Hunac Ceel Cauich (fl. late 12th and early 13th centuries) was 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 populat ...

general from Telchaquillo who conquered Chichen Itzá and founded 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 ...

dynasty. While the rulers of Chichen Itzá were in part descendants of

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

outsiders who might have been disliked for being foreign oppressors or the war a simple one of conquest, the Maya history attributes the cause of the war to the theft of a wife of a powerful ruler by a power lord. (On the other hand, rulers of both the attackers and the attacked are labeled Itzá.) According to the history, Hunac Ceel, also known as Cauich, unsuccessfully fought the Itzás, having been taken captive. Ah Mex K'UUK threw him into the sacred

cenote A cenote ( or ; ) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly used for ...

of Chichén Itzá as a sacrifice to the gods. However, he survived an entire night in the water and told a prophecy of the rain god Chac about the year's coming harvest and went on, under the sponsorship of Ah Mex Cuc, to become lord of

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 of ...

, a city which, along with Chichen Itzá and

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 i ...

, ruled northern Yucatan (Chapter II, "The Rise of Hunac Ceel" in ''CHILAM BALAM OF CHUMAYEL'', see translatio
here
. With the assistance of highland forces, he attacked Chichen Itzá, overthrowing the local ruling elite and establishing Mayapan as the sole ruler of the region. Ralph L. Roys, in his commentary to the Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel posits the interpretation that someone from Chichen Itzá stole away with the bride of

Ah Ulil Ah Ulil or more commonly Ulil was a Maya ruler of Izamal during the eleventh century. Before Ulil was born his uncle, Ah Tunal saw the invasion of Chichen Itza by the Toltecs. They were led by Ce Acatl Topiltzin, referred to in Maya mythology as K ...

, the ruler of

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 ...

. Hunac Ceel and his Mexican allies used this as pretext or reason to sack the city in Izamal's name and to go on to profoundly re-order the entire political landscape (Appendix C: "The Hunac Ceel Episode").

Legacy

Hunac Ceel's actions upset not only the political balance of power in north Yucatan but the demographics of Chichen Itzá and the Peten Lake area, where the Itzá were still living at the time of European contact. The feature film ''

Kings of the Sun ''Kings of the Sun'' is a 1963 DeLuxe Color film directed by J. Lee Thompson for Mirisch Productions set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. Location scenes filmed in Mazatlán and Chichen Itza. The film mark ...

'' begins with Hunac Ceel's forces attacking Chichen Itzá. He is played by Leo Gordon. In the year 2000, the Mexican folk dance and music group Hunac-Ceel was founded in

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

Sources

The main source describing Hunac Ceel's conspiracy and conquest is the ''

Books of Chilam Balam The Books of Chilam Balam () are handwritten, chiefly 17th and 18th-centuries Maya miscellanies, named after the small Yucatec towns where they were originally kept, and preserving important traditional knowledge in which indigenous Maya and early ...

,'' especially the Books of Chilam Balam of Mani and of Chumayel, which describe Hunac Ceel as using treachery to drive

Chac-Xib-Chac Chac-Xib-Chac ( Maya Glyphs ) is a figure in Maya mythology.Maya Explorer
He was a ruler of Generals Maya people 12th-century South American people 13th-century South American people Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown