Kʼawiil Chan Kʼinich was the last
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
king of
Dos Pilas
Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in what is now the department of Petén, Guatemala. It dates to the Late Classic Period, and was founded by an offshoot of the dynasty of the great city of Tikal in AD 6 ...
. He is also known as the Ruler 4 and God K Sky Mahkʼina.
He reigned from 23 June 741 until c. 761. Dates of his birth and death are unknown.
Biography
It is likely that he was a son of the king
Itzamnaaj Kʼawiil. He was a successor of
Uchaʼan Kʼin Bʼalam, who was likely his regent.
It appears that Kʼawiil Chan Kʼinich repaid his debt to his probable guardian and regent by recording his death and that of
his wife on Hieroglyphic Bench 1. His accession followed the death of his predecessor within days, and it is possible that he was still young enough that the kingdom's enemies saw this as an opportunity to attack. The other possibility is that Kʼawill Chan Kʼinich set out to establish a military reputation for himself; even before his accession he had captured a lord from Ahkul and thereafter styled himself "Master of the Ahkul Lord", while Hieroglyphic Stairway 3 records captures from
El Chorro,
Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Pied ...
and
Motul de San José
''Motul de San José'' is an ancient Maya civilization, Maya site (known anciently as ''Ik'a'', 'Windy Water') located just north of Lake Petén Itzá in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands. It is a few kilometres from the moder ...
.
Yichʼaak Bʼalam, king of
Seibal, performed rituals overseen by Kʼawiil Chan Kʼinich.
A hieroglyphic stairway at
Tamarindito
Tamarindito is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located along an escarpment in the Petén Department, Petén Departments of Guatemala, department of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Petexbatún region of the southwestern P ...
records Kʼawiil Chan Kʼinich's "going out", a verb which often has the sense of "fleeing".
Kʼawiil Chan Kʼinich
/ref>
It is not known when and where did he died.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawiil Chan Kinich
Kings of Dos Pilas
8th-century Maya people
8th-century monarchs in North America