 the city , with no new stelae being erected and with widespread deliberate mutilation of public sculpture . This hiatus in activity at Tikal was long unexplained until later epigraphic decipherments identified that the period was prompted by Tikal 's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Calakmul and the Caracol polity in AD 562 , a defeat that seems to have resulted in the capture and sacrifice of the king of Tikal . The badly eroded Altar 21 at Caracol described how Tikal suffered this disastrous defeat in a major war in April 562 . It seems that Caracol was an ally of Calakmul in the wider conflict between that city and Tikal , with the defeat of Tikal having a lasting impact upon the city . Tikal was not sacked but its power and influence were broken . After its great victory , Caracol grew rapidly and some of Tikal 's population may have been forcibly relocated there . During the hiatus period , at least one ruler of Tikal took refuge with Janaab ' Pakal of Palenque , another of Calakmul 's victims . Calakmul itself thrived during Tikal 's long hiatus period .   The beginning of the Tikal hiatus has served as a marker by which archaeologists commonly subdivide the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology into the Early and Late Classic .   = = = = Tikal and Dos Pilas = = = =   In 629 Tikal founded Dos Pilas , some 110 kilometres ( 68 mi ) to the southwest , as a military outpost in order to control trade along the course of the Pasión River . B 'alaj Chan K 'awiil was installed on the throne of the new outpost at the age of four , in 635 , and for many years served as a loyal vassal fighting for his brother , the king of Tikal . Roughly twenty years later Dos Pilas was attacked by Calakmul and was soundly defeated . B 'alaj Chan K 'awiil was captured by the king of Calakmul but , instead of being sacrificed , he was re @-@ instated on his throne as a vassal of his former enemy , and attacked Tikal in 657 , forcing Nuun Ujol Chaak , the then king of Tikal , to temporarily abandon the city . The first two rulers of Dos Pilas continued to use the Mutal emblem glyph of Tikal , and they probably felt that they had a legitimate claim to the throne of Tikal itself . For some reason , B 'alaj Chan K 'awiil was not installed as the new ruler of Tikal ; instead he stayed at Dos Pilas . Tikal counterattacked against Dos Pilas in 672 , driving B 'alaj Chan K 'awiil into an exile that lasted five years . Calakmul tried to encircle Tikal within an area dominated by its allies , such as El Peru , Dos Pilas and Caracol .   In 682 , Jasaw Chan K 'awiil I erected the first dated monument at Tikal in 120 years and claimed the title of kaloomte ' , so ending the hiatus . He initiated a programme of new construction and turned the tables on Calakmul when , in 695 , he captured the enemy noble and threw the enemy state into a long decline from which it never fully recovered . After this , Calakmul never again erected a monument celebrating a military victory .   = = = = Tikal after Teotihuacán = = = =   By the 7th century , there was no active Teotihuacan presence at any Maya site and the center of Teotihuacan had been razed by 700 . Even after this , formal war attire illustrated on monuments was Teotihuacan style . Jasaw Chan K 'awiil I and his heir Yik 'in Chan K 'awiil continued hostilities against Calakmul and its allies and imposed firm regional control over the area around Tikal , extending as far as the territory around Lake Petén Itzá . These two rulers were responsible for much of the impressive architecture visible today .   