Mayan kings were the centers of power for Mayan civilization. Each Mayan city-state

City-state

A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...

 was controlled by a dynasty of kings, who collectively drove the empire forward.

Symbols of power

Every single Mayan king created some form of monument to prove his power; some still stand, and some are in ruin.

Mayan kings felt obliged to legitimize their claim to power. One of the ways to do this was to build a temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 or pyramid

Pyramid

A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...

. The Temple of the Giant Jaguar is a notable example. This temple was built during the reign of Yik'in Chan K'awiil

Yik'in Chan K'awiil

Yik'in Chan K'awiil was a Mayan ruler in the Late Classic period of the city-state polity centred at Tikal, a major pre-Columbian Maya site in the Petén Basin region .-Biography:Identified by Mayanist epigraphers as the 27th ruler in Tikal's dynastic succession, Yik'in Chan...

. Kawiil was ruler of a city called Tikal

Tikal

Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...

, but just a few miles away was Calakmul

Calakmul

Calakmul is a 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 was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands...

, one of Tikal's rivals. The Temple of the Giant Jaguar was designed to show Calakmul that Kawiil would not be deposed easily or quickly. Another king named K'inich Janaab' Pakal would later carry out this same show of power when building the Temple of Inscriptions.

Succession

Mayan kings were considered to be godlike, so when a ruler died and left no heir to the throne, the result was usually war and bloodshed. King Pacals precursor, Pacal I

Pacal I

Janaab' Pakal or Pakal I was an ajaw of the Maya city-state of Palenque. His dynastic position is not entirely certain, though he may have been the brother of Aj Ne' Yohl Mat. It seems that he never ascended to the high-kingship in his own right...

, died upon the battlefield. However, instead of the kingdom erupting into chaos, the city of Palenque

Palenque

Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...

, a Mayan capital city in southern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, invited a young prince from a different city-state. The prince was only twelve years old. His name was Pakal. Pakal's Temple of Inscriptions towers still today, amid the ruins of Palenque, as the supreme symbol of Pakal's influence and power in Palenque.

Expansion

Pacal and his predecessors not only built elaborate temples and pyramids. They expanded their city-state into a thriving empire.Under Yikin Chan Kawiil, Tikal conquered Calakmul and the other cities around Tikal, forming what could be referred to as a super city-state. Pacal achieved in creating a major center for power and development.