Yohl Iknal
Encyclopedia
Yohl Ik'nal, Ix Yohl Ik'nal or Ol Ik'nal (ruled December 21, 583 – November 7, 604) was a female ruler of the Mayan
city of Palenque
, ruling from 583 to 604, during the Mesoamerica
n Classic Period
. Her name means Heart of the Wind Place and she was the grandmother of K'inich Janaab' Pakal, Palenque's greatest king. She was a descendent of K'uk' B'alam I, the founder of the Palenque dynasty and she came to power within a year of the death of her predecessor Kan B'alam I. She was the first female ruler in recorded Maya history and was one of a very few female rulers known from Maya history to have borne a full royal title. She must have come to the throne due to extremely unusual circumstances, the details of which have not survived. She was the only woman to have ruled Palenque and was likely to have been either the sister or, more likely, the daughter of Kan B'alam, who left no male heir.
During the reign of Ix Yohl Ik'nal, Palenque suffered an important defeat by Calakmul
, one of the two great Maya powers of the Classic Period. The battle took place on 23 April 599 but Ix Yohl Ik'nal reigned for several years more and died in AD 604. After the defeat, Palenque apparently maintained its political identity but Ix Yohl Ik'nal probably had to pay tribute to the king of Calakmul. There are indications that either Ix Yohl Ik'nal or her successor successfully rebelled against Calakmul's dominance before 611.
Archaeologist Merle Greene Robertson
has suggested that a vaulted tomb under Temple XX at Palenque is that of Queen Ix Yohl Ik'nal. She was considered important enough to be depicted twice on the sarcophagus of her grandson K'inich Janaab' Pakal and to be sculpted in stucco
on the wall of his tomb.
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
city of Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
, ruling from 583 to 604, during the Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n Classic Period
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
. Her name means Heart of the Wind Place and she was the grandmother of K'inich Janaab' Pakal, Palenque's greatest king. She was a descendent of K'uk' B'alam I, the founder of the Palenque dynasty and she came to power within a year of the death of her predecessor Kan B'alam I. She was the first female ruler in recorded Maya history and was one of a very few female rulers known from Maya history to have borne a full royal title. She must have come to the throne due to extremely unusual circumstances, the details of which have not survived. She was the only woman to have ruled Palenque and was likely to have been either the sister or, more likely, the daughter of Kan B'alam, who left no male heir.
During the reign of Ix Yohl Ik'nal, Palenque suffered an important defeat by Calakmul
Calakmul
Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands...
, one of the two great Maya powers of the Classic Period. The battle took place on 23 April 599 but Ix Yohl Ik'nal reigned for several years more and died in AD 604. After the defeat, Palenque apparently maintained its political identity but Ix Yohl Ik'nal probably had to pay tribute to the king of Calakmul. There are indications that either Ix Yohl Ik'nal or her successor successfully rebelled against Calakmul's dominance before 611.
Archaeologist Merle Greene Robertson
Merle Greene Robertson
Merle Greene Robertson was an American artist, art historian, archaeologist, lecturer and Mayanist researcher, renowned for her extensive work towards the investigation and preservation of the art, iconography and writing of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Central America.-Early...
has suggested that a vaulted tomb under Temple XX at Palenque is that of Queen Ix Yohl Ik'nal. She was considered important enough to be depicted twice on the sarcophagus of her grandson K'inich Janaab' Pakal and to be sculpted in stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
on the wall of his tomb.