Yo'nal Ahk III

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Yo'nal Ahk III
ajaw of Piedras Negras
Yo'nal Ahk III.svg
Yo'nal Ahk III's glyph
Reign 758–767 AD
Predecessor Itzam K'an Ahk II
Successor Ha' K'in Xook
Father Itzam K'an Ahk II?
Religion Maya religion

Yo'nal Ahk III (Mayan pronunciation:  [joːnal ahk] ), also known as Ruler 5, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 758 to 767 AD. Yo'nal Ahk III ascended to the throne upon the death of Itzam K'an Ahk II, who may have been Yo'nal Ahk's father. He was succeeded by his probable brother, Ha' K'in Xook in around 767 AD. Yo'nal Ahk III left behind two surviving stelae at Piedras Negras, namely Stelae 14 and 16, the former of which has been called one of the finest niche stelae, according to Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube.

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 tzolk'in, the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a king's k'atun-ending rituals would fall.

Piedras Negras (Maya site) ruined city of pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Guatemala

Piedras Negras is the modern name for a ruined city of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization located on the north bank of the Usumacinta River in the Petén department of northeastern Guatemala. Piedras Negras is one of the most powerful of the Usumacinta ancient Maya urban centers. Occupation at Piedras Negras is known from the Late Preclassic period onward, based on dates retrieved from epigraphic information found on multiple stelae and altars at the site. Piedras Negras is an archaeological site known for its large sculptural output when compared to other ancient Maya sites. The wealth of sculpture, in conjunction with the precise chronological information associated with the lives of elites of Piedras Negras, has allowed archaeologists to reconstruct the political history of the Piedras Negras polity and its geopolitical footprint.

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.

Contents

Reign

Yo'nal Ahk III, also known as Ruler 5, was likely the son of Itzam K'an Ahk II, based on Yo'nal Ahk III's veneratiion of Itzam K'an Ahk II's mortuary temple. [1] [2] Yo'nal Ahk III, whose name translates to "Black House Great Turtle", [2] ascended to the throne of Piedras Negras on March 10, 758 AD (9.16.6.17.1 7 Imix 19 Wo in the Long Count), following the death of Itzam K'an Ahk II. [1] Not much is known about either Yo'nal Ahk III or his successor Ha' K'in Xook, which led Flora Clancy to refer to both their reigns as "shadowy". [3] James L. Fitzsimmons argues that, politically, Yo'nal Ahk III was weaker than previous leaders of Piedras Negras, given that the ajaw erected only a handful of monuments and did not enforce his power on a larger scale. [4]

Mesoamerican Long Count calendar non-repeating base-20 and base-18 calendar used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, including the Maya

The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is a non-repeating, vigesimal (base-20) and base-18 calendar used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya. For this reason, it is often known as the MayaLong Count calendar. Using a modified vigesimal tally, the Long Count calendar identifies a day by counting the number of days passed since a mythical creation date that corresponds to August 11, 3114 BCE in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. The Long Count calendar was widely used on monuments.

Ha Kin Xook

Ha' K'in Xook, also known as Ruler 6, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 767–780 AD. Ha' K'in Xook was a son of Itzam K'an Ahk II, and he ascended the throne following the death of his brother, Yo'nal Ahk III. Ha' K'in Xook's reign ended with either his death or his abdication in favor of his brother K'inich Yat Ahk II; archaeologists and Mayanists have not arrived at a clear consensus. Ha' K'in Xook left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a stone fragment from El Porvenir. In addition, a stone seat known as Throne 1 and erected by K'inich Yat Ahk II records either the death or abdication of Ha' K'in Xook.

Monuments at El Cayo record that Yo'nal Ahk III was involved in burial ceremonies for a sajal in 763 AD, although he was not involved in picking the leader's successor. [1] It is also known that during his reign, a k'ini' ajaw ("prince") of Piedras Negras, T'ul Chiik, was captured by Yaxun B'alam IV of Yaxchilan; it has been hypothesized that Yo'nal Ahk III's focus on smaller satellite kingdoms such as La Mar and Yax Niil was a tactic to build up a "base of support" to combat the growing threat that Yaxchilan posed. [1] [5] Yo'nal Ahk III was succeeded by Ha' K'in Xook, who was possibly his brother. [6]

Yaxun Balam IV Ruler of Yaxchilan

Yaxun B’alam IV, also called Bird Jaguar IV, was a Mayan king from Yaxchilan. He ruled from 752 until 768 AD, continuing the period of prosperity started by his father Itzamnaaj B'alam II. He had to struggle to take and hold power, as he was not perceived to be the rightful heir to the throne.

Yaxchilan human settlement

Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedras Negras as its major rival. Architectural styles in subordinate sites in the Usumacinta region demonstrate clear differences that mark a clear boundary between the two kingdoms.