In 738 , Quiriguá , a vassal of Copán , Tikal 's key ally in the south , switched allegiance to Calakmul , defeated Copán and gained its own independence . It appears that this was a conscious effort on the part of Calakmul to bring about the collapse of Tikal 's southern allies . This upset the balance of power in the southern Maya area and lead to a steady decline in the fortunes of Copán .   In the 8th century , the rulers of Tikal collected monuments from across the city and erected them in front of the North Acropolis . By the late 8th century and early 9th century , activity at Tikal slowed . Impressive architecture was still built but few hieroglyphic
Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġwith Ġno Ġnew Ġst el ae Ġbeing Ġerected Ġand Ġwith Ġwidespread Ġdeliberate Ġmut ilation Ġof Ġpublic Ġsculpture Ġ. ĠThis Ġhiatus Ġin Ġactivity Ġat ĠTik al Ġwas Ġlong Ġunexplained Ġuntil Ġlater Ġep ig raphic Ġdecipher ments Ġidentified Ġthat Ġthe Ġperiod Ġwas Ġprompted Ġby ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġcomprehensive Ġdefeat Ġat Ġthe Ġhands Ġof ĠCal ak m ul Ġand Ġthe ĠCar ac ol Ġpol ity Ġin ĠAD Ġ5 62 Ġ, Ġa Ġdefeat Ġthat Ġseems Ġto Ġhave Ġresulted Ġin Ġthe Ġcapture Ġand Ġsacrifice Ġof Ġthe Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġ. ĠThe Ġbadly Ġeroded ĠAlt ar Ġ21 Ġat ĠCar ac ol Ġdescribed Ġhow ĠTik al Ġsuffered Ġthis Ġdisastrous Ġdefeat Ġin Ġa Ġmajor Ġwar Ġin ĠApril Ġ5 62 Ġ. ĠIt Ġseems Ġthat ĠCar ac ol Ġwas Ġan Ġally Ġof ĠCal ak m ul Ġin Ġthe Ġwider Ġconflict Ġbetween Ġthat Ġcity Ġand ĠTik al Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġdefeat Ġof ĠTik al Ġhaving Ġa Ġlasting Ġimpact Ġupon Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠTik al Ġwas Ġnot Ġsacked Ġbut Ġits Ġpower Ġand Ġinfluence Ġwere Ġbroken Ġ. ĠAfter Ġits Ġgreat Ġvictory Ġ, ĠCar ac ol Ġgrew Ġrapidly Ġand Ġsome Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġpopulation Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġforcibly Ġrelocated Ġthere Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġhiatus Ġperiod Ġ, Ġat Ġleast Ġone Ġruler Ġof ĠTik al Ġtook Ġrefuge Ġwith ĠJ ana ab Ġ' ĠPak al Ġof ĠPal en que Ġ, Ġanother Ġof ĠCal ak m ul Ġ' s Ġvictims Ġ. ĠCal ak m ul Ġitself Ġthri ved Ġduring ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġlong Ġhiatus Ġperiod Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġthe ĠTik al Ġhiatus Ġhas Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġmarker Ġby Ġwhich Ġarchaeologists Ġcommonly Ġsubdiv ide Ġthe ĠClassic Ġperiod Ġof ĠMes o amer ican Ġchron ology Ġinto Ġthe ĠEarly Ġand ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTik al Ġand ĠDos ĠPil as Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ6 29 ĠTik al Ġfounded ĠDos ĠPil as Ġ, Ġsome Ġ110 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ68 Ġmi Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġsouthwest Ġ, Ġas Ġa Ġmilitary Ġoutpost Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġcontrol Ġtrade Ġalong Ġthe Ġcourse Ġof Ġthe ĠP asi Ã³n ĠRiver Ġ. ĠB Ġ' al aj ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġwas Ġinstalled Ġon Ġthe Ġthrone Ġof Ġthe Ġnew Ġoutpost Ġat Ġthe Ġage Ġof Ġfour Ġ, Ġin Ġ6 35 Ġ, Ġand Ġfor Ġmany Ġyears Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġloyal Ġv ass al Ġfighting Ġfor Ġhis Ġbrother Ġ, Ġthe Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġ. ĠRough ly Ġtwenty Ġyears Ġlater ĠDos ĠPil as Ġwas Ġattacked Ġby ĠCal ak m ul Ġand Ġwas Ġsound ly Ġdefeated Ġ. ĠB Ġ' al aj ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġwas Ġcaptured Ġby Ġthe Ġking Ġof ĠCal ak m ul Ġbut Ġ, Ġinstead Ġof Ġbeing Ġsacrificed Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġinst ated Ġon Ġhis Ġthrone Ġas Ġa Ġv ass al Ġof Ġhis Ġformer Ġenemy Ġ, Ġand Ġattacked ĠTik al Ġin Ġ6 57 Ġ, Ġforcing