Editing Tikal (section)

===Early Classic===

Dynastic rulership among the lowland Maya is most deeply rooted at Tikal. According to later [[hieroglyph]]ic records, the dynasty was founded by Yax Ehb Xook, perhaps in the 1st century AD.<ref name=c90/> At the beginning of the Early Classic, power in the Maya region was concentrated at Tikal and Calakmul, in the core of the Maya heartland.<ref>Miller 1999, pp.88-9.</ref>

Tikal may have benefited from the collapse of the large Preclassic states such as [[El Mirador]]. In the Early Classic Tikal rapidly developed into the most dynamic city in the Maya region, stimulating the development of other nearby [[List of Maya sites|Maya cities]].<ref>Webster 2002, p.191.</ref>

The site, however, was often at [[Maya warfare|war]] and inscriptions tell of alliances and conflict with other Maya states, including [[Uaxactun]], [[Caracol]], [[Naranjo]] and [[Calakmul]]. The site was defeated at the end of the Early Classic by Caracol, which rose to take Tikal's place as the paramount center in the southern Maya lowlands.<ref>Sharer 1994, p.265.</ref> The earlier part of the Early Classic saw hostilities between Tikal and its neighbor Uaxactun, with Uaxactun recording the capture of prisoners from Tikal.<ref name=k129>Kelly 1996, p.129.</ref>

There appears to have been a breakdown in the male succession by AD 317, when Lady [[Unen Bahlam]] conducted a Kʼatun-ending ceremony, apparently as queen of the city.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p.27">Martin & Grube 2000, p.27.</ref>

====Tikal and Teotihuacan====
[[File:Mexico SunMoonPyramid.jpg|thumb|The great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the [[Valley of Mexico]] appears to have decisively intervened in Tikal politics.]]

As early as 200 AD, Teotihuacan had embassies in Tikal.<ref>''The Origins & Collapse of the Preclassic Maya in the Mirador Basin'' – Richard Hansen at The Library of Congress (2014)</ref>

The fourteenth king of Tikal was Chak Tok Ichʼaak (Great Jaguar Paw).<ref name=c90>Coe 1999, p.90.</ref> Chak Tok Ichʼaak built a palace that was preserved and developed by later rulers until it became the core of the [[Central Acropolis]].<ref name=w192/> Little is known about Chak Tok Ichʼaak except that he was killed on 14 January 378 AD.{{contradictory inline |article=Siyaj K'ak' |reason=Other article says 16 January|date=November 2020}} On the same day, [[Siyaj Kʼakʼ]] (Fire Is Born) arrived from the west, having passed through [[El Perú (Maya site)|El Peru]], a site to the west of Tikal, on 8 January.<ref name=c90/> On [[Stele|Stela]] 31 he is named as "Lord of the West".<ref name=d199/> Siyaj Kʼakʼ was probably a foreign general serving a figure represented by a non-Maya hieroglyph of a [[atlatl|spearthrower]] combined with an owl, a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of [[Teotihuacan]] in the distant Valley of Mexico. [[Spearthrower Owl]] may even have been the ruler of Teotihuacan. These recorded events strongly suggest that Siyaj Kʼakʼ led a Teotihuacan invasion that defeated the native Tikal king, who was captured and immediately executed.<ref>Coe 1999, pp.90–1.</ref> Siyaj Kʼakʼ appears to have been aided by a powerful political faction at Tikal itself;<ref>Webster 2002, p.133.</ref> roughly at the time of the conquest, a group of Teotihuacan natives were apparently residing near the Lost World complex.<ref name=d201/> He also exerted control over other cities in the area, including Uaxactun, where he became king, but did not take the throne of Tikal for himself.<ref name=w262/><ref name=d200>Drew 1999, p.200.</ref> Within a year, the son of Spearthrower Owl by the name of [[Yax Nuun Ahiin I]] (First Crocodile) had been installed as the fifteenth king of Tikal while he was still a boy, being enthroned on 13 September 379.<ref name=d200/><ref name=c97>Coe 1999, p.97.</ref> He reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal, and remained a vassal of Siyaj Kʼakʼ for as long as the latter lived. It seems likely that Yax Nuun Ayiin I took a wife from the preexisting, defeated, Tikal dynasty and thus legitimized the right to rule of his son, Siyaj Chan Kʼawiil II.<ref name=d200/>