Monuments

Only two monuments that Yo'nal Ahk III erected survive today: Stelae 14 and 16. The first of these, Stela 14—which Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube called the "finest of all 'niche' monuments"—is the king's accession memorial. Raised c. AD 761, it depicts an effigy of the king in a small hollow (or "niche") scattering incense. [1] The monument was placed on the lower part of Structure O-13, and according to O'Neil, the stela's "form, imagery, and location acknowledged and responded to Structure O-13's participation in the processional circuit" of the site. [7] The front of the monument features not only the ajaw, but also his mother standing "as witness" to her son. Her positioning likely suggested that she has just arrived from the West Group Plaza via a sacred route. [7] Stela 14 also includes the names of several sculptors and artists. These names are difficult to translate, since many are unique and not found in any other extant Mayan glyphic texts. [8]

Simon Martin is a British epigrapher, historian, writer and Mayanist scholar. He is best known for his contributions to the study and decipherment of the Maya script, the writing system used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation of Mesoamerica. As one of the leading epigraphers active in contemporary Mayanist research, Martin has specialised in the study of the political interactions and dynastic histories of Classic-era Maya polities. A former honorary research fellow at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, as of 2018 Martin holds a position at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology where he is an Associate Curator and Keeper in the American Section and is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Nikolai Grube German Mesoamericanist

Nikolai Grube is a German epigrapher. He was born in Bonn in 1962. Grube entered the University of Hamburg in 1982 and graduated in 1985. His doctoral thesis was published at the same university in 1990. After he received his doctorate, Grube moved to the University of Bonn. Nikolai Grube has been heavily involved in the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic script.

Stela 16 celebrates the accession of a local sajal (or lesser Maya leader) at the nearby satellite kingdom of La Mar. This stela caused Tatiana Proskouriakoff to misidentify the sixth ajaw of Piedras Negras as this sajal, instead of Ha' K'in Xook. The uniqueness of a La Mar ruler being celebrated on a Piedras Negras stela seems to signify that La Mar had, at the time of Yo'nal Ahk III and possibly earlier, attained a certain degree of importance "within the Piedras Negras hegemony". [1] The front of the stela is heavily weathered, but Megan O'Neil argues it likely featured a carving of Yo'nal Ahk III, based on comparisons with other stelae at Piedras Negras, like Stelae 6 and 11. [9]

Tatiana Proskouriakoff American Mayanist scholar

Tat’yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova was a Russian-American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist who contributed significantly to the deciphering of Maya hieroglyphs, the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica.

Hegemony form of government in which a leader state rules over a number of subordinate states

Hegemony is the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others. In ancient Greece, hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of a city-state over other city-states. The dominant state is known as the hegemon.

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Itzam K'an Ahk II, also known as Ruler 4, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 729–757 AD. Itzam K'an Ahk II ascended to the throne following the death of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II. Itzam K'an Ahk II may have fathered the following three kings of Piedras Negras: Yo'nal Ahk III, Ha' K'in Xook, and K'inich Yat Ahk II. Following Itzam K'an Ahk II's demise, he was succeeded by Yo'nal Ahk III in 757 AD. Itzam K'an Ahk II left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a large mortuary temple now known as Pyramid O-13. In addition, the details of his life and his K'atun-jubilee were commemorated on Panel 3, raised by K'inich Yat Ahk II several years following Itzam K'an Ahk II's death.

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K'inich Yat Ahk II, also known as Ruler 7, was the last ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 781 to roughly 808 AD. Possibly a descendant of Itzam K'an Ahk II, K'inich Yat Ahk II ascended the throne upon the death of his brother, the sixth ajaw of the site, Ha' K'in Xook. While K'inich Yat Ahk II presided over the destruction of the rival Maya site Pomona, his reign likely ended with K'inich Tatbu Skull IV of Yaxchilan capturing and subjugating Piedras Negras. Itzam K'an Ahk II left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras, a stone seat known as Throne 1 which records either the death or abdication of Ha' K'in Xook, and Panel 3 which recounts the exploits of Itzam K'an Ahk II.

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Lady K'atun Ajaw of Namaan, was the queen and consort of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II, the king of Piedras Negras, Maya city in Guatemala. Coming from the city of Namaan, Lady K'atun Ajaw married K'inich Yo'nal Ahk on November 19, 686 CE, when she was just 12 years old. She would go on to have a child with him, Lady Juntaan Ahk, who was born on March 19, 708 CE, and the trio celebrated the closing of the 14th K'atun together on December 3, 711 CE.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martin & Grube (2000), p. 151.
  2. 1 2 Witschey & Brown (2012), p. 247.
  3. ↑ Clancy (2009), p. 135.
  4. ↑ Fitzsimmons (2010), p. 154.
  5. ↑ Zender (n.d.).
  6. ↑ Sharer & Traxler (2005), p. 428.
  7. 1 2 O'Neil (2014), p. 185.
  8. ↑ Pitts (2011), pp. 146–153.
  9. ↑ O'Neil (2014), p. 215, note 9.

Bibliography

Clancy, Flora (2009). The Monuments of Piedras Negras, an Ancient Maya City. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN   9780826344519. 
Fitzsimmons, James (2010). Death and the Classic Maya Kings. University of Texas Press. ISBN   9780292781986. 
Martin, Simon; Grube, Nikolai (2000). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. Thames & Hudson. ISBN   9780500051030. 
O'Neil, Megan (2014). Engaging Ancient Maya Sculpture at Piedras Negras, Guatemala. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN   9780806188362. 
Pitts, Mark (2011). A Brief History of Piedras Negras as Told by the Ancient Maya: History Revealed in Maya Glyphs (PDF). Pre-Columbian Society of the University of Pennsylvania Museum . Retrieved March 2, 2014. 
Sharer, Robert; Traxler, Loa (2005). The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press. ISBN   9780804748179. 
Witschey, Walter Robert Thurmond; Brown, Clifford (2012). Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica. Scarecrow Press. ISBN   9780810871670. 
Zender, Marc (ed.). "Yo'nal Ahk III". Mesoweb Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 6, 2014. 
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