K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I

K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I (Mayan pronunciation: [kʼinitʃ joːnal ahk]), also known as Ruler 1, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 603–639 AD. It has been proposed that he began a new dynasty at Piedras Negras, following years of ineffective kings. The manner in which K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I came to power is largely unknown, although it is known that he waged several successful wars against Palenque and Sak Tz'i'. He was succeeded by his son, Itzam K'an Ahk I, in 639 AD. K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a large mortuary temple now known as Pyramid R-5.

According to stela at Piedras Negras, K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I waged a successful war against Palenque (pictured).

K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I, also known as Ruler 1, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras in the 7th century AD. According to Mayanists Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, the ruler's name means "Great-Sun ?-Turtle". His name was later taken by his eventual successors, K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II and Yo'nal Ahk III. The title k'inich translates to "red-faced", and is a reference to the settlement's rulers' belief that they were lords of the sun. He ascended to the throne on November 14, 603 AD (9.8.10.6.16 10 Kib 9 Mak in the Long Count), although the exact details surrounding his rise to power are unknown. Mayanists Stephen D. Houston and Charles Golden have proposed the theory that he refounded the ruling dynasty at Piedras Negras in the wake of a disaster that had ruined previous rulers of the site.

K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I destroyed older buildings and monuments at Piedras Negras that were associated with older kings, seemingly to cleanse the center of their connection with these "discredited" rulers. This period of destruction—which focused heavily on structures in and around the West Group of the site, and the acropolis—has left behind tell-tale clues, such as offerings of pottery, jade, and small figures, suggesting that it was heavily ritualized. After this period of destruction, K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I moved his focus to the more ancient South Group, where he began to erect new buildings.

During his lifetime, he waged many battles, including notable ones against Palenque and Sak Tz'i'. In the former he captured an aj k'uhuun, or lord, named Ch'ok Balam, and in the latter he captured an ajaw named K'ab Chan Te'. Palenque was Piedras Negras's main rival in the area, whereas Sak Tz'i' seems to have eventually come under Piedras Negras's control. K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I died on February 3, 639 AD (9.10.6.2.1 5 Imix 19 K'ayab) and seems to have been buried at Pyramid R-5. K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I was succeeded by his son, Itzam K'an Ahk I, who later dedicated or re-opened the tomb in 658 AD.

Stelae

Many of the stelae that K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I erected became prototypes for monuments raised by his successors. The first stela raised, Stela 25, is the king's inaugural monument, and it established the precedent for the niche style. This type of stela features the newly installed king in a small hollow and seated on an intricately decorated scaffold, being symbolically lifted into the air. On Stela 25, K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I is seated on a jaguar cushion, reached by a ladder covered in bloody footprints, symbolizing sacrifice. The cushion itself is raised on a reed effigy. The king is covered by a canopy that is symbolic of the sky; crowning the sky is a great celestial bird, an avian version of the Maya god Itzamna.

Stela 26, dating from 628 AD, features the aforementioned war with Palenque. This monument is notable because it marks the first time that a stela at Piedra Negras had carvings on multiple faces, in this case dedication texts. Stela 26 is aligned with Itzam K'an Ahk II's Stela 35, creating a direction connection between the two monuments, conveying "an image of continuity, repetition, and renewal over time and across generations." Stela 31, dating from around 637 AD, depicts the war with Sak Tz'i'. Stela 31's placement is also notable, as it is standing in front of Structures R-3 and R-4, where many of Piedras Negras's earliest monuments, such as Stela 30, stood. The platform for the monument was more expansive than other stelae platforms, giving more room for observation. The stela was also extremely tall, at about 4.5–5-metre (15–16 ft) meters in height, making it nearly two meters taller than Stela 26.

Both Stelae 26 and 31 feature examples of one of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I's prominent themes, that of the "warrior king" motif. This design often depicts the king in a frontal pose, wearing a large headdress featuring iconography of the Teotihuacan War Serpent.

R-5 Pyramid

The R-5 Pyramid is largely believed to by K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I's tomb, based mostly on evidence from Panel 4, crafted by Itzam K'an Ahk I, which records the new ajaw either dedicating or ceremonially re-opening the tomb of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I. The panel itself explicitly names the R-5 pyramid as the muk, or burial, of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I. However, despite intense efforts, no burial has ever been found in the pyramid, although the search was complicated by—and eventually abandoned because of—rubble fill left behind by looters. It is probable that the majority of the pyramid was constructed within the years following the death of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk I, likely under Itzam K'an Ahk I's patronage. Itzam K'an Ahk I later erected six stelae at the base of this pyramid.