The concept of the "shire" (from the Old English scir , meaning a share or sphere of authority) emerged in the during the mid-Saxon period. Initially created for tax collection and military defense, shires were typically organized around a central fortified town, such as Hertfordshire or Staffordshire .
Shires emerged as the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England (e.g., Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria) became more administratively organized. the shires of england