Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'

Last updated
Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'
Title King of Kaan
Parent(s) Yuknoom the Great?

Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' /jʌkˈnmjɪˈʒɑːkˈkɑːk/ [ citation needed ]) or Yuknoom Ixquiac ("Jaguar Paw Smoke"; born on October 6, 649) was a Maya king of the Kaan kingdom, which had its capital at Calakmul during the Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology.

Jaguar species of mammal

The jaguar is a wild cat species and the only extant member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. The jaguar's present range extends from Southwestern United States and Mexico in North America, across much of Central America, and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina in South America. Though there are single cats now living within the western United States, the species has largely been extirpated from the United States since the early 20th century. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List; and its numbers are declining. Threats include loss and fragmentation of habitat.

Paw soft foot of a mammal

A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws.

Reign

This king acceded in his thirty-sixth year, but there are indications that he may have effectively governed the kingdom for a substantial period before this on behalf of the previous king, Yuknoom the Great. [1] The latter, who may have been Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk's father, lived well into his eighties and may have been incapacitated in his later years.

Calakmul, city of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' CanulImage2.jpg
Calakmul, city of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'

The inscription of Stela 9, from 662, goes into great detail about the birth of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' and accords him a full royal title; thus military victories in the following years, as well as successful assertions of Kaan's hegemony, might tentatively be ascribed to Yich'aak K'ahk'. These include military triumphs over Tikal in 677 and (quite probably) 679; supervision of the accessions of kings of Moral and Cancuen in 662 and 677 respectively; the dispatching of Lady Six Sky from Dos Pilas to re-seed the dynasty of Naranjo in 682, and a lieutenant's action expressive of Kaan overlordship at Piedras Negras in 685.

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.

Dos Pilas human settlement

Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in what is now the department of Petén, Guatemala. It dates to the Late Classic Period, being founded by an offshoot of the dynasty of the great city of Tikal in AD 629 in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region, particularly the Pasión River. In AD 648 Dos Pilas broke away from Tikal and became a vassal state of Calakmul, although the first two kings of Dos Pilas continued to use the same emblem glyph that Tikal did. It was a predator state from the beginning, conquering Itzan, Arroyo de Piedra and Tamarindito. Dos Pilas and a nearby city, Aguateca, eventually became the twin capitals of a single ruling dynasty. The kingdom as a whole has been named as the Petexbatun Kingdom, after Lake Petexbatún, a body of water draining into the Pasión River.

Dynasty sequence of rulers considered members of the same family

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. Alternative terms for "dynasty" may include "house", "family" and "clan", among others. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, otherwise known as the Yamato dynasty, whose reign is traditionally dated to 660 BC.

Yich'aak K'ahk's [2] accession was recorded at El Peru by local ruler K'inich Bahlam and at Dos Pilas by B'alaj Chan K'awiil. At Naranjo, the son of Lady Six Sky, K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak, acceded in 693.

Balaj Chan Kawiil King of Dos Pilas

B'alaj Chan K'awiil was a Maya ruler of Dos Pilas. He is also known as Ruler 1, Flint Sky God K and Malah Chan K'awil.

Kak Tiliw Chan Chaak Mayan ruler

K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak, alternatively known by the nickname Smoking Squirrel bestowed before his name glyph was deciphered, was a Maya ruler of Naranjo.

In 695 Calakmul suffered a military defeat at the hands of Tikal and it was believed that the king was killed or captured in that battle. A stucco scene at Tikal shows a prisoner being "adorned" for sacrifice and names the Kaan king in a related caption; the text is damaged and in its current condition it allowed for the possibility that it referred to Yich'aak K'ahk' himself instead of him being the overlord of the prisoner to be killed. A new find at La Corona has revealed that the king survived at least until 696, when he made a visit to that town. There are reasons to believe that Yich'aak K'ahk' is buried in Tomb 4 within Calakmul's Structure 2.

La Corona human settlement

La Corona is the name given by archaeologists to an ancient Maya court residence in Guatemala's Petén department that was discovered in 1996, and later identified as the long-sought "Site Q", the source of a long series of unprovenanced limestone reliefs of exceptional artistic quality. The site's Classical name appears to have been Sak-Nikte' ('White-Flower').

Calakmul archaeological site

Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands.

Yich'aak K'ahk's monument program does not even begin to compare with that of his immediate predecessor, and the two stelae that still stand (including Stela 105 from 692) are located far from the site core in the Northeast Group. [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

Naranjo

Naranjo is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 B.C. to 950 A.D, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the Mopan and Holmul rivers, and is about 50 km east of the site of Tikal. Naranjo has been the victim of severe looting. The site is known for its polychrome ceramic style

El Perú (Maya site) pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in Guatemala

El Perú, is a pre-Columbian Maya archeological site occupied during the Preclassic and Classic cultural chronology periods. The site was the capital of a Maya city-state and is located near the banks of the San Pedro River in the Department of Petén of northern Guatemala. El Perú is 60 km (37 mi) west of Tikal.

Women rulers in Maya society

During the 7th and 8th centuries in Mesoamerica, there was an evident shift in the roles women played in ancient Maya society as compared with the previous two centuries. It was during this time that there was a great deal of political complexity seen both in Maya royal houses as well as in the Maya area. Warfare was a significant factor in political competition and marriage was one of the ways that alliances were made between the different polities. This was accompanied by a shift in women's roles from wife and mother to playing integral parts in courtly life, such as participating in rituals involving the supernatural world and at times ruling individual polities.

Yichaak Balam

Yich'aak B'alam was a Maya king of Seibal.

Kan II

K'an II was a Maya ruler of Caracol. He reigned AD 618–658.

Tuun Kab Hix Mayan king

Tuun Kʻabʻ Hix was a Maya king of the Kaan Kingdom.

Scroll Serpent

Scroll Serpent was a Maya ruler of the Kaan kingdom. He ruled from AD 579 to 611. He acceded on September 2.

Tajoom Ukab Kahk

Tajoom Ukʻab Kʻahk' was a Maya ruler of the Kaan kingdom. He became a king on March 28, 622.

Yuknoom Head

Yuknoom Head was a king of the Maya Kaan Kingdom. He ruled AD 630-636.

Yuknoom Ch'een II', known as Yuknoom the Great, was a Mayan ruler of the Kaan kingdom, which had its capital at Calakmul during the Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology.

Yuknoom Took Kawiil King of Calakmul

Yuknoom Took' Kʻawiil was a Maya ruler of the Kaan kingdom (Calakmul).

Lady of Tikal politician

Lady of Tikal, also known as Woman of Tikal, was a queen of the Mayan city of Tikal. She took the throne on April 19, 511 and reigned until about 527.

First Tikal–Calakmul War

The Tikal–Calakmul wars were a series of wars between Tikal and Calakmul. The First Tikal–Calakmul War was the first of these wars. During this and following conflicts in Petén vassal states like Naranjo and Dos Pilas were often used. Though Yaxchilan was in the war it only had a minor presence at the beginning.

Second Tikal–Calakmul War

The Second Tikal–Calakmul War was the second in a series of wars between Tikal and Calakmul known as The Tikal–Calakmul wars. Tikal and Calakmul were some of the most prosperous cities in Peten during the classic period of Mesoamerican chronology. After the classic came the post classic which was characterized by a decline in Maya Civilization. During that time both Tikal and Calakmul were abandoned.

Third Tikal–Calakmul War

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.

Tikal–Calakmul wars

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.

References

  1. Martin and Grube 2008:110
  2. es:Q'anjob'al (etnia)#cite ref-3
  3. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens by Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube (2008:45, 75, 109-111)
  4. es:Tikal