Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich II was a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

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 ...

n state

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, ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

. He was also known as Ruler III, Lord Water and Lord Muluc and reigned AD 553-593.

Biography

Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich II was a son of the king Kʼan I. His mother was Lady Kʼal Kʼinich. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich I, who was a son of Kʼahkʼ Ujol Kʼinich I. The reign of Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich II was pivotal in Caracol history; it began in turmoil, as Caracol exchanged one overlord for another, and ended in prosperity, as the city began to grow into a true metropolis. This ruler's own Stela 14 makes no mention of the fact that his accession took place under the auspices of

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 ...

; this is only known from

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

21. Regrettably Altar 21 is now broken into fragments, and most of this key passage does not survive. The fragmentary Stela 4, a text probably dating to 583, shows Caracol tied to

Calakmul Calakmul (; also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is a Maya civilization, Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul w ...

some two decades after the victory over Tikal, as an action of Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich is said to have been supervised by the Calakmul ruler. His wives were Lady 1 and Lady Batzʼ Ekʼ and his sons were Knot Ajaw and Kʼan II.Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens by Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube

References

{{reflist Kings of Caracol 6th-century Maya people 6th-century monarchs in North America 6th-century births