Knot Ajaw was a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the

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 ...

city-state

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, a successor of his father Yajaw Te' K'inich II. He reigned AD 599-613>.

Name

Ajaw Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya political title attested from epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the ''tzolkʼin'', the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a ruler's ''kʼatun''-ending rituals would fal ...

(Ahaw) means "king" or "ruler" in

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

. This king is also known as Ruler IV, Ahaw

Serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

and Flaming Ahaw.

Biography

Birth and family

Knot Ajaw was the eldest son of the king Yajaw Te' K'inich II. His mother was Lady 1 of Caracol. His stepmother was Lady Batz' Ek' and his half-brother was K'an II. Grandparents of Knot Ajaw were K'an I and Lady K'al K'inich (named after the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

god). He was born on November 28, 575.

Reign

He acceded on June 24, 599. He may have co-ruled during the last years of his father.Martin and Grube 2000:90 Stela 6 accords a full

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

glyph A glyph () is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A g ...

to a lord named Chekaj K'inich, who is referred to as a "younger brother", presumably of Yajaw Te' K'inich; this suggests that he may have acted as a sort of "guardian

uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal relat ...

" to Knot Ajaw. His successor was his younger brother.

References

{{reflist Kings of Caracol 6th century in the Maya civilization 7th century in the Maya civilization 6th-century monarchs in North America 7th-century monarchs in North America