K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Pacal the Great)

603 - 683

K'inich Janaab' Pakal, or Pacal the Great, as he is widely known, was one of the Mayan city state of Palenque's greatest kings, or ajaws. He was barely 12 years old when he ascended to the throne in 615 AD, due to the deaths of at least three, and possibly four, of Palenque's royals in quick succession. His claim was also, rarely, through his mother, x Sak K'uk'.

Palenque was in great turmoil when Pacal (meaning 'shield' in Mayan) ascended the throne, having been attacked and sacked by neighbouring Calakmul just four to five years previously. And the first youthful years of Pacal's reign at least seem to have been heavily influenced by his mother. Still, when he was old enough, Pacal began rebuilding the state, and reconstructing the capital city. He also gained heavy retribution on his enemies - beginning in 659, when, in response to another Calakmul attack five years previously, Pacal stormed Pomona (a Calakmul ally) and took away several of its leaders for sacrifice. More wars were waged during Pacal's monarchy, but the details of these are hazy.

Pacal was possibly more famous for his rebuilding of Palenque, which he undertook with great zeal following its sacking before his reign. The palace was built upon, and he commissioned the Olvidado Temple and the Temple of the Counts. However, Pacal's crowing glory was his funerary building, the Temple of Inscriptions. This lavish pyramid and adjoining temple carry many pieces of art - as well as his carved sarcophagus lid. With Pacal mounting what appears to be some kind of traveling device, many have linked him with the many extraterrestrial theories surrounding the Mayans. Most experts, however, fail to see any connection. Pacal was succeeded by one of his possibly three sons, Chan Bahlum II, at the ripe age of 80 in 683.