The reign of King Alfred the Great (871–899) was a turning point moment in the history of early medieval England. Like the rest of Europe, in the 9th century. England was overwhelmed by a wave of Scandinavian conquerors - the Vikings. Mercia, Northumbria, and East Anglia fell one after another. Only one kingdom - Wessex - managed to withstand the onslaught, and then move from defense to offense. And this offensive is associated with the name of the Wessex king Alfred, who was rightly nicknamed the Great for his actions. Having become king, Alfred managed to rally the Anglo-Saxons around him and, in an endless series of battles, turn the situation in his favor. To do this, he had to carry out a whole series of reforms, depriving the Vikings of their usual advantages at sea and on land: the king created a fleet of “long ships” and founded a whole system of fortress-burgs that prevented the Vikings from slipping unnoticed into the very heart of his kingdom. By the end of his reign, Alfred had not only driven the Vikings out of Wessex, but had also subjugated the other previously independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, laying the foundation for a unified English state. ÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