Yaxun B’alam IV, also called Bird Jaguar IV, is a Mayan king from Yaxchilan

Yaxchilan

Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta, with Piedras Negras as its major rival...

 known by the name Yaxun B’alam. He ruled from 752 until 768 AD, continuing the period of prosperity started by his father Itzamnaaj B'alam II

Itzamnaaj B'alam II

Itzamnaaj B'alam II was a Maya king who ruled in Yaxchilan from 681 until he died in the year 742. He is also called Shield Jaguar II by modern writers and commonly referred to simply as Shield Jaguar based on his name glyph before the phonetic name was deciphered...

. He had to struggle to take and hold power, as he was not perceived to be the rightful heir to the throne.

Early life

Yaxun B’alam IV was the son of Itzamnaaj B'alam II and Lady Eveningstar

Lady Eveningstar

Lady Eveningstar along with Lady Xok was a wife of Shield Jaguar, a Mayan king of Yaxchilan. She bore Shield Jaguar his son and successor, Bird Jaguar. She was from Calakmul and is mentioned on Lintel 23 which explains Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok's ancestry...

. Lady Eveningstar was not the first wife of Itzamnaaj B'alam and was from 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...

. As Bird Jaguar was not the son of Lady Xoc

Lady Xoc

Lady K'ab'al Xook or Lady Xoc was a Maya Queen consort in Yaxchilan and is considered to have been one of the most powerful and prominent women in Maya civilization. She was the principal wife of King Itzamnaaj Bahlam III Shield Jaguar the Great who ruled Yaxchilan from AD 681 to 742. Lady Xoc is...

 (Itzamnaaj B'alam's first wife), he was not completely of the royal blood and would have difficulty acquiring the throne. Itzamnaaj B'alam commissioned a stele to be carved showing both Yaxun B'alam and Lady Xoc in the same panel, thus legitimating Yaxun.

Accession

There is a ten year gap between the death of Itzamnaaj B'alam II and the beginning of the reign of Yaxun B’alam, indicating a possible struggle for the throne of Yaxchilan. Yaxun B'alam took the throne in 752, but he had problems even after he succeeded. In order to legitimize his claim to the throne, Yaxun B'alam had a series of steles created that pictured him with his father (including Stele 11).

Reign

Several buildings were constructed during the reign of Yaxun B’alam ,including Temple 33 and Temple 21. During his life, he captured at least 21 people, as evidenced by the statement on Yaxchilan Stela 11. His seventeen year reign was much shorter than that of his father’s, and he died in 768. Within a generation of his death, the building projects at Yaxchilan had ceased. He was succeeded by Itzamnaaj B'alam III in 769.