Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil
Encyclopedia
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
polity associated with the site of Copán
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
in modern Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
(its Classic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
Maya name was probably Oxwitik). He ruled from January 2, 695, to May 3, 738. He initiated construction of the famous "Hieroglyphic Stairway," as well as Temple 22 ("The Mountain of Sustenance"). Little is known of Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil himself but on May 3, 738, Copán, a regional power at the time, suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the polity located at Quiriguá
Quiriguá
Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period , Quiriguá was situated at...
, when Uaxaclajuun was beheaded at the behest of Quiriguá's ruler, K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat (Cauac Sky). Following this defeat Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was replaced by a new ruler, named K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil ("Smoke Monkey").