he West Saxons started out as a number of individual tribes that captured land in the south of Britain. Initially starting in the areas to the north of Isle of Wight, the West Saxons conquered lands further west into the area of Somerset and south into Dorset. Below is a list of kings of Wessex, some of which ruled their own tribes at the same time.

The Gewisse

The rulers of Wessex called themselves the Gewisse. The third noted invasion of Britain by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is that of the Saxon Cerdic and his son (or grandson) Cynric in 495. With five ships they landed in the south where Southampton is now and moved north into Hampshire and Wiltshire. This date may have been too early and could have 519. It could be that Cerdic never existed and is a legend.

The third person listed as a king of Wessex is Ceawlin, the son of Cynric. The Anglo-Szxon Chronicles list a series of battle that Ceawlin fought in mostly against the Britons but also against the Kent.

It wasn't until the reign of Ine (688-726) that the different tribes of Wessex united under one ruler.