Chan Imix Kʼawiil was the twelfth ruler of the

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 ...

city state

Copán Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important sites of the Maya civilization, which was not excavated until the ...

. His nickname was Smoke Jaguar. Smoke Jaguar is thought to have been the longest-reigning king of Copán, ruling from 628 to 695.

Early life and crowning

Smoke Imix is believed to have been born in 604 CE and to have become king at the age of 23. He was crowned 16 days after the death of

Kʼakʼ Chan Yopaat Kʼakʼ Chan Yopaat was the eleventh dynastic ruler at Copán Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important si ...

Reign

Archaeologists have recovered little evidence of activity for the first 26 years of his reign, but in 652 CE there was a sudden rise in monument production, with two stelae being erected in the Great Plaza and four others in important locations across the Copán Valley. These monuments all celebrated a

kʼatun A ''kʼatun'' (, ) is a unit of time in the Maya calendar equal to 20 '' tuns'' or 7200 days, equivalent to 19.713 tropical years. It is the second digit on the normal Maya long count date. For example, in the Maya Long Count date 12.19.13.15.12 ...

-ending. He also erected a stela at the Santa Rita site away and is mentioned on Altar L at

Quiriguá Quiriguá () is an ancient Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site in the Departments of Guatemala, department of Izabal Department, Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua ...

in relation to the same event in 652. It is thought that he was trying to stamp his authority throughout the whole valley after the end of some earlier restriction to his freedom to rule as he wished.Martin & Grube 2000, p.201. After this sudden spate of activity, Smoke Imix continued to rule until almost the end of the 7th century; he dedicated another nine known monuments and made important changes to the architecture of Copán, including the construction of Structure 2 which closes the northern side of the Great Plaza and a new version of Temple 26, nicknamed Chorcha.

Death and burial

Smoke Imix ruled Copán for 67 years and died on 18 June 695 at the age of 90, an age that was so distinguished that it is used to identify him in place of his name on Altar Q. His tomb had already been prepared in the Chorcha phase of Temple 26 and he was buried just two days after his death.

In popular culture

Chan Imix is a playable leader (as "Smoke-Jaguar") of the Maya state in the 2001 video game ''

Civilization III ''Sid Meier's Civilization III'' is the third installment of the ''Civilization (series), Sid Meier's Civilization'' turn-based strategy video game series. It was released in 2001, and followed by ''Civilization IV''. Unlike the original game, ''C ...

''.

Notes

References

* 7th-century monarchs in North America Kings of Copán 604 births 695 deaths 7th-century Maya people {{Mexico-bio-stub