The Saxons were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other regions of Germany are considered ethnic Germans (the state of Sachsen is not inhabited by ethnic Saxons; the state of Sachsen-Anhalt though in its northern and western parts); those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; and those in Southern England ethnic English. Their earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein.
Saxons participated in the Germanic settlement of Britain during and after the 5th century. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to Britain though estimates for the total number of Germanic settlers vary between 10,000 and 200,000.
The Saxons expanded into areas where the Roman Empire retreated during its decline. They were particularly successful in northern Europe, where they joined up with other Germanic tribes to form the Franco-Saxon kingdoms. One major failure was Britannia, where the resident Anglelanders succeeded in driving the Saxons off and founding the Kingdom of Angleland.[1]
By 769, the Saxon Angle kings of Britain retained complete political autonomy. Niketas cited them as an example of secular rulers within ChristianEurope when trying to convince Telerikh to covert to Christianity rather than Islam.[2]
