Ah Kin Chel was the name of a

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

Kuchkabal A ''kuchkabal'' ( , ''kuchkabalo'ob'', 'province'), also known as an ''ah kuch-kab'' or ''ah cuch-cab'', was a system of social and political organisation common to Maya polities of the Maya Lowlands, in the Yucatán Peninsula, during the ...

of the northern

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

, before the arrival of the

Spanish conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s in the 16th century. Ah Kin Chel was founded with the capital at Tecoh in 1441 by Mo-Chel when the

League of Mayapan The League of Mayapan (Yucatec: Luub Mayapan Maya glyphs: ) was a confederation of Maya states in the post classic period of Mesoamerica on the Yucatan peninsula. The main members of the league were the Itza, the Tutul-Xiu, Mayapan, and Uxm ...

collapsed and was divided into seventeen nations.

History

Before Mo-Chel

In the mid 9th century, Maya civilization began to collapse. In the early 10th century, Yucatan was divided into many different polities. At this time

Ce Acatl Topiltzin Cē Ācatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl (''Our Prince One-Reed Precious Serpent'') (c. 895–947) is a mythologised figure appearing in 16th-century accounts of Nahua historical traditions, where he is identified as a ruler in the 10th century of th ...

Tlatoani of the

Toltec Empire The Toltec Empire'', ''Toltec Kingdom or Altepetl Tollan was a political entity in modern Mexico. It existed through the classic and post-classic periods of Mesoamerican chronology, but gained most of its power in the post-classic. During this t ...

conquered the Yucatan Peninsula. Toltec control however did not last long. In 987 Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu united the cities of

Uxmal Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: ''Óoxmáal'' ) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul ...

Mayapan Mayapan (Màayapáan in Modern Maya; in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west o ...

, and Chichen Itza to form the

. The League was a confederation of Maya polities, which promised peace, and many cities joined it. Most places joined of their own free will,

Izamal Izamal () is a small city in the Mexican state of Yucatán, east of state capital Mérida, in southern Mexico. Izamal was continuously occupied throughout most of Mesoamerican chronology; in 2000, the city's estimated population was 15,000 peop ...

was the fifth city to join, but Tecoh was conquered by K'ak'upakal one of the four k’ul kokom (rulers) of Chichen Itza, as well as the head of the Itza military. Yawahal Cho Chak and Hun Pik Tok May were two of the other k’ul kokom.

Independence

Mo-Chel was the first

Halach Uinik Halach uinik or halach uinic ( Yucatec Maya:'real man') was the name given to the supreme ruler, overlord or chief, as they were called in the colonial period of a Maya '' kuchkabal''. Most ''kuchkabal'' were run by a halach uinik, who ruled on ...

of Ah Kin Chel. He started the rule of the Chel family and the political state ruled by them. He was originally a nobleman, the son in law of one of the principal priests at Mayapan. Another priest Ah Xupan Nauat married his daughter Namox Chel to Mo. Mo-Chel is said to have foreseen the destruction of the League of Mayapan, and he fled with some followers to Tecoh near Izamal, where he established an independent state. He named the nation Ah Kin (high priest, literally means is from the sun) Chel (from his last name, a way of naming used by many Kuchkabal).http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Book-of-Chilam-Balam-the-of-Chumayel.pdf Soon afterwards the League of Mayapan descended into a civil war between the

Cocom The Cocom or Cocomes were a Maya family or dynasty who controlled the Yucatán Peninsula in the late Postclassic period. Their capital was at Mayapan. The dynasty was founded by Hunac Ceel Hunac Ceel Cauich (fl. late 12th and early 13th centu ...

and the

Tutul-Xiu Tutul-Xiu, also Tutul Xiues or Mani, was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the central Yucatán Peninsula with capital in Maní, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. Earlier history In later accounts the Co ...

. The war started in 1441 and ended with the destruction of Mayapan and the League fracturing into seventeen states called Kuchkabal in 1461. The Chel family remained in rule until the end of Ah Kin Chel. Namux Chel, the last ruler, was already in power in 1527 when

Francisco de Montejo Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America. Early years Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentage ...

visited. To avoid conflict he allowed the Spaniards passage through his territory. After three attempts the Spaniards conquered Yucatan in 1547.

Organization

The Kuchkabals were divided into municipalities called ''batalib'' (plural: ''batalibob''). Each ''Batalib'' was ruled by a ''batab'' (plural: ''batabob''). The ruler of a Kuchkabal was called a ''Halach Uinik'', which means "person of fact, person of command". A ''Halach Uinik'' was a

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

, but some kuchkabals were oligarchies, with each batalib having a seat on a senate. As in the case of

Ekab Ekab or Ecab was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the northeastern Yucatán Peninsula, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. In the fifteenth century most of Yucatán was controlled by the League of Mayapan. By 1 ...

, one ''batalib'' usually had more powerful ''batabob''. The ''batabob'' were normally related to the ''Halach Uinik''.

References

{{Reflist Mayan chiefdoms of the Yucatán Peninsula 1441 establishments in North America 15th-century establishments in the Maya civilization 1547 disestablishments in North America 16th-century disestablishments in the Maya civilization