K'inich Janaab Pakal I.

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Stucco effigy of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I from the Temple of Inscriptions in Palenque, now in the National Museum of Anthropology , Mexico City
Different spellings of the name K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I.

K'inich Janaab Pakal I , also known as Pakal the Great , (* March 23, 603 , † August 28, 683 ) was the most important ruler ( Ajaw ) of the Maya city ​​of Palenque . He ruled from July 26, 615 until his death.

Origin and family

K'inich Janaab Pakal I. was born on March 23, 603 ( long count 9.8.9.13.0, calendar round 8 Ahaw 13 Pop) as the son of woman Sak K'uk ' (* around 580; † 640) from the ruling house . His father K'an Mo 'Hix probably did not come from the ruling dynasty, the only information known about him is that he died in 643. Pakal was married to Tz'akbu Ajaw (* around 612 ?; † 672). With her he had three sons: his two successors K'inich Kan Bahlam II (* 635; † 702) and K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II (* 644; † around 721?) And another son named Tiwol Chan Mat (* 647; † 680), who never ruled himself, but was to become the progenitor of all rulers who followed K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II.

Reign

Oval palace panel from House E of the palace in Palenque: The panel shows an enthronement scene. Pakal, seated on a jaguar throne , is given a helmet by his mother as an insignia of power.

Pakal's accession to the throne was preceded by politically difficult times for Palenque. From 599 onwards there were repeated attacks by the warring city-state of Calakmul , which finally culminated in the almost complete destruction of Palenque in 610/11. In 612 the ruler Ajen Yohl Mat died apparently without an heir, which is why Sak K'uk 'was first appointed as regent. The transfer of power to her son took place on July 26, 615 (9.9.2.4.8, 5 Lamat 1 Mol), when Pakal was just twelve years old.

Despite his young age, Pakal managed to stabilize Palenque again and to strengthen the city militarily in the following decades and to lead it to a new architectural bloom. 654 Palenque suffered another heavy defeat against Calakmul, whereupon Pakal undertook successful campaigns against his supposed allies in the following years. Monuments in Palenque tell of the capture and ritual sacrifice of rulers and other residents from the cities of Pomoná and Santa Elena for the period between 659 and 663 .

From the following years of government, apart from his construction work, practically no events have survived. K'inich Janaab Pakal I. died on August 28, 683 (December 9, May 5, 2018, 6 Etz'nab 11 Yax) after a 68-year reign.

Construction activity

Almost all of Palenque's significant buildings were built during the reigns of K'inich Janaab Pakal I and his eldest son K'inich Kan Balam II. Pakal's first building project was the "Forgotten Temple" (Templo Olvidado), which was built outside the city proper and its completion can be dated to the year 647 thanks to inscriptions. Another important building from Pakal's reign is the Count's Temple. In 654 he began to rebuild the palace, which dates back to the early classical period (250–600). Houses E, B, C and A of the palace were built under his rule, and under K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II the palace was expanded again. Pakal's last construction project is the Temple of the Inscriptions , which served him as a tomb, but was only completed under K'inich Kan Balam II.

  • The palace

  • The Count's Temple

  • The Temple of the Inscriptions

  • Video about Palenque and animation of the interior of the Temple of the Inscriptions

funeral

The grave slab of Pakal's sarcophagus (redrawing)

K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I died in 683 and was buried in a crypt below the Temple of the Inscriptions. The burial chamber was discovered in 1952 by the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier . In front of the entrance to the burial chamber he discovered the skeletons of five men and women who had apparently been sacrificed to accompany Pakal on his journey to the underworld ( Xibalba ). The tomb itself is almost entirely taken up by the monumental sarcophagus . On the ornate lid you can see mythological representations of Pakal's journey to the hereafter as well as a list of his ancestors.

Inside the sarcophagus, the ruler's skeleton was found along with numerous jade additions . The most elaborate piece is the death mask , the eyes of which were inlaid with mother-of-pearl and obsidian ; there is a T-shaped amulet in the mouth . Further additions were two jade heads, one of which represents the sun god and the other probably the aged Pakal. Two more heads were found under the sarcophagus. They are made of stucco and show Pakal in different ages.

  • Reconstruction of the burial chamber in the National Museum of Anthropology , Mexico City

  • Pakal grave decorations

  • Detail view of the death mask

  • Jade head

  • One of the two stucco heads

  • One of the two stucco heads

literature

  • Gerardo Aldana: The Apotheosis of Janaab 'Pakal: Science, History, and Religion at Classic Maya Palenque. University Press of Colorado, Boulder 2010, ISBN 978-1607320715 .
  • Guillermo Bernal Romero: El señorío de Palenque durante la Era de K'inich Janaahb 'Pakal y K'inich Kan B'ahlam (615-702 dC). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Histomesoamericana, 2011 ( PDF; 0.7 MB ).
  • Guillermo Bernal Romero: Historia dinástica de Palenque: la era de K'inich Janahb 'Pakal (615-683 dC). In: Revista Digital Universitaria. Volume 13, No. 12, 2012 ISSN  1067-6079 , pp. 1–16 ( PDF; 1.6 MB ).
  • Simon Martin , Nikolai Grube : Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. Thames & Hudson, 2nd ed., London 2008, ISBN 978-0-500-28726-2 , pp. 162-168.
  • Berthold Riese : The Maya. History - culture - religion . Publishing house CH Beck. 6th edition, Munich 2006, pp. 89-93, ISBN 3-406-46264-2 .
  • Joel Skidmore: The Rulers of Palenque . Mesoweb, 5th ed., 2010, pp. 71–73 ( PDF; 9.1 MB ).
  • Henri Stierlin: Maya. Palaces and pyramids in the jungle . Taschen, Cologne 2001, pp. 70-101, ISBN 3-8228-1240-4 .
  • David Stuart , George Stuart : Palenque. Eternal City of the Maya. Thames & Hudson, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-50-00-5156-6 , pp. 147-184.
  • Vera Tiesler, Andrea Cucina (ed.): Janaab 'Pakal de Palenque: Vida y muerte de un gobernante maya . Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico 2004, ISBN 978-970-32-1489-1 ( limited online version ) = Vera Tiesler, Andrea Cucina (ed.): Janaab 'Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson 2006, ISBN 978-0816525102 ( Limited online version ).

Web links

Commons : K'inich Janaab Pakal I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d K'inich Janaab Pakal I Mesoweb Encyclopedia, accessed on March 23, 2018.
  2. ^ A b Peter Matthews: Who's who in the Classic Maya World “The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.” (FAMSI) of March 21, 2006, accessed March 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Henri Stierlin: Maya. Palaces and pyramids in the jungle . Taschen, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8228-1240-4 , p. 76.
  4. ^ Henri Stierlin: Maya. Palaces and pyramids in the jungle . Taschen, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8228-1240-4 , pp. 77-84.
predecessor Office successor
Muwaan Mat Ajaw of Palenque
615-683 		K'inich Kan Bahlam II.
personal data
SURNAME K'inich Janaab Pakal I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pakal; Pakal the Great; 8 Ahau
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ruler of the Maya city of Palenque (615–683)
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 603
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 683