Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak (born January 4, 688 CE), alternatively known by the nickname Smoking Squirrel bestowed before his name glyph was deciphered, was a

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 ...

ruler of

Naranjo Naranjo (Wak Kab'nal in Mayan) is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. ...

. He led the city during an extensive military campaign against

Yaxha Yaxha (or Yaxhá in Spanish orthography) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén Basin in modern-day Guatemala. As a ceremonial centre of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Yaxha was the third largest city in the reg ...

; however, because of his young age at the time, it is presumed that his mother organized much of the campaign

ref name=":728" /> His grandfather, Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil, B'alaj Chan K'awiil of

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 6 ...

, sent K'ak' Tiliw's mother Lady Six Sky (sometimes called Lady

Wak Chanil Ajaw Lady Six Sky (possibly Ix Wak Chan Jalam Ajaw Lem? in ancient Mayan), also known as Lady Wac Chanil Ahau or Wak Chanil Ajaw (d. 741 CE), was a Maya queen of Naranjo who was born in Dos Pilas. She lived in Naranjo from 682 to her death (or sho ...

but probably actually Wak Chan Jalam Lem?) to Naranjo to reestablish a royal dynasty there after the defeat of Naranjo under Ruler I by

Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...

. The first sacred rituals for her arrival began on August 30, 682. K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak became ruler of Naranjo on May 31, 693. Shortly after, Naranjo fought and won a series of victories against polities, some of whom may have been rebelling against K'ak' Tiliw's mother. While most of these were smaller polities,

Tikal Tikal (; ''Tik'al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the Pre-Col ...

, and

Ucanal Ucanal is an archaeological site of the ancient Maya civilization. It is located near the source of the Belize River in the Petén department of present-day northern Guatemala. Location Ucanal is located inside a bend of the Mopan River. It i ...

all suffered defeats at the hands of Naranjo during this time. However, as he was quite young during these battles, it is assumed that his mother was the chief architect of the wars. Once of age, he built many monuments in the city he ruled. He was apparently a patron of the arts, especially ceramic, and he is referred to as Sak Chuwen, Pure (or White) Artisan, on Stela 18. His wife was Ix Unen B'ahlam. Though she was from the city of Tuubal, a small polity Naranjo defeated in 693 CE, the similarity between her name and a former ruler of Tikal, Lady Unen Bahlam, has led some scholars to suggest she was at least distantly related to the Tikal lineage. He may have had a contentious relationship with his mother Lady 6 Sky, who built stelae noting her important contributions to the city during his time in office. His father is rarely mentioned in public murals, with Naranjo Stela 46 being the only currently-known example. There, his father is named as K'ak' U ? Chan Chaak. It is possible his father was relatively unimportant in city politics before the arrival of Lady Six Sky, but his use of the Holy Naranjo Lord emblem glyph suggests he was at least a member of the royal family. He died of unknown causes in his forties, setting off an

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

in Naranjo that ended when

Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak (died 744?) was a ruler of the Maya city of Naranjo who is mentioned on Naranjo stelae 18 and 46. He was the king after K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak, who was possibly his older brother or his father. On August 15, 725 CE, he partic ...

, possibly his younger brother or son, took the throne.

References

Naranjo Maya monarchs {{mesoamerica-stub