ĠNu un ĠU j ol ĠCha ak Ġ, Ġthe Ġthen Ġking Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġto Ġtemporarily Ġabandon Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġtwo Ġrulers Ġof ĠDos ĠPil as Ġcontinued Ġto Ġuse Ġthe ĠMut al Ġemblem Ġglyph Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġand Ġthey Ġprobably Ġfelt Ġthat Ġthey Ġhad Ġa Ġlegitimate Ġclaim Ġto Ġthe Ġthrone Ġof ĠTik al Ġitself Ġ. ĠFor Ġsome Ġreason Ġ, ĠB Ġ' al aj ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġwas Ġnot Ġinstalled Ġas Ġthe Ġnew Ġruler Ġof ĠTik al Ġ; Ġinstead Ġhe Ġstayed Ġat ĠDos ĠPil as Ġ. ĠTik al Ġcounter att acked Ġagainst ĠDos ĠPil as Ġin Ġ6 72 Ġ, Ġdriving ĠB Ġ' al aj ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġinto Ġan Ġexile Ġthat Ġlasted Ġfive Ġyears Ġ. ĠCal ak m ul Ġtried Ġto Ġenc irc le ĠTik al Ġwithin Ġan Ġarea Ġdominated Ġby Ġits Ġallies Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas ĠEl ĠPeru Ġ, ĠDos ĠPil as Ġand ĠCar ac ol Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ6 82 Ġ, ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il ĠI Ġerected Ġthe Ġfirst Ġdated Ġmonument Ġat ĠTik al Ġin Ġ120 Ġyears Ġand Ġclaimed Ġthe Ġtitle Ġof Ġk al oom te Ġ' Ġ, Ġso Ġending Ġthe Ġhiatus Ġ. ĠHe Ġinitiated Ġa Ġprogramme Ġof Ġnew Ġconstruction Ġand Ġturned Ġthe Ġtables Ġon ĠCal ak m ul Ġwhen Ġ, Ġin Ġ6 95 Ġ, Ġhe Ġcaptured Ġthe Ġenemy Ġnoble Ġand Ġthrew Ġthe Ġenemy Ġstate Ġinto Ġa Ġlong Ġdecline Ġfrom Ġwhich Ġit Ġnever Ġfully Ġrecovered Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthis Ġ, ĠCal ak m ul Ġnever Ġagain Ġerected Ġa Ġmonument Ġcelebrating Ġa Ġmilitary Ġvictory Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTik al Ġafter ĠTe ot ihu ac Ã¡n Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġthe Ġ7 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġthere Ġwas Ġno Ġactive ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġpresence Ġat Ġany ĠMaya Ġsite Ġand Ġthe Ġcenter Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġhad Ġbeen Ġr azed Ġby Ġ700 Ġ. ĠEven Ġafter Ġthis Ġ, Ġformal Ġwar Ġattire Ġillustrated Ġon Ġmonuments Ġwas ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġstyle Ġ. ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il ĠI Ġand Ġhis Ġheir ĠY ik Ġ' in ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il Ġcontinued Ġhostilities Ġagainst ĠCal ak m ul Ġand Ġits Ġallies Ġand Ġimposed Ġfirm Ġregional Ġcontrol Ġover Ġthe Ġarea Ġaround ĠTik al Ġ, Ġextending Ġas Ġfar Ġas Ġthe Ġterritory Ġaround ĠLake ĠPet Ã©n ĠIt z Ã¡ Ġ. ĠThese Ġtwo Ġrulers Ġwere Ġresponsible Ġfor Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġimpressive Ġarchitecture Ġvisible Ġtoday Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ7 38 Ġ, ĠQu ir ig u Ã¡ Ġ, Ġa Ġv ass al Ġof ĠCop Ã¡n Ġ, ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġkey Ġally Ġin Ġthe Ġsouth Ġ, Ġswitched Ġallegiance Ġto ĠCal ak m ul Ġ, Ġdefeated ĠCop Ã¡n Ġand Ġgained Ġits Ġown Ġindependence Ġ. ĠIt Ġappears Ġthat Ġthis Ġwas Ġa Ġconscious Ġeffort Ġon Ġthe Ġpart Ġof ĠCal ak m ul Ġto Ġbring Ġabout Ġthe Ġcollapse Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġsouthern Ġallies Ġ. ĠThis Ġupset Ġthe Ġbalance Ġof Ġpower Ġin Ġthe Ġsouthern ĠMaya Ġarea Ġand Ġlead Ġto Ġa Ġsteady Ġdecline Ġin Ġthe Ġfortunes Ġof ĠCop Ã¡n Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ8 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġthe Ġrulers Ġof ĠTik al Ġcollected Ġmonuments Ġfrom Ġacross Ġthe Ġcity Ġand Ġerected Ġthem Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġlate Ġ8 th Ġcentury Ġand Ġearly Ġ9 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġactivity Ġat ĠTik al Ġslowed Ġ. ĠImp ressive Ġarchitecture Ġwas Ġstill Ġbuilt Ġbut Ġfew Ġhier ogly ph ic