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Its origins are completely obscure, since by its geographical position it received some of the first waves of the Saxon invasion, at a time when almost no historical information has survived. The name "Kent" predates the Jutish invaders, and relates to the much earlier Celtic Kentii tribe whose homeland it was. There is evidence to suggest that Kent and its boundaries relate to this British sub-kingdom because it was handed over in entirety to King Hengist by treaty during the mid 5th century.
Legend mentions a Gwrangon or Gourong viceroy to Vortigern in the 420s or 430s. However, the first securely datable event in the kingdom is the arrival of Augustine with 40 monks in 597.
Kent seems to have had its greatest power under Æthelbert at the beginning of the 7th century; by the middle of the century it seems to have been dominated by Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. In 764 King Offa of Mercia took over Kent, ending its independent existence.
The lands of the kingdom are now part of the County of Kent.
(Note that most of the dates of reigns below have multiple alternate values, the sources being in disagreement. The sources mention multiple rulers, as "underkings", although the exact nature of the relationships is not clear.)
Kings
References