Cupul or Kupul (

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 ...

: ''Kupul'', 'toponímico; adjective') was the name of a Maya chiefdom at time of the

Spanish conquest of Yucatán The Spanish conquest of Yucatán was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish Empire, Spanish ''conquistadores'' against the Mesoamerican chronology, Late Postclassic Maya civilization, Maya states and polities in the Yucatán Peninsula, a vast ...

. Cupul was one of the most extensive and densely populated Maya provinces on the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

. It was formed in the mid-fifteenth century after the fall of

Mayapan Mayapan (Màyapáan in Yucatec Maya language, Modern Maya; in Spanish language, Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately ...

and reached its maximum power during the sixteenth century, at the time of their own Spanish conquest led by the ''

adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

Francisco de Montejo Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America. Early years Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentag ...

. According to the Encyclopedia Yucatán in time, the Mayan voice ku-pul, means ''that throws the bouncing'', giving a connotation referring to the Mayan ballplayers that existed in the region.

Organization

After the war between the Tutul Xiu and

Cocom The Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom) was established in 1949 at the beginning of the Cold War to coordinate controls on exports from Western Bloc countries to the Soviet Union and its allies. Operating through inform ...

, the Yucatan Peninsula, broke up into 16

Kuchkabal A ( , , 'province,' 'state,' 'polity') was a system of social and political organisation common to Maya polities of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Maya Lowlands, during the Mesoamerican_chronology#Postclassic_Period, Mesoamerican Postclas ...

Conflicts between Kuchkabal were common, especially between Tutul Xiu and Cocom. Normally each Kuchkabal had a capital where the ruler and supreme priest lived. The ruler was called a Halach Uinik . Each Kuckabal was divided into several municipalities called "Batalib" which in turn were governed by officials called " Batab "who were usually relatives of the Halach Uinik. Each Batab, was the military leader of its population. On the religious side, after Halach Uinik, was the Ah Kin May, and the regular priests Ah Kin(meaning coming from the Sun). Also there was a sacrificial priest called "Ah Nacom". The batalib were Panaba, Tsonot, Temozón, Cucumul, Tixcacalcupul, and Uayumhá.

History

The League of Mayapan

''See The League of Mayapan'' Since the tenth century, The League of Mayapan had been the main power in The Yucatan Peninsula. In 1440 the governor of Cupul, Ek Balam founded a town of the same name.

The end of the League

In 1441 the league had a civil war between the

and Tutul Xiues. The rest of the league took advantage of the war, and rebelled. By 1461 The League of Mayapan had been completely disintegrated into seventeen

References

* Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo, et al. (1980), Cordemex, ed., Maya Dictionary - Spanish - Maya, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico., P. 354, "Kupul: Yucatan province more densely populated and one of the most extensive during the Spanish conquest» * Casares Canton, Raul; Duch Colell, Juan; Antochiw Kolpa, Michel; Fenced Zavala, Silvio; et al. (1998). ''Yucatán en el tiempo'' ucatán in time Mérida, Yucatán. pp. 362 (Vol. 2). {{ISBN, 970-9071-04-1. Mayan chiefdoms of the Yucatán Peninsula