AD 734 – 744
Tikal’s last victories
Yik'in Chan K'awiil, son of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, becomes king of Tikal on 8 December AD 734. A carved altar at Tikal, probably made between 733 and 736, shows a bound lord of Calakmul and possibly names its king Yuknoom Took' K'awiil. Calakmul’s allies still surround Tikal: El Perú to the west, Naranjo to the east and Dos Pilas to the south-west.
The top of Temple IV at Tikal above the forest, 2006Wikimedia Commons, Raymond Ostertag, CC BY-SA 2.5 (Tikal Temple4 2006 08 11.JPG)
The king builds Temple IV, 70 m from the plaza floor to the top of its roof comb and the tallest temple at Tikal. Its carved lintels of sapodilla wood carry a date of 741. A causeway links it to the Great Plaza, about 750 m to the east.
In 743 Yik'in Chan K'awiil defeats El Perú, which becomes a vassal of Tikal. He takes an image of a celestial serpent, possibly the patron god of El Perú, back to Tikal. Lintel 3 of Temple IV celebrates the victory and shows him seated on a palanquin.
Lintel 3 of Temple IV at Tikal, carved in sapodilla wood, Museum der Kulturen, BaselWikimedia Commons, Jose Fernando, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Tikal Lintel Temple IV.jpg)
In 744 Tikal defeats Naranjo and captures its king, Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak, who is probably sacrificed during the victory celebrations. Yik'in Chan K'awiil dedicates Stela 5 the same year. The defeats of El Perú and Naranjo end the alliance network of Calakmul.
Sources
- Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2nd ed. 2008), pp. 48 to 50.
- Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2000), pp. 113 to 114.
- Mary Ellen Miller, Maya Art and Architecture (1999), pp. 129 to 131.
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