Wak Chan K'awiil

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Wak Chan K'awiil
Ajaw of Tikal
21st in the line
Wak Chan K'awiil.svg
Wak Chan K'awiil's glyph
Reign December 27, 537?–c. 562
Predecessor Bird Claw
Successor Animal Skull
Born January 508?
Diedc. 562
Father Chak Tok Ich'aak II
Mother Lady Hand
Religion Maya religion

Wak Chan K'awiil, [N 1] also known as Double Bird (January 508? – c.562), was an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal. He took the throne on December 27, 537(?) and reigning probably until his death. [N 2] He was son of Chak Tok Ich'aak II and Lady Hand. He sponsored accession of Yajaw Te' K'inich II, ruler of Caracol in 553. The monument associated with Wak Chan K'awiil is Stelae 17. [1]

Ajaw

Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya political title attested from epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the tzolkʼin, the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a king's kʼatun-ending rituals would fall.

Maya civilization Mesoamerican civilization

The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its logosyllabic script—the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. This region consists of the northern lowlands encompassing the Yucatán Peninsula, and the highlands of the Sierra Madre, running from the Mexican state of Chiapas, across southern Guatemala and onwards into El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain.

Tikal Ruins of major ancient Maya city

Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Contents

Notes

  1. The ruler's name, when transcribed is WAK-CHAN K'AWI:L YAX-E:B-XO:K?[K'INICH AJAW]-wa, Martin & Grube 2008, p.39.
  2. These are the dates indicated on the Maya inscriptions in Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, Accession: 9.5.3.9.15 12 Men 18 K'ank'in, Martin & Grube 2008, p.39.

Footnotes

  1. Martin & Grube 2008, p.39.

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References

Martin, Simon; Nikolai Grube (2008). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya (2nd ed.). London and New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN   9780500287262. OCLC   191753193. 
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Bird Claw
Ajaw of Tikal
December 27, 537?-c.562
Succeeded by
Animal Skull