Lady Eveningstar or Lady Ikʼ Skull (704-751), 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 popul ...

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and possible regent, wife of Itzamnaaj Bʼalam II, a Maya king of

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 Pi ...

. Their son,

Yaxun Bʼalam IV Yaxun Bʼahlam IV, also called Bird Jaguar IV, was a Mayan king from Yaxchilan. He ruled from 752 until 768 AD, continuing the period of prosperity started by his father Itzamnaaj Bʼahlam III. He had to struggle to take and hold power, as he ...

- "Bird Jaguar", succeeded his father as king. She was possibly a regent for a period.

Biography

Lady Eveningstar came to Yaxchilan from

Calakmul Calakmul (; also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) 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 l ...

. She was a secondary wife to Shield Jaguar the Great (Itzamnaaj Bʼalam II). Although a secondary wife, Lady Ikʼ Skull may have ruled for a short time in Yaxchilan's history until her son Yaxun Bʼalam IV was old enough to take the throne.Josserand 2007 A review of the dynastic history of Yaxchilan during Itzamnaaj Bahlam's reign indicates that he had three wives: his aunt

Lady Xoc Lady Kʼabʼal Xook or Lady Xoc was a Maya Queen consort of Yaxchilan and is considered to have been one of the most powerful and prominent women in Maya civilization. She was the principal wife and aunt of King Itzamnaaj Bʼalam II, who ruled ...

, Lady Sak Bʼiyaan and Lady Ikʼ Skull, with Lady Xoc as the primary wife. Upon the death of Itzamnaaj Bahlam, the right to the throne would traditionally go to his heir through Lady Xoc's line; however, this is not what happened and nearly ten years after his death it is his son from Lady Ikʼ Skull that took the throne. There is a great deal of speculation as to why the son of a secondary wife took the throne and did so after the king had been dead for ten years. The current thinking is that the rightful heir through Lady Xook's lineage may have been her son, or perhaps a nephew or brother, but that this individual was captured during a conflict with

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 ...

in 745.Josserand 2007:307. Information regarding this " interregnum" period tends to be conflicting. In their second revised edition, Martin and Grube note that at

Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...

there is mention of a new king at Yaxchilan, Yopaat Bahlam II, who may have ruled for part or all of this period. However, supporting evidence for this is unknown from Yaxchilan. On the other hand, Josserand notes that Lady Ikʼ Skull ruled as regent during this time and that it was not until her death that Bird Jaguar IV took the throne. A monument which refers to Lady Ikʼ Skull is

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

35.

References

* Gustafson, Lowell. (1999). ''Gender Relations and Political Legitimacy: Replacing Patrilineal with Ancestral Inheritance of Power in Ancient Mayan Society''. * Schele, Linda, &

David Freidel David Freidel (born 1946) is a U.S. archaeologist who studies the ancient Maya. He is known for his research at El Perú-Waka’ and his books with epigrapher Linda Schele. He is currently a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He rec ...

. (1990). ''A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya''. New York, New York: William Morrow and Company Inc. {{Maya Eveningstar 8th-century women rulers Queens consort 704 births 751 deaths Rulers of Yaxchilan Calakmul