Siyaj Kʼakʼ (alternative spelling: Siyah Kʼakʼ), also known as Fire is Born (formerly nicknamed "Smoking Frog"), was a prominent political figure mentioned in the glyphs of Classic Period ()

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...

monuments, principally

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 ...

(which he conquered in January 378), as well as

Uaxactun Uaxactun (pronounced ) is an ancient sacred place of the Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands, in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. The site lies some north of the major center of Tikal. Th ...

and the city of Copan. Epigraphers originally identified him by the nickname "Smoking Frog", a description of his name glyph, but later deciphered it as ''Siyaj Kʼakʼ'', meaning "Fire is born". He is believed by some to have been the general of the

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'', ; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...

o ruler

Spearthrower Owl "Spearthrower Owl" (possibly ''Jatz'om Kuy'', translating to "Striker Owl") was a Mesoamerican person from the Mesoamerica#Early Classic, Early Classic period, who is identified in Maya script, Maya inscriptions and iconography. Mayanist David Stu ...

Overview

Originally from

or very closely allied with that city, Siyaj Kʼakʼ was a warlord in the Maya heartland of the Petén (modern

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

) during the fourth century. In 378 and 379, he oversaw the replacing of the kings of important Maya states, such as Tikal, Uaxactun, and Copan with new rulers who claimed descent from

, possibly the ruler of Teotihuacan. As Fire is Born, he caused himself to be portrayed wearing Teotihuacano battle dress. It is during his lifetime that the public architecture of the Central Mexican capital began to be emulated in the Maya region; particularly the ''

talud-tablero Talud-tablero is an architectural style most commonly used in platforms, temples, and pyramids in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, becoming popular in the Early Classic Period of Teotihuacan. ''Talud-tablero'' consists of an inward-sloping surface or ...

'' style so characteristic of the Mexican highlands, and so atypical of Maya building styles. Siyaj Kʼakʼ remained a power in the region until his death early in the fifth century, acting as overlord to such kings as

Yax Nuun Ayiin I Yax Nuun Ahiin I, also known as Curl Snout and Curl Nose (died 17 June 404?), was a 4th-century ruler of the Maya city of Tikal. His name, when transcribed, is YAX-?-AH:N, translated "First ? Crocodile". He took the throne on 12 September 379 and ...

(aka "Curl Nose") of Tikal. The appearance of Siyah Kʼakʼ marks the beginning of a strong cultural influx from the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...

, although whether this was accomplished via peaceful interaction or military invasion is still being very actively debated. The history of Siyaj K'ak is referenced in the fiction novel, The Legend of the Jaguar King, by Anand Jay, where the protagonist, Ayush Mahavir, visits the rumoured location of his tomb in the city of Uaxactun, Guatemala.

References

* * * *

External links

The name glyph of Siyah Kʼakʼ
* ttps://decipherment.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/naachtuns-stela-24-and-the-entrada-of-378/ Naachtun's Stela 24 and the Entrada of 378 (Maya Decipherment, David Stuart, 2014)* Wade, Lizzie (2022) "The arrival of strangers: New evidence points to a clash between two ancient Mesoamerican cultures, Teotihuacan and the Maya,"''Science'' 28 Feb 2020 Vol 367, Issue 6481, pp. 968-973. *https://amzn.eu/d/gxLHcJx - The Legend of the Jaguar King by Anand Jay - ISBN 979-8884637016* DOI: 10.1126/science.367.6481.96 {{DEFAULTSORT:Siyaj Kak 4th-century North American people Mesoamerican people Tikal Teotihuacan

Overview

See also

References

External links