[[Río Azul]], a small site {{convert|100|km|mi|sp=us}} northeast of Tikal, was conquered by the latter during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin I. The site became an outpost of Tikal, shielding it from hostile cities further north, and also became a trade link to the Caribbean.<ref>Drew 1999, pp.201–2</ref>

Although the new rulers of Tikal were foreign, their descendants were rapidly Mayanized. Tikal became the key ally and trading partner of Teotihuacan in the Maya lowlands. After being conquered by Teotihuacan, Tikal rapidly dominated the northern and eastern Peten. Uaxactun, together with smaller towns in the region, were absorbed into Tikal's kingdom. Other sites, such as [[Bejucal (Mesoamerican site)|Bejucal]] and [[Motul de San José]] near [[Lake Petén Itzá]] became [[vassal state|vassals]] of their more powerful neighbor to the north. By the middle of the 5th century Tikal had a core territory of at least {{convert|25|km|mi|sp=us}} in every direction.<ref name=d201>Drew 1999, p.201.</ref>

Around the 5th century, an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and [[Earthworks (archaeology)|earthworks]] was built along the northern periphery of Tikal's hinterland, joining up with the natural defenses provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of the city. Additional fortifications were probably also built to the south. These defenses protected Tikal's core population and agricultural resources, encircling an area of approximately {{convert|120|km2|sqmi|sp=us}}.<ref name=w262/> Recent research suggests that the earthworks served as a water collection system rather than a defensive purpose.<ref name= C202>Silverstein 2009</ref>

====Tikal and Copán====
In the 5th century, the power of the city reached as far south as [[Copán]], whose founder [[Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Mo']] was clearly connected with Tikal.<ref name=w192>Webster 2002, p.192.</ref> Copán itself was not in an ethnically Maya region and the founding of the Copán dynasty probably involved the direct intervention of Tikal.<ref name=af407>Wyllys Andrews & Fash 2005, p.407.</ref> Kʼinich Yax Kukʼ Moʼ arrived in Copán in December 426, and bone analysis of his remains shows that he passed his childhood and youth at Tikal.<ref name=faf26>Fash & Agurcia Fasquelle 2005, p.26.</ref> An individual known as [[Ajaw]] Kʼukʼ Mo' (lord Kʼukʼ Moʼ) is referred to in an early text at Tikal and may well be the same person.<ref>Looper 2003, p.37.</ref> His tomb had Teotihuacan characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacan. Hieroglyphic texts refer to him as "Lord of the West", much like Siyaj Kʼakʼ.<ref name=faf26/> At the same time, in late 426, Copán founded the nearby site of [[Quiriguá]], possibly sponsored by Tikal itself.<ref name=af407/> The founding of these two centers may have been part of an effort to impose Tikal's authority upon the southeastern portion of the Maya region.<ref>Looper 2003, p.38.</ref> The interaction between these sites and Tikal was intense over the next three centuries.<ref>Looper 1999, p.263.</ref>

A long-running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century, with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to [[Tikal–Calakmul wars|a long-running war]] between two Maya superpowers. The kings of these two capitals adopted the title ''kaloomteʼ'', a term that has not been precisely translated but that implies something akin to "[[high king]]".<ref>Webster 2002, pp.168-9.</ref>

The early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city, known only as the "[[Lady of Tikal]]", who was very likely a daughter of Chak Tok Ichʼaak II. She seems never to have ruled in her own right, rather being partnered with male co-rulers. The first of these was Kaloomteʼ Bʼalam, who seems to have had a long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co-ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence. The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering. It appears she was later paired with lord "Bird Claw", who is presumed to be the otherwise unknown 20th ruler.<ref name=mg38-9/>