Cædwalla (c. 659 – 20 April 689) was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688.
His name is derived from the British Cadwallon.
He is exiled as a youth, and during this time attacki the South Saxons and killi their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex.
Cædwalla is unable to hold the territory, however, and is driven out by Æthelwealh's ealdormen.
In either 685 or 686, he becomes 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 returns to Sussex and wins the territory again, and also conquers the Isle of Wight, engaging in genocide and extinguishing the ruling dynasty there and forcing the population of the island at sword point to renounce their faith for Christianity.
He gains control of Surrey and the kingdom of Kent, and in 686 he installs his brother, Mul, as king of Kent.
Mul is burned in a Kentish revolt a year later, and Cædwalla returns, possibly ruling Kent directly for a period.
Cædwalla is wounded during the conquest of the Isle of Wight, and perhaps for this reason he abdicates in 688 to travel to Rome for baptism.
He reaches Rome in April 689, and is baptized on the Saturday before Easter, dying ten days later on April 20, 689.
