Editing Kingdom of Kent (section)

===Decline and Mercian domination: 650–825===
In the seventh century, Kent's power waned as that of [[Mercia]] and [[Northumbria]] grew,{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=93}} but it remained the fourth wealthiest kingdom in England, according to the ''[[Tribal Hidage]]'' with 15,000 [[Hide (unit)|hides]] of land recorded in the seventh or eighth century.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|pp=94–95}} However the period was tumultuous for the Kentish royal family; Kent was ruled by [[Ecgberht of Kent|Ecgberht]] from 664 to 673, but between 664 and 667 two royal cousins, [[Æthelred and Æthelberht]], were killed at [[Eastry]] royal hall, perhaps because they were a threat to Ecgberht.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=95}} Ecgberht was succeeded by his brother, [[Hlothhere of Kent|Hlothere]], who ruled from 674 to 686 before being overthrown and killed by one of Ecgberht's sons, [[Eadric of Kent|Eadric]], who had allied with the South Saxons; Eadric then ruled until 687.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=95}}

In the late seventh century, Kent gradually came to be dominated by Mercia. There had been a Kentish royal hall and reeve in [[Lundenwic]] until at least the 680s, but the city then passed into Mercian hands.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=93}} The loss of Lundenwic probably broke Kent's monopoly on cross-Channel trade and its control of the Thames, eroding its economic influence.{{Sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=95}} According to Bede's later account, in 676 the Mercian king [[Æthelred of Mercia|Æthelred I]] led an attack that destroyed many Kentish churches.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=94}} Mercia's control of Kent increased in the following decades; by 689–690 East Saxon kings under Mercian overlordship were active in West Kent, and there are records attesting that Æthelred arbitrated on the income of the Christian communities at [[Minster-in-Thanet]] and [[St Mary's Church, Reculver|Reculver]], indicating strong Mercian control over the east of the kingdom too.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=95}}

In 686 Kent was conquered by [[Cædwalla of Wessex]]; within a year, Cædwalla's brother [[Mul of Kent|Mul]] was killed in a Kentish revolt, and Cædwalla returned to devastate the kingdom again. After this, Kent fell into a state of disorder. The [[Mercia]]ns backed a [[client king]] named [[Oswine of Kent|Oswine]], but he seems to have reigned for only about two years, after which [[Wihtred of Kent|Wihtred]] became king. Wihtred, famous for the [[Law of Wihtred]], did a great deal to restore the kingdom after the devastation and tumult of the preceding years, and in 694 he made peace with the [[Wessex|West Saxons]] by paying compensation for the killing of Mul.

Records of Kent following the death of Wihtred in 725 are fragmented and obscure. For forty years, two or even three kings typically ruled simultaneously. This division may have made Kent the first target of the rising power of [[Offa of Mercia]]: in 764, he gained supremacy over Kent and ruled it through [[client king]]s. By the early 770s, it appears that Offa was attempting to rule Kent directly, and a rebellion followed. A battle was fought at [[Otford]] in 776, and although the outcome is unknown, records of following years suggest that the rebels prevailed; [[Egbert II of Kent|Egbert II]] and later [[Ealhmund of Kent|Ealhmund]] seem to have ruled independently of Offa for nearly a decade thereafter. This did not last, however, as Offa firmly re-established his authority over Kent in 785.

Religious centres of this period, [[Minster (church)|minsters]] containing a church, were often far larger than lay settlements, with access to many resources and trade links;{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|pp=107–108}} the Minster-in-Thanet was recorded as possessing three trade ships.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=108}}

The seventh century saw the reintroduction of masonry in Anglo-Saxon England, primarily for churches.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=108}} The earliest churches in the region have been termed the "Kentish Group" and reflect both Italian and Frankish influences in their design; early examples include St Pancras, St Mary, and St Peter and St Paul, all part of [[St Augustine's Abbey|St. Augustine's monastery]] in Canterbury, as well as St. Andrews in [[Rochester, Kent|Rochester]] and St Mary in [[Lyminge Abbey|Lyminge]].{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=109}}

In the late seventh century, the earliest [[Anglo-Saxon charters|charters]] appear, giving estate boundaries,{{Sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=97}} and showing reclamation of land, for use by livestock, from the [[Wantsum Channel]] and [[Romney Marsh]].{{Sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=101}} The Ebbsfleet [[watermill]] near Gravesend in West Kent, dated to circa 700, also reflects new uses of the landscape.{{Sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=101}}

Canterbury grew into the economic and political centre of Kent during the seventh century, as evidenced by rubbish pits, metalworking, timber halls, and sunken-feature buildings from the period.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=112}} Intensive development was also present at Dover,{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=113}} and possibly at Rochester, although archaeological evidence is lacking.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=115}} It is known that both Canterbury and Rochester were the home to major mints in this period, primarily producing silver ''[[sceattas]]''.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=115}} This suggests that from the seventh century onward, kings in Kent were establishing control over the kingdom's economic structure.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=117}}

During the eighth and ninth centuries, a number of fortified earthworks, most notably [[Wansdyke (earthwork)|Wansdyke]] and [[Offa's Dyke]], were constructed as barriers between the warring kingdoms; the [[Faestendic]] passing through the [[River Cray|Cray Valley]] and the routeway that has since become the [[A25 road|A25]] were likely Kentish earthworks of this period designed to protect the kingdom.{{sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=96}} Evidence for such militarisation might also be seen in the Rochester Bridge burdens, documented from the 790s, which lay out the obligation for the Roman bridge across the River Medway to be maintained, which would be vital for allowing Kentish troops to cross the river.{{Sfn|Brookes|Harrington|2010|p=96}}

After King Ealhmund presumably died shortly after witnessing a charter in 784, his son [[Egbert of Wessex|Egbert]] was driven out of Kent and into exile by Offa of Mercia. It is clear from charters that Offa was in control of Kent by 785. Rather than just acting as overlord of his new possession, he attempted to annex it or at least reduce its importance by creating a new diocese in Mercia at [[Lichfield]], possibly because the archbishop of Canterbury [[Jænberht]] refused to crown his son [[Ecgfrith of Mercia|Ecgfrith]]. Jænberht resigned a part of his bishopric and the pro-Mercian Hygeberht was chosen by King Offa to replace him "through enmity conceived against the venerable Jænberht and the Kentish people", according to Offa's eventual successor [[Coenwulf]]. In 796 Offa died, and in this moment of Mercian weakness a Kentish rebellion under [[Eadberht III Præn|Eadbert Praen]] temporarily succeeded. Offa's eventual successor, Coenwulf, reconquered Kent in 798, however, and installed his brother [[Cuthred of Kent|Cuthred]] as king. After Cuthred's death in 807, Coenwulf ruled Kent directly.

Mercian authority was replaced by that of [[Wessex]] in 825, following the latter's victory at the [[Battle of Ellendun]], and the Mercian [[client king]] [[Baldred of Kent|Baldred]] was expelled.