Yohl Ikʼnal
[The ruler's name, when transcribed is IX-(Y)O꞉L-la IKʼ-NAL-la, translated as "Lady Heart of the Wind Place".] (), also known as Lady Kan Ik and Lady Kʼanal Ikʼnal, (died 7 November 604) was
queen regnant of the
Maya city-state of
Palenque. She acceded to the throne on 23 December 583, and ruled until her death.
[These are the dates indicated on the Maya inscriptions in Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, Acceded: 9.7.10.3.8 9 Lamat 1 Muwan and Died: 9.8.11.6.12 2 Eb 20 Keh, using the GMT+2 correlation and the proleptic Gregorian calendar.]
Family
Yohl Ikʼnal was a grandmother or great-grandmother of
Kʼinich Janaab Pakal I, Palenque's greatest king. She was a descendant of
Kʼukʼ Bahlam I, the founder of the Palenque dynasty and she came to power within a year of the death of her predecessor, Kan Bahlam I.
She was the first female ruler in recorded Maya history and was one of a very
few female rulers known from Maya history to have borne a full royal
title. She must have come to the throne due to extremely unusual circumstances, the details of which have not survived. She was the one of two
women to have ruled Palenque, second was her daughter or granddaughter
Sak Kʼukʼ
Sak KʼukʼThe ruler's name, when transcribed is ?- UWA꞉NAT. also known as Muwaan Mat, Lady Sak Kʼukʼ and Lady Beastie (died 640), was queen of the Maya city-state of Palenque. She acceded to the throne in October, 612 and ruled until 615.Th ...
and was likely to have been either the sister or, more likely, the daughter of Kan Bahlam, who left no male heir. Her husband or her son was
Janahb Pakal
Janahb Pakal also known as Janaab Pakal, Pakal I or Pakal the Elder, (died 6 March 612), was a nobleman and possible ''ajaw'' of the Maya city-state of Palenque.
Biography
Pakal’s dynastic position is not entirely certain, though he may have b ...
.
Reign
During the reign of Yohl Ikʼnal, Palenque suffered an important defeat by
Calakmul, one of the two great Maya powers of the Classic Period.
[Stuart & Stuart 2008, p. 140.] The battle took place on 23 April 599 but Yohl Ikʼnal reigned for several years more and died in 604. After the defeat, Palenque apparently maintained its political identity but Yohl Ikʼnal probably had to pay tribute to the
ajaw of
Calakmul. There are indications that either Yohl Ikʼnal or her successor successfully rebelled against Calakmul's dominance before 611.
Archaeologist
Merle Greene Robertson has suggested that a vaulted tomb under
Temple 20
Temple 20 (or Temple XX) is a pyramidal building, dated to between AD 430 and 600 ( Early Classic period), located at the Maya city of Palenque in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico with a funerary chamber that contains remains of a high ran ...
at Palenque is that of Queen Yohl Ikʼnal.
She was considered important enough to be depicted twice on the
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
of her grandson or great-grandson
Kʼinich Janaab Pakal I and to be sculpted in
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
on the wall of his tomb.
[Stuart & Stuart 2008, pp. 177, 180. Skidmore 2010, pp. 56–57.]
Notes
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
583 births
604 deaths
Maya queens
6th-century women monarchs
7th-century queens regnant
7th-century monarchs in North America
6th-century monarchs in North America
Monarchs of Palenque
6th century in the Maya civilization