Editing Palenque (section)

==History==
Mythological beings using a variety of emblem [[glyph]]s in their titles suggests a complex early history. For instance, [[Kʼukʼ Bahlam I]], the supposed founder of the Palenque dynasty, is called a ''Toktan Ajaw'' in the text of the Temple of the Foliated Cross.

The famous structures that we know today probably represent a rebuilding effort in response to the attacks by the city of [[Calakmul]] and its client states in 599 and 611.<ref>Martin and Grube 2000:</ref> One of the main figures responsible for rebuilding Palenque and for a renaissance in the city's art and architecture is also one of the best-known Maya ''Ajaw'', [[Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal]] (Pacal the Great), who ruled from 615 to 683. He is known through his funerary monument dubbed the [[Temple of the Inscriptions]], after the lengthy text preserved in the temple's superstructure. At the time [[Alberto Ruz Lhuillier]] excavated Pakal's tomb, it was the richest and best preserved of any scientifically excavated burial then known from the ancient Americas. It held this position until the discovery of the rich [[Moche culture|Moche]] burials at [[Sipán]], [[Peru]] and the recent{{when?|date=July 2024}} discoveries at [[Copán]] and [[Calakmul]].

[[File:Palenque Relief.jpg|thumb|200 px|A [[bas-relief]] in the Palenque museum that depicts Upakal Kʼinich, the son of [[Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Naab III]].]]
Beside the attention that Kʼinich Janaab' Pakal's tomb brought to Palenque, the city is historically significant for its extensive hieroglyphic corpus composed during the reigns of Janaabʼ Pakal, his son [[Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II]], and his grandson Kʼinich Akal Moʼ Naabʼ, and for being the location where [[Heinrich Berlin]]<ref>Berlin 1959, 1965, 1968</ref> and later [[Linda Schele]] and [[Peter Mathews (archaeologist)|Peter Mathews]] outlined the first dynastic list for any Maya city.<ref>Mathews and Schele 1974</ref> The work of [[Tatiana Proskouriakoff]] as well as that of Berlin, Schele, Mathews, and others, initiated the intense historical investigations that characterized much of the scholarship on the ancient Maya from the 1960s to the present.<ref>Schele and Freidel 1990; Martin and Grube 2000</ref> The extensive iconography and textual corpus has also allowed for study of Classic period [[Maya mythology]]<ref>Berlin 1963; Wald [Schele] 1999; Freidel et al. 1993; Freidel and Macleod 2000; Stuart 2005: Chapter 6</ref> and ritual practice.<ref>Stuart 1998</ref>

===Rulers===
A list of possible and known Maya rulers<ref>Martin & Grube 2008, pp. 155–176.</ref><ref>Skidmore 2010, pp. 2–91.</ref> of the city, with dates of their reigns:
{{Columns-list|colwidth=24em|
Mythological and legendary rulers:
* [[?-Muwaan Mat]] c.2325 BC 
* [[Ukʼix Chan]] c.987 BC
* [[Casper (mythological ruler)|Casper]] c.252 BC
Palenque dynasty:
* [[Kʼukʼ Bahlam I]] 431–c.435 AD
* "[[Casper (Maya ruler)|Casper]]" 435–c.487 AD
* [[Bʼutz Aj Sak Chiik]] 487–c.501 AD
* [[Ahkal Moʼ Nahb I]] 501–524 AD
* [[Kʼan Joy Chitam I]] 529–565 AD
* [[Ahkal Moʼ Nahb II]] 565–570 AD
* [[Kan Bahlam I]] 572–583 AD
* [[Yohl Ikʼnal]] 583–604 AD (female)
* [[Ajen Yohl Mat]] 605–612 AD
* ''[[Janahb Pakal]]'' c.612 AD (position uncertain)
* [[Sak Kʼukʼ]] 612–615 AD (female)
* [[Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal|Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal I]] 615–683 AD
* [[Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II]] 684–702 AD
* [[Kʼinich Kʼan Joy Chitam II]] 702–711 AD
* [[Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III]] 721–c.736 AD
* [[Kʼinich Janaab Pakal II]] c.742 AD
* [[Kʼinich Kan Bahlam III]] c.751 AD
* [[Kʼinich Kʼukʼ Bahlam II]] 764–c.783 AD
* [[Janaab Pakal III]] 799–? AD
}}

[[File:Kan balam det.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Kʼinich Kan Bʼalam II]], one of the many rulers of Palenque. Detail from the Temple XVII Tablet.]]

===Early Classic period===
The first ''[[ajaw]]'', or king, of Bʼaakal that we know of was Kʼuk Balam ([[Quetzal]] [[Jaguar]]), who governed for four years starting in the year 431. After him, a king came to power, nicknamed "[[Casper (Maya ruler)|Casper]]" by archaeologists. The next two kings were probably ''Casper'''s sons. Little was known about the first of these, Bʼutz Aj Sak Chiik, until 1994, when a tablet was found describing a ritual for the king. The first tablet mentioned his successor Ahkal Moʼ Naab I as a teenage prince, and therefore it is believed that there was a family relation between them. For unknown reasons, Akhal Moʼ Naab I had great prestige, so the kings who succeeded him were proud to be his descendants.

