League of Mayapan
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The League of Mayapan (
Yucatec Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...
: Luub Mayapan
Maya glyphs Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...
: ) was a confederation of
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 ...
states in the post classic period of
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
on the Yucatan peninsula. The main members of the league were the
Itza Itza may refer to: * Itza people, an ethnic group of Guatemala * Itzaʼ language, a Mayan language * Itza Kingdom (disambiguation) * Itza, Navarre, a town in Spain See also * Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with ...
, the
Tutul-Xiu Tutul-Xiu, also Tutul Xiues or Mani, was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the central Yucatán Peninsula with capital in Maní, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. Earlier history In later accounts the C ...
,
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 ...
, 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 ...
. Mayapan means flag of the Maya.


Before the League


The Itza

The Itza were known as water witches. According to the
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 ...
of Chumayel, in 325 they started immigrating to
Bacalar Bacalar () is the municipal seat and largest city in Bacalar Municipality (until 2011 a part of Othón P. Blanco Municipality) in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, about north of Chetumal, at 18° 40' 37" N, 88° 23' 43" W. In the 2010 census ...
from Peten. From there many of them continued northwest, where they conquered the classical Maya city of Uuc Yabnal and renamed it as
Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal ...
. They lived there from 550 to 692. After that for economic and political reasons the Itza moved to Chakan Putum, where they lived until 928 when they returned to Chichen Itza.


The Tutul Xiu

The
Tutul-Xiu Tutul-Xiu, also Tutul Xiues or Mani, was the name of a Mayan chiefdom of the central Yucatán Peninsula with capital in Maní, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century. Earlier history In later accounts the C ...
were known as overflowing virtue. In the Seventh century they migrated to Yucatan. There their leader
Ah Suytok Tutul Xiu Ah Suytok Tutul Xiu or Ah Zuytok Tutul Xiu was the spiritual leader of the Maya Tutul Xiu people. Founder of the city of Uxmal in the 7th century, he was from the Nonohual. Nonohual's location is unknown, but was probably in Peten, it also mig ...
, nicknamed Chac Uitzil Hun, founded
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 ...
. The date that this happened is disputed by a codex from Tizimin, and another from
Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...
. In 869 Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu ruler of the Tutul Xius moved to Uxmal from Nonohual. Nonohual's location is unknown, but was probably in Peten, it also might have been another name for
Potonchán Potonchán, was a Chontal Maya city, capital of the minor kingdom known as ''Tavasco'' or ''Tabasco''. It occupied the left bank of the Tabasco River, which the Spanish renamed the Grijalva River, in the current Mexican state of Tabasco. Juan ...
in
Tabasco Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in ...
or Tula. The Tutul Xius were the main group of people forcing the Itzas out of Chichen Itza.


Cocom

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 ...
were known as the lineage of the wood pigeon. They lived farther to the west and forced the Itza out of Chakan Putum. The Itzas spent forty years living in the
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
. They called it Xulucmul (living under the trees in ash and poverty).


Foundation

Before the foundation of the league, the Toltecs invaded Yucatan. Their leader was the semi-mythical king
Kukulcan K’uk’ulkan, also spelled Kukulkan, ( "''Plumed Serpent''", "''Amazing Serpent''") is the name of a Mesoamerican serpent deity that was worshipped by the Yucatec Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula before the Spanish conquest of Yucatán. ...
. Whether Kukulkan was real or not, the Toltecs had influence over the Maya there. "''The indians who inhabited Chichen Itza, ruled by a great lord called Kukulcan, and showing this be true named the main building Kukulcan, and say they came from the west and differing in whether entered before or after the Yzaes or with them, and said they were well prepared and had no wife or children, and say that after his return he was taken into Mexico by one of their gods and called Cezalcuati, uetzalcoatl" List of things Yucatan, Diego de Landa. Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu, is considered the ruler who founded The League of Mayapan in 987. He unified Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and Uxmal. Chichen Itza being the main city, with a population of approximately 50,000 people. He continued to incorporate other areas, Zama (
Tulum Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribb ...
), Ichpatun, Itzamal, and The Cocom region.


Hunac Ceel Cauich

In 1175, the league began to disintegrate. A Cocom man named Ceel Cauich Ah was ritually thrown into the cenote of Chichen Itza (
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 ...
being the a Spanish term for the Mayan word dzonot, which is a deep,
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
ik sinkhole filled with water). The Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itza was specially considered an entrance to the afterlife and thus a site of pilgrimage. It is 15 meters deep from the ground to the water surface and its very steep walls made almost impossible to climb out if thrown into. But Ceel managed to survive and climbed out, which he used as a sign of his divine right to rule and proclaimed himself
Ajaw Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya political title attested from epigraphy, epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the ''tzolkʼin'', the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a ruler's ''kʼat ...
, a spiritual and political leader. He also renamed himself Hunac Ceel Cauich. The Itzáes did not fall for this ruse and refused to recognize his authority. Ceel gathered many followers from Mayapan and The Cocom region. In 1194, Hunac Ceel Cauich declared war on
Chac-Xib-Chac Chac-Xib-Chac ( Maya Glyphs ) is a figure in Maya mythology.Maya Explorer
He was a ruler of Mérida.


