AETHELBERT, king of Kent, son of Eormenric, came to the throne in A.D. 56o. Aethelbert's supremacy, described by Bede as extending in 597 to the Humber, can have been little more than nominal, though he exercised stricter sway over Essex, where his nephew, Sabert, was king. An attempt to extend his kingdom westwards was defeated in 568 by Ceawlin at Wibban dune. Aethelbert's reign is chiefly remarkable for the introduc tion of Christianity. He married a Christian princess, Berta, daughter of Charibert, king of Paris, who brought over a bishop as private confessor. When in 597 Augustine landed in Thanet, the king treated his mission tolerantly, gave him a dwelling in Canterbury and allowed monks to preach there, afterwards being baptized himself, but making no attempt to force conversion on his subjects. In 604 he founded the see of Rochester, and his influence established Mellitus at London in the same year. He published a code of laws, the first of its kind, containing a list of money fines for various offences against the clergy.