Viking Age by a Viking leader called Bagsecg and his five earls. Aided by the Great Heathen Army (which had already overrun much of England from its base in Jorvik), Bagsecg's forces, and Halfdan's forces (through an alliance), the combined Viking forces raided much of England until 871, when they planned an invasion of Wessex. On 8 January 871, Bagsecg was killed at the Battle of Ashdown along with his earls. As a result, many of the Vikings returned to northern England, where Jorvic had become the centre of the Viking kingdom, but Alfred of Wessex managed to keep them out of
Battle of Basra (871) placed the city under virtual siege, harassing it with attacks day and night and destroying the surrounding villages. They also cut off the supply routes to the city, which soon resulted in a shortage of resources. This was temporarily relieved after Mansur ibn Ja'far began organizing armed escorts for supply ships; by mid-871, however, the operation of the convoys had largely fallen apart and supplies for the inhabitants again became scarce. Hunger and disease broke out, and fighting erupted between the city factions. By late August 871, 'Ali ibn Muhammad decided that Basra had been reduced to the point where