Dumnonia, also known as Dyfneint, was a Brythonic kingdom in present-day Devon, England which existed from the late 4th to late 8th centuries AD. Dumnonia was named for the Celtic Dumnonii people, and the Britons of Dumnonia resisted incursions by the Germanic Anglo-Saxons. Dumnonia was an ally of Rome since the original invasion, and was afforded a certain amount of autonomy in recognition for this support. Trade in tin and the unrivalled quality of its farmland made Dumnonia a rich country, but, by 481, it found itself thrust into the role of leader in the war against the Germanic invaders under their new High-King, King Arthur. His cousin Geraint map Erbin was officially the Dumnonian king, but Arthur was the Amerawddyr, the supreme leader who would unite the Britons and drive the Saxons, Jutes, and Angles back into the sea. In 632, the Dumnonians defeated a Mercian siege of Exeter and inflicted heavy casualties on the Saxons, but the Dumnonians were defeated by Wessex at Peonnum in 658, permanently losing their eastern lands. From 813 to 822, King Egbert of Wessex conquered insular Dumnonia, leaving behind the rump state of Cornwall, or "West Wales", named for its Brythonic inhabitants.
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