League of Mayapan

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The League of Mayapan Luub Mayapan Q'anjob'al
Religion	Maya religion
Government	Oligarchy
• 987–1007	Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu (first)
• 1441–1461	Ah Xiu Xupan (last)
Historical era	Postclassic period
• Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu unites Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and Uxmal	1007[1]
• Hunac Ceel Cauich claims divine power and attempts to reform the government	1194
• Rebellions by the Tutul Xiu and their allies disintegrate the government	1441[2]
Preceded by Succeeded by Toltec Empire Maya collapse Itzá Kingdom (970–987) Ek' Balam Kuchkabal Tabasco (former state) Acalan Itzá Kingdom (1194–1697) Kowoj Yalain Kejache Mopan
Today part of	Mexico Guatemala Belize Honduras

The League of Mayapan (

The main members of the league were the Itza, the Tutul-Xiu, Mayapan, and Uxmal.

Mayapan means flag of the Maya. ^{[citation needed]}

Before the League

The Itza

The

The Tutul Xiu

The Tutul-Xiu were known as overflowing virtue. In the Seventh century they migrated to Yucatan. There their leader Ah Suytok Tutul Xiu, nicknamed Chac Uitzil Hun, founded Uxmal. The date that this happened is disputed by a codex from Tizimin, and another from Mani. In 869 Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu ruler of the Tutul Xius moved to Uxmal from Nonohual. Nonohual's location is unknown, but was probably in Peten, it also might have been another name for Potonchán in Tabasco or Tula. The Tutul Xius were the main group of people forcing the Itzas out of Chichen Itza.

Cocom

The

"The indians who inhabited Chichen Itza, ruled by a great lord called Kukulcan, and showing this be true named the main building Kukulcan, and say they came from the west and differing in whether entered before or after the Yzaes or with them, and said they were well prepared and had no wife or children, and say that after his return he was taken into Mexico by one of their gods and called Cezalcuati, [Quetzalcoatl]." List of things Yucatan, Diego de Landa.[5]

Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu, is considered the ruler who founded The League of Mayapan in 987. He unified Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and Uxmal. Chichen Itza being the main city, with a population of approximately 50,000 people. He continued to incorporate other areas, Zama (Tulum), Ichpatun, Itzamal, and The Cocom region.

Hunac Ceel Cauich

In 1175, the league began to disintegrate. A Cocom man named Ceel Cauich Ah was ritually thrown into the cenote of Chichen Itza (cenote being the a Spanish term for the Mayan word dzonot, which is a deep, karstik sinkhole filled with water). The Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itza was specially considered an entrance to the afterlife and thus a site of pilgrimage. It is 15 meters deep from the ground to the water surface and its very steep walls made almost impossible to climb out if thrown into. But Ceel managed to survive and climbed out, which he used as a sign of his divine right to rule and proclaimed himself Ajaw, a spiritual and political leader. He also renamed himself Hunac Ceel Cauich. The Itzáes did not fall for this ruse and refused to recognize his authority. Ceel gathered many followers from Mayapan and The Cocom region. In 1194, Hunac Ceel Cauich declared war on Chac-Xib-Chac one of the K'ul Kokom, the four rulers of Chichén Itzá. The other three K'ul Kokom, and his brothers were Sac Xib Chac, Chac Ek Yuuan and Hun Yuuan Chac (also called uooh Puc). Ah Itzimthul Chac was also one of the Chac brothers, he ruled Ichcanzihoo also known as T'ho in present-day Mérida.

Legend of the depopulation of Chichen Itzá

Scientific data points to the fact that Chichén Itzá declined before the rise of Mayapan as a regional power, but ongoing research is currently being done in several Maya sites, so there's not any chronological certainty yet.

However, traditional sources (which are often mixed with fantasy and legend) say that Hunac Ceel Cauich had a daughter named

• Ah Ulil
• Ah Itzimthul Chac: a Batab.
• Chac-Xib-Chac: a ruler of Chichen Itza.
• Hapay Can: was probably a ruler of Chichen Itza.
• Sac Xib Chac: a ruler of Chichen Itza.
• Chac Ek Yuuan: a ruler of Chichen Itza.
• Hun Yuuan Chac (also called uooh Puc): a ruler of Chichen Itza.
• Ix Zacbeliz: a queen of Chichen Itza.
• Zac Xib Chac: Chac-Xib-Chacs brother.
• Uayom-chich: a priest.
• Uxmal Chac: a Batab and a priest.
• Cabal Xiu: a priest.
• Hunac Ceel
• Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu: founded the league.
• Ah Xiu Xupan: started the war that ended the league.
• Mo-Chel: a nobleman from Mayapan.^[8]
• Ah Yamazi: Batab of Yobain.
• Xkil Itzam Pech: Batab of Kini
• The Pech family
• The Cupul family
• The Cochuah family
• The Cocom family
• The Xiu family
• The Chel family: descendants of Mo-Chel
• The Canul family
• The Cauich family

End of The League

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In 1441 Ah Xiu Xupan, the great ruler of Uxmal, was given the task of making war on the royal family of the Cocom, whom he managed to kill. Only one of the Cocom, who was in Honduras at the time, survived and later founded Tibolón. The war between Uxmal and Cocom plunged the League into chaos. There was segregation in the provinces and several uprisings broke out. By 1461 the league was completely disintegrated.

After the war Yucatan broke up into seventeen Kuchkabals.

References