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Palenque.
Visitors to this Pit House
Palenque is a Maya archeological site near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located at 17°29′0″N, 92°2′59″W about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen. It is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, and bas-relief carvings the Maya produced. While the site was occupied by the middle Pre-Classic, it did not gain importance until several hundred years later. By 600 the first of the famous structures now visible were being constructed. Situated in the western reaches of Maya territory, on the edge of the southern highlands, B'aakal was a large and vital center of Maya civilization from the 5th century AD to the 9th century. The B'aakal state had a checkered career. Its original dynasts were perhaps Olmec. Politically, the city experienced diverse fortunes, being disastrously defeated by Kalakmul in 599 and again in 611. B'akaal was an important part of the Maya civilization during the fifth and ninth centuries, during which there were epochs of glory, catastrophe, alliances, and wars. At one point B'aakal allied with Tikal, the other large city at the time, in particular to contain the expansion of the belligerent Calakmul, also known as the "Rein of the Serpent." Calakmul emerged victorious twice in 599 and 611. Nevertheless, B'aakal produced what is arguably the best-known Maya Ajaw (king or lord), Pacal the Great, who ruled from 615 to 683, and left one of the most magnificent tomb-works of ancient Mesoamerica, beneath the Temple of Inscriptions. This is a grand temple atop a step pyramid dedicated in 692; inside is an elaborate, long hieroglyphic text carved in stone detailing the city's ruling dynasty and the exploits of Pacal the Great. A stone slab in the floor could be lifted up, revealing a passageway (filled in shortly before the city's abandonment and reopened by archeologists) to a long interior stairway leading back down to ground level and the shrine/tomb of the semi-divine Pacal. Over his crypt is an elaborate stone showing him falling into the underworld, and taking the guise of one of the Maya Hero Twins in the Popul Vuh who defeated the lords of the underworld to achieve immortality. The B'aakal government claimed that their lineage could be traced back to the remote past, some even boasting that a lineage back the prehistoric times with the mythological creation of the world in 3114 BCE. Modern archeological theorists believe that perhaps the first dynasty of B'aakal were Olmec.
Early Classic period. The first ajaw, or king, of B'aakal that we know of was K'uk Balam (Quetzal Jaguar), who governed for four years starting in the year 431. After him, a king came to power, nicknamed Gasparín by archeologists. The two next kings were probably Gasparín's sons. Little was known about the first of these, B'utz Aj Sak Chiik, until 1994, when a tablet was found describing a ritual for the king. The first tablet mentioned his successor Ahkal Mo' Naab I as a teenage prince, and therefore it is believed that there was a family relation between them. For unknown reasons, Akhal Mo' Naab I had great prestige, so the Kings who succeeded him were proud to be his descendants. When Ahkal Mo' Naab I died in 524, there was an interregnum of four years, before the following king was coronated en Toktán in 529. K'an Joy Chitam I governed for 36 years. His sons Ahkal Mo' Naab II and K'an B'alam I were the first kings who used the title Kinich, which means the great son. This word was used also by later kings. B'alam I was succeeded in 583 by Yok Iknal, who is supposedly his daughter. The inscriptions found in Palenque document a battle that occurred under her government in which troops from Calakmul invaded and sacked Palenque, a military feat without known precedents. These events took place on April 21, 599. A second victory by Calakmul occurred some twelve years later, in 611, under the government of Aj Ne'Ohl Mat, son of Yol Iknal. In this occasion, the king of Calakmul entered Palenque in person, consolidating a significant military disaster, the which was followed by an epoch of political disorder. Aj Ne'Ohl Mat was to die in 612.
Late Classic Period. B'aakal began the Late Classic period in the throes of the disorder created by the defeats before Calakmul. The texts written in 613 are pessimistic: "Lost is the divine lady, lost is the king." [citation needed] These sources also tell of some fundamental rites that were not actually done. Mentions of the government at the time have not been found. It is believed that after the death of Aj Ne'Ohl Mat, Janaab Pakal, sometimes called Pakal I, took power thanks to a political agreement. Janaab Pakal assumed the functions of the ajaw (king) but never was coronated; and he was succeeded in 612 by his daughter, the queen Sak K'uk, who governed for only three years. (see citation hereof in Spanish wikipedia). It is considered that the dynasty was reestablished from then on, so B'aakal retook the path of glory and splendor. The son of Janaab Pakal is the most famous of the Mayan Kings, K'inich Janaab' Pakal, also known as Pakal the Great. Starting at twelve years of age, he reigned in Palenque from 615-683. Known as the favorite of the gods, he carried Palenque to new levels of splendor, in spite of having come to power when the city was at a low point. Pakal married the princess of Oktán in 624 and had two children.
During his government, most of the palaces and temples of Palenque were constructed; the city flourished as never before, eclipsing Tikal. The central complex, known as The Palace, was enlarged and remodeled on various occasions, notably in the years 654, 661, and 668. In this structure, is a text describing how in that epoch Palenque was newly allied with Tikal, and also with Yaxchilan, and that they were able to capture the six enemy kings of the alliance. Not much more had been translated from the text. After the death of Pakal in 683, his older son K'inich Kan B'alam assumed the kingship of B'aakal, who in turn was succeeded in 702 by his brother K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. The first continued the architectural and sculptural works that were began by his father, as well as finishing the construction of the famous tomb of Pakal. Furthermore, he began ambitious projects, like the Group of the Crosses. Thanks to numerous works began during his government, now we have portraits of this king, found in various sculptures. His brother succeeded him continuing with the same enthusiasm of construction and art, reconstructing and enlarging the north side of the Palace. Thanks to the reign of these three kings, B'aakal had a century of growing and splendor.
In 711, Palanque was sacked by the realm of Toniná, and the old king K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II was taken prisoner. It is not known what the final destination of the king was, and it is presumed that he was executed in Toniná. For ten years there was no king. Finally, K'inich Ahkal Mo' Nab' III was coronated in 722. Although the new king belonged to the royalty, there is no reason to be sure that he was the direct inheritor direct of K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. It is believed, therefore, that this coronation was a break in the dynastic line; and probably K'inich Ahkal Nab' arrived to power after years of maneuvering and forging political alliances. This king, his son and grandson, governed until the end of the century. Little is known about this time period, except that, among other events, the war with Toniná continued, where there are hieroglyphics that record a new defeat of Palenque. The abandonment of Palenque During the 8th century, B'aakal came under increasing stress, in concert with most other Classic Mayan city-states, and there was no new elite construction in the ceremonial center sometime after 800. An agricultural population continued to live here for a few generations, then the site was abandoned and was slowly grown over by the forest. The district was very sparsely populated when the Spanish first arrived in the 1520s.
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