Yax Kuk Mo Yax K'uk' Mo' Primer Quetzal Guacamayo | |
---|---|
Royal House | |
Country | Kingdom of Oxwitik |
Current region | Honduras |
Founded | 426 a.C |
Founder | K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' |
Final head | Yax Pashah |
Titles |
|
Dissolution | 810 a.C |
The Yax Kuk Mo dynasty was the royal house that reigned in the city-state of Copan (Oxwitik) for four centuries. This was installed in the city in the year 426 a.C, due to Teotihuacan influence and military support from the ruler Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II of Tikal, who ruled between the 5th and 9th centuries. The architectural works (buildings, pyramids, statues, temples, altars and sports centers) built in Copán during the rule of the Yax K'uk Mo' dynasty are preserved to this day, being accessible to the general public. Yax Kuk Mo In mayan means First Quetzal Macaw. [1] [2]
The city was re founded by king K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', establishing it as the capital of a new Mayan kingdom named Oxwitik. Apparently, this operation was organized and directed from the city-sate of Tikal. Mayan glyphs mention the arrival of a warrior named K'uk' Mo' Ajaw who installed himself on the throne of the city in the year 426 AD. C., receiving the new royal name of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' and the title of ochk'in kaloomte ("Lord of the West"), the same title used a generation earlier by King Siyaj K'ak', a general of the great metropolis of Teotihuacán that had intervened decisively in the politics of the center of the Petén basin and it was the most powerful and important city in Mesoamerica in the classical period. [3]
K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' was probably born and raised in Tikal, and some of his relatives lived in Teotihuacan. The king was likely patronized by Siyaj Chan K'awill II, the sixteenth ruler in the Tikal dynastic succession. K'inich Yax K'uk 'Mo' may have tried to legitimize his position as king by marrying into the old royal family of Copán, which is evidenced by the remains of his presumed widow. Analysis of the widow's bones indicates that she was originally from Copán. After the establishment of the new Copán kingdom, the city remained closely allied with Tikal. The text on Altar Q describes how the founder received the royal scepter. The ceremonies involved in the founding of the Copán Yax Kuk Mo dynasty also included the installation of a subordinate king at Quiriguá. A text from Tikal mentioning K'uk' Mo' has been dated to AD 406. C., 20 years before K'uk' Mo' Ajaw founded the new Copán dynasty. It is likely that both names refer to the same person originally from Tikal. [4] [5] [6]
Although the Mayan texts referring to the founding of the new Copan dynasty do not include a description of K'uk 'Mo's arrival in the city, there is indirect evidence to suggest that he conquered it militarily. On Altar Q he is depicted as a warrior with typical Teotihuacan "blinders" on his eyes and a serpent-type war shield. When he arrived in Copán, he began the construction of several architectural structures, including a temple in the talud-tablero style very typical of Teotihuacán, and another with recessed corners and moldings that are characteristic of Tikal. [7] These strong ties to the culture of the Maya and that of central Mexico suggest that he was a Teotihuanized Maya, or possibly even a Teotihuacan warrior. The dynasty founded by King K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' ruled the city for four centuries and includes sixteen kings, plus a probable claimant who would have been seventeenth in the line of succession. Several monuments dedicated to K'inich Yax K'uk 'Mo' and his successor have survived.
Next in line was K'inich Popol Hol, son of Yax Kuk Mo, who oversaw the construction of the first version of the Mesoamerican ballcourt in the city, which was decorated with images of the scarlet macaw, a bird which occupies a prominent place in Mayan mythology. He carried out many construction works in the area of his father's palace, now under Structure 10L-16, which he demolished after burying his father there. He built, in rapid succession, three successive buildings on top of the tomb. Successors of Copan were the tradition of its founder, carrying out important constructions and architectural wonders in the city of Copan. One of the most emblematic monuments of this dynastic era was the Rosalila Temple. The stela was also implemented. [8]
The Yax Kuk Mo dynasty ruled the city of Copan for a period of approximately 4 centuries. Its 16 kings ruled from 426 AD. C. until the year 822 d. C. Their registered names are:
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization, which were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.
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 archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archeological 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.
Quiriguá (Spanish pronunciation:[kiɾiˈɣwa]) is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period (AD 200–900), Quiriguá was situated at the juncture of several important trade routes. The site was occupied by 200, construction on the acropolis had begun by about 550, and an explosion of grander construction started in the 8th century. All construction had halted by about 850, except for a brief period of reoccupation in the Early Postclassic (c. 900 – c. 1200). Quiriguá shares its architectural and sculptural styles with the nearby Classic Period city of Copán, with whose history it is closely entwined.