Legend of the depopulation of Chichen Itzá

Scientific data points to the fact that Chichén Itzá declined before the rise of Mayapan as a regional power, but ongoing research is currently being done in several Maya sites, so there's not any chronological certainty yet. However, traditional sources (which are often mixed with fantasy and legend) say that Hunac Ceel Cauich had a daughter named Sac Nicté (in
Yucatec Maya Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...
Sac Nikté' meaning white flower). Sac Nicté fell in love with a member of the royalty of Chichen Itzá named Canek (Kaan Ek in Yucatec, meaning black snake). When they met Sac Nicté was 15 and Canek was 21. This was the same day Canek was crowned ruler if the Itzá. The Itzá chose new ruler every Katún Ahau (period of almost 20 years). Based on this Canek became ruler of the Itzá on 22 November 1194. Sac Nicté and Canek instantly fell in love. Sac Nicté was destined, by prearranged marriage, to marry
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 ...
, ''Batab'' 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 ...
. Canek and Sac Nicté slept together, later Canek stayed awake all night crying because he knew he could not marry Sac Nicté. Ah Ulil and Sac Nicté's wedding was to take place 37 days after Canek's coronation (29 December 1194). Three days before, the wedding fiancés arrived in Uxmal. Gifts from all over Mayeb arrived, Gold, animal tusks, perfume, emeralds, and turtle shells filled with quetzal feather. These gifts came from distant and near cities - except nothing arrived from Chichen Itzá. On the Day of the wedding, Uxmal was decorated with ribbons, feather, plants, and brightly painted bows, the people of the city were dancing and having parties in the street. ''Ajaws, Batabs, Halch Uiniks'', Nobles, and other elites arrived with minstrels. Canek had been invited and he arrived, with him he brought the Itzáes sixty best soldiers. Canek and his warriors ran to the altar where Sac Nicté was being married. Incense was burning and a priest was chanting. Sac Nicté, Canek, and the sixty warriors fled Uxmal, everything had happened so fast that nobody was able to try and stop them. Hunac Ceel, Ah Ulil, and other leaders traveled with a large army to Chichen Itzá only to find the city completely abandoned. Sac Nicté led the Itzá to
Nojpetén Nojpetén (also spelled Noh Petén, and also known as Tayasal) was the capital city of the Itza Maya kingdom of Petén Itzá. It is located on an island in Lake Petén Itzá in the modern department of Petén in northern Guatemala. The island ...
where they established a new Itza Kingdom.


Important people

*
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 ...
* Ah Itzimthul Chac: a Batab. *
Chac-Xib-Chac Chac-Xib-Chac ( Maya Glyphs ) is a figure in Maya mythology.Maya Explorer
He was a ruler of Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal ...
. * Hapay Can: was probably a ruler of Chichen Itza. * Sac Xib Chac: a ruler of Chichen Itza. * Chac Ek Yuuan: a ruler of Chichen Itza. * Hun Yuuan Chac (also called uooh Puc): a ruler of Chichen Itza. * Ix Zacbeliz: a queen of Chichen Itza. * Zac Xib Chac: Chac-Xib-Chacs brother. * Uayom-chich: a priest. * Uxmal Chac: a Batab and a priest. * Cabal Xiu: a priest. *
Hunac Ceel Hunac Ceel Cauich (fl. late 12th and early 13th centuries) was a Maya general from Telchaquillo who conquered Chichen Itzá and founded the Cocom dynasty. While the rulers of Chichen Itzá were in part descendants of Toltec outsiders who might ...
* Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu: founded the league. *
Ah Xiu Xupan Ah Xiu Xupan (Maya glyphs ) was the last known ruler of the Mayan chiefdom of Tutul-Xiu when it was part of the League of Mayapan. In 1441, Ah Xiu Xupan, who was the great ruler of Uxmal at that time, was given the task of starting a w ...
: started the war that ended the league. * Mo-Chel: a nobleman from
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 ...
.http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/Book-of-Chilam-Balam-the-of-Chumayel.pdf * Ah Yamazi: Batab of Yobain. * Xkil Itzam Pech: Batab of Kini * The Pech family * The Cupul family * The Cochuah famil * The Cocom family * The Xiu family * The
Chel family The Chels, Cheles, or Che'els (From Yucatec Che'el Staff / rod of justice or Chel arch sky / rainbow )(in Maya glyphs) were the ruling family of the Maya civilization, Maya Kuchkabal of Ah Kin Chel. The Chels originally hailed from Mayapan, one o ...
: descendants of Mo-Chel * The Canul family * The Cauich family


End of The League

In 1441
Ah Xiu Xupan Ah Xiu Xupan (Maya glyphs ) was the last known ruler of the Mayan chiefdom of Tutul-Xiu when it was part of the League of Mayapan. In 1441, Ah Xiu Xupan, who was the great ruler of Uxmal at that time, was given the task of starting a w ...
, the great ruler of Uxmal, was given the task of making war on the royal family of the Cocom, whom he managed to kill. Only one of the Cocom, who was in Honduras at the time, survived and later founded Tibolón. The war between Uxmal and Cocom plunged the League into chaos. There was segregation in the provinces and several uprisings broke out. By 1461 the league was completely disintegrated. After the war Yucatan broke up into seventeen
Kuchkabal A ''kuchkabal'' ( , ''kuchkabalo'ob'', 'province'), also known as an ''ah kuch-kab'' or ''ah cuch-cab'', was a system of social and political organisation common to Maya polities of the Maya Lowlands, in the Yucatán Peninsula, during the ...
s.


References

{{Authority control 10th-century establishments in the Maya civilization 987 establishments 1461 disestablishments in North America 15th-century disestablishments in the Maya civilization Mayapan, League of