Editing Kingdom of Sussex (section)

===Kingship===
{{See also|List of monarchs of Sussex}}
The South Saxon kingdom remains one of the most obscure of the Anglo-Saxon polities.<ref name="Semple 2013 25"/> A few names of South Saxon kings are recorded, and the history of the kingdom is sometimes illustrated by that of other areas, but information is otherwise limited.<ref>{{harvnb|Yorke|2002| p=20}}</ref> Sussex seems to have had a greater degree of decentralisation than other kingdoms.<ref name="Semple 2013 25"/> For a period during the 760s there may have been as many as four or five kings based within the territory, perhaps with each ruling over a distinct tribal territory,<ref name="SERF"/> perhaps on a temporary basis.{{sfn|Lapidge|Blair|Keynes|Scragg|2013| p=}} It seems possible that the people of the ''Haestingas'' may have had their own ruler for a while, and another sub-division may have been along the River Adur.{{sfn|Lapidge|Blair|Keynes|Scragg|2013| p=}}

Complex tiers of relationships between kings and kingdoms existed. For instance in the 7th century, when Wulfhere of Mercia was trying to increase his influence over the South Saxons, he ceded control of the provinces of the ''Meonwara'' and Wight to the South Saxon king Æðelwealh. Wight at least had its own ruler, Arvald, who presumably recognised the authority of the South Saxon king, Æðelwealh, and who in turn recognised the overlordship of the Mercian king, Wulfhere.<ref>{{harvnb|Yorke|2002| p=161}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Sussex was an independent unit until the reign of [[Offa of Mercia]]. Under Offa, who ruled over most of the kingdoms of the heptarchy, local South Saxon rulers were allowed to continue provided that they recognised Offa's overriding authority and some estates seem to have come into his direct possession.<ref>{{harvnb|Yorke|2002| p=114}}</ref>

In the 9th century, Sussex was ruled by the West Saxons. It would appear that the ultimate intention of [[Æthelwulf of Wessex]] was for the kingdom of Wessex and the eastern regions of Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Essex to become separate kingdoms, with separate but related royal dynasties. It was only the early deaths of Aethelwulf's first two sons that allowed [[Æthelbert of Wessex]], his third son, to reunite Wessex and the eastern regions, including Sussex, into a single kingdom in 860.<ref name="Kirby 2000 169">{{harvnb|Kirby|2000| p=169}}</ref> This occurred only after Athelberht had secured the consent of his younger brothers, Aethelred and Alfred. Though in part due to the careful cultivation of conquered regions, the establishment of an enduring "Greater Wessex" stretching along the southern coast owed much to chance, early deaths, and perhaps, to the growing recognition of the need for unity in the face of an increasing Viking threat.<ref name="Higham 2013 245">{{harvnb|Higham|Ryan|2013| p=245}}</ref> Sussex was never again treated as part of an eastern subkingdom but was not closely integrated with the old West Saxon provinces either. Sussex seems to have had its own ealdorman for much of the 10th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Yorke|1995| p=98}}</ref>

Royal tributes and dues were often collected at settlements known as king's tuns, often a separate place from where the royal hall of that the king would stay when in the area. Sussex has several places that are king's tuns including from west to east, [[Kingston by Ferring]], [[Kingston by Sea]], now part of Shoreham-by-Sea, and [[Kingston near Lewes]]. King's tuns in Anglo-Saxon England often acted as places of assembly, where the king could settle disputes or hear appeals.<ref name="ULeic">{{cite web |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/users/grj1/asl.html |first=Graham |last=Jones |publisher=University of Leicester |title=Anglo-Saxon England. Settlement - rural and town life |access-date=25 October 2014}}</ref> According to Æthelstan, the first king of England, his grandmother [[Ælfthryth, wife of Edgar|Ælfthryth]] had the use of an estate at ''Æthelingadene'' ([[East Dean, West Sussex|East]] and [[West Dean, West Sussex|West Dean]] near Chichester). Ælfthryth may have brought up her grandchildren, the sons of Æthelred of Wessex, at ''Æthelingadene'',{{sfn|Lapidge|Blair|Keynes|Scragg|2013| p=}} which may have been one of the estates set aside for the benefit of the royal princes or [[Ætheling]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2003| p=28}}</ref>