Yax Nuun Ahiin I, also known as Curl Snout and Curl Nose, was a 4th-century ruler of the Maya city of Tikal. His name, when transcribed, is YAX-?-AH:N, translated "First ? Crocodile". He took the throne on 12 September 379 and reigned until his death. He is referred to by the Mayan title ajaw, meaning lord.
"Spearthrower Owl" was a Mesoamerican person from the Early Classic period, who is identified in Maya inscriptions and iconography. Mayanist David Stuart has suggested that Spearthrower Owl was a ruler of Teotihuacan at the start of the height of its influence across Mesoamerica in the 4th and 5th century, and that he was responsible for an intense period of Teotihuacan presence in the Maya area, including the conquest of Tikal in 378 CE.
Siyaj Kʼakʼ, also known as Fire is Born, was a prominent political figure mentioned in the glyphs of Classic Period (250–800 CE) Maya civilization monuments, principally Tikal, as well as Uaxactun and the city of Copan. Epigraphers originally identified him by the nickname "Smoking Frog", a description of his name glyph, but later deciphered it as Siyaj Kʼakʼ, meaning "Fire is born". He is believed by some to have been the general of the Teotihuacano ruler Spearthrower Owl.
Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ is named in Maya inscriptions as the founder and first ruler, kʼul ajaw, of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization polity centered at Copán, a major Maya site located in the southeastern Maya lowlands region in present-day Honduras. The motifs associated with his depiction on Copán monuments have a distinct resemblance to imagery associated with the height of the Classic-era center of Teotihuacan in the distant northern central Mexican region, and have been interpreted as intending to suggest his origins and association with that prestigious civilization. He is the founder of the Yax Kuk Mo Dynasty of rulers of Copan that lasted until 822 a.C. One of the most commonly cited motifs for this interpretation is the "goggle-eyed" headdress with which Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ is commonly depicted; this is seemingly an allusion to the northern central Mexican rain deity known as Tlaloc by later peoples, such as the Aztecs. However, modern strontium isotope analysis of the human remains recovered from the tomb attributed to him indicate that Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ spent his formative years much closer to Copán, at Tikal, and had not himself lived at Teotihuacan.
Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil, was the 13th ajaw or ruler of the powerful Maya polity associated with the site of Copán in modern Honduras. He ruled from January 2, 695, to May 3, 738.
Altar Q is the designation given to one of the most notable of the rectangular sculpted stone blocks recovered at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Copán, which is in present-day Honduras.
Maya monarchs, also known as Maya kings and queens, were the centers of power for the Maya civilization. Each Maya city-state was controlled by a dynasty of kings. The position of king was usually inherited by the oldest son.
Chak Tok Ichʼaak I also known as Great Paw, Great Jaguar Paw, and Toh Chak Ichʼak was an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal. He took the throne on 7 August 360? and reigned until his death in 378, apparently at the hands of invaders from central Mexico.
Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, also known as Yax Pasaj Chan Yoaat, Yax Pac and Yax Pasah, was ruler of the Maya kingdom of Xukpi from 763 to 810 or later. This is on the site of the city of Copán in western Honduras. He is the king who made Altar Q.
The Margarita Tomb, also known as The Queens tomb, lies buried deep in the center of the Late Classic Acropolis of Copán, Honduras. It is a multi – leveled tomb with one of the largest caches ever found associated with the burial of a Maya woman.
The North Acropolis of the ancient Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala is an architectural complex that served as a royal necropolis and was a centre for funerary activity for over 1300 years. The acropolis is located near the centre of the city and is one of the most studied of Maya architectural complexes. Excavations were carried out from 1957 to 1969 by the University of Pennsylvania, directed by Edwin M. Shook and William Coe.
Kʼinich Popol Hol also known as Kʼinich II was a king of the Maya city of Copán. Popol Hol's main achievement was to cement the mythology and institutions of Central Peten kingship at Copan, which lasted 400 years. He was co-ruler with his father for the baktun ending rites of December 9, 435 as shown on the Motmot Marker. He declared himself the son of Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ on Stela 63 and he claimed succession as the second king of Copan on the Xukpi Stone.
The Third Tikal–Calakmul War was the third in a series of wars between Tikal and Calakmul, two of the Major superpowers of the Maya Civilization during the classic period.
The Tikal–Calakmul wars were a series of wars, mainly between Tikal and Calakmul on the Yucatán Peninsula, but also with vassal states in the Petén Basin such as Copan, Dos Pilas, Naranjo, Sacul, Quiriguá, and briefly Yaxchilan had a role in initiating the first war.
The Old royal family of Copán was the dynasty that ruled the city-state of Copan before the foundation of the Yax Kuk Mo dynasty in 426 AD. The ancient royal family of Copan has been under an aura of mystery due to the scant information we have about it, meaning that its existence is known thanks to archeological remains.