returned to Sussex and won the territory
again, and also conquered the Isle of Wight, extinguishing the ruling
dynasty there. He gained control of Surrey and the kingdom of Kent, and
in 686 he installed his brother, Mul, as king of Kent. Mul was burned
in a Kentish revolt a year later, and Cædwalla returned, possibly
ruling Kent directly for a period. Cædwalla was wounded during the
conquest of the Isle of Wight, and perhaps for this reason he abdicated
in 688 to travel to Rome for baptism. He reached Rome in April of 689,
and was baptised on the Saturday before Easter, dying ten days later on
20 April 689. He was succeeded by Ine.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A6dwalla_of_Wessex>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
9:
Germanic Wars: An alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius engaged
Roman forces led by Publius Quinctilius Varus at the Battle of the
Teutoburg Forest, defeating three of the legions within the next few
days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest>
1513:
War of the League of Cambrai: King James IV of Scotland was killed at
the Battle of Flodden Field in Northumberland while leading an invasion
of England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_IV_of_Scotland>
1850:
As part of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted into the
United States as a free state instead of a slave state where slavery
was legal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California>
1944:
With the help of the advancing forces of the Soviet Red Army, the
Bulgarian government of Konstantin Muraviev was overthrown and replaced
with a government of the Fatherland Front.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_of_1944>
2004:
A car bomb exploded outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta,
Indonesia, killing at least nine people and injuring over 150 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Jakarta_embassy_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
scupper (v):
(UK) Thwart, destroy
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scupper>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only
reality in the world, all else is folly. It is the one thing we are
interested in here.
--Leo Tolstoy
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy>
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