When Ahkal Moʼ Naab I died in 524, there was an interregnum of four years, before the following king was crowned at Toktán in 529. [[Kʼan Joy Chitam I]] governed for 36 years. His sons [[Ahkal Moʼ Naab II]] and [[Kʼan Bʼalam I]] were the first kings who used the title ''Kinich'', which means "the great [[Solar deity|sun]]". This word was used also by later kings. Bʼalam was succeeded in 583 by [[Yohl Ikʼnal]], who was 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 in 599.

A second victory by Calakmul occurred some twelve years later, in 611, under the government of [[Aj Ne' Yohl Mat]], son of Yohl Iknal. In this occasion, the king of Calakmul entered Palenque in person, consolidating a significant military disaster, which was followed by an epoch of political disorder. Aj Ne' Yohl Mat was to die in 612.

===Late Classic period===
[[File:UpperMiddleTempleInscriptions.jpg|thumb|left|The two inner columns from the Temple of the Inscriptions]]
Bʼaakal began the Late Classic period in the throes of the disorder created by the defeats before Calakmul. The glyphic panels at the [[Temple of the Inscriptions]], which records the events at this time, relates that some fundamental annual religious ceremonies were not performed in 613, and at this point states: "Lost is the divine lady, lost is the king."<ref>Mesoweb</ref> Mentions of the [[government]] at the time have not been found.

It is believed that after the death of Aj Ne' Yohl Mat, [[Janaab' Pakal|Janaab Pakal]], also called Pakal I, took power thanks to a political agreement. Janaab Pakal assumed the functions of the ''ajaw'' (king) but never was crowned. He was succeeded in 612 by his daughter, the queen [[Sak Kʼukʼ]], who governed for only three years until her son was old enough to rule. It is considered that the dynasty was reestablished from then on, so Bʼaakal retook the path of glory and splendor.

[[File:The Observation Tower.jpg|thumb|200px|The Palace Observation Tower]]
The grandson of Janaab Pakal is the most famous of the Mayan kings, Kʼinich Janaab' Pakal, also known as [[Pakal the Great]]. He began rule at the age of 12 years after his mother Sak Kuk resigned as queen after three years, thus passing power on to him. Pakal the Great reigned in Palenque from 615 to 683, and his mother remained an important force for the first 25 years of his rule. She may have ruled jointly with him. 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 consort|princess]] of Oktán, Lady Tzakbu Ajaw (also known as Ahpo-Hel) in 624 and had at least three children.

[[File:Palace at Palenque.jpg|thumb|left|The Palace as seen from the courtyard.]]
Most of the palaces and temples of Palenque were constructed during his government; 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.

[[File:Palenque Palace inner view.JPG|thumb|left|In the Palace]]
After the death of Pakal in 683, his older son Kʼinich Kan Bʼalam assumed the kingship of Bʼaakal, who in turn was succeeded in 702 by his brother Kʼinich Kʼan Joy Chitam II. The first continued the architectural and sculptural works that were begun by his father, as well as finishing the construction of the famous tomb of Pakal. Pakal's sarcophagus, built for a very tall man, held the richest collection of jade seen in a Mayan tomb. A [[jade]] mosaic mask was placed over his face, and a suit made of jade adorned his body, with each piece hand-carved and held together by gold wire.<ref name="Schrom"/>

Furthermore, Kʼinich Kan Bʼalam I began ambitious projects, including the Group of the Crosses. Thanks to numerous works begun during his government, now we have portraits of this king, found in various sculptures. His brother succeeded him continuing construction and art with the same enthusiasm, reconstructing and enlarging the north side of the Palace. Thanks to the reign of these three kings, Bʼaakal had a century of growth and splendor.

[[File:Palenque - Rote Königin 1.jpg|thumb|200px|Mask of the Red Queen from the tomb found in Temple XIII.]]
In 711, Palenque was sacked by the realm of [[Toniná]], and the old king Kʼinich Kʼan Joy Chitam II was taken prisoner. It is not known what the final fate of the king was, and it is presumed that he was executed in Toniná. For 10 years there was no king. Finally, Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nab' III was crowned in 722. Although the new king belonged to the royalty, there is no evidence that he was the direct inheritor of Kʼinich Kʼan Joy Chitam II. It is believed, therefore, that this coronation was a break in the dynastic line, and probably Kʼinich 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 8th century. Little is known about this period, except that, among other events, the war with Toniná continued, where there are hieroglyphics that record a new defeat of Palenque.

Occasionally city-state lords [[:Category:Maya queens|were women]]. Lady Sak Kuk ruled at Palenque for at least three years starting in 612 CE, before she passed her title to her son. However, these [[Queen regnant|female rulers]] were accorded male attributes. They were presented as more masculine, since they had assumed roles that were typically held by men.<ref>{{cite book |title=Archaeology in North America |last=Snow |first=Dean R |author-link=Dean R Snow |year=2010 |publisher=Prentice Hall |pages=165–166}}</ref>

===Abandonment===
During the 8th century, Bʼaakal 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.