 lived . It seems likely that Yax Nuun Ayiin I took a wife from the preexisting , defeated , Tikal dynasty and thus legitimized the right to rule of his son , Siyaj Chan K 'awiil II .   Río Azul , a small site 100 kilometres ( 62 mi ) northeast of Tikal , was conquered by the latter during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin I. The site became an outpost of Tikal , shielding it from hostile cities further north , and also became a trade link to the Caribbean .   Although the new rulers of Tikal were foreign , their descendants were rapidly Mayanized . Tikal became the key ally and trading partner of Teotihuacan in the Maya lowlands . After being conquered by Teotihuacan , Tikal rapidly dominated the northern and eastern Peten . Uaxactun , together with smaller towns in the region , were absorbed into Tikal 's kingdom . Other sites , such as Bejucal and Motul de San José near Lake Petén Itzá became vassals of their more powerful neighbor to the north . By the middle of the 5th century Tikal had a core territory of at least 25 kilometres ( 16 mi ) in every direction .   Around the 5th century an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and earthworks was built along the northern periphery of Tikal 's hinterland , joining up with the natural defenses provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of the city . Additional fortifications were probably also built to the south . These defenses protected Tikal 's core population and agricultural resources , encircling an area of approximately 120 square kilometres ( 46 sq mi ) . Recent research suggests that the earthworks served as a water collection system rather than a defensive purpose .   = = = = Tikal and Copán = = = =   In the 5th century the power of the city reached as far south as Copán , whose founder K 'inich Yax K 'uk ' Mo ' was clearly connected with Tikal . Copán itself was not in an ethnically Maya region and the founding of the Copán dynasty probably involved the direct intervention of Tikal . K 'inich Yax K 'uk ' Mo ' arrived in Copán in December 426 and bone analysis of his remains shows that he passed his childhood and youth at Tikal . An individual known as Ajaw K 'uk ' Mo ' ( lord K 'uk ' Mo ' ) is referred to in an early text at Tikal and may well be the same person . His tomb had Teotihuacan characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacan . Hieroglyphic texts refer to him as " Lord of the West " , much like Siyah K ’ ak ’ . At the same time , in late 426 , Copán founded the nearby site of Quiriguá , possibly sponsored by Tikal itself . The founding of these two centers may have been part of an effort to impose Tikal 's authority upon the southeastern portion of the Maya region . The interaction between these sites and Tikal was intense over the next three centuries .   A long @-@ running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century , with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to a long @-@ running war between two Maya superpowers . The kings of these two capitals adopted the title kaloomte ' , a term that has not been precisely translated but that implies something akin to " high king " .   The early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city , known only as the " Lady of Tikal " , who was very likely a daughter of Chak Tok Ich 'aak II . She seems never to have ruled in her own right , rather being partnered with male co @-@ rulers . The first of these was Kaloomte ' B 'alam , who seems to have had a long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co @-@ ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence . The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering . It appears she was later paired with lord " Bird Claw " , who is presumed to be the otherwise unknown 20th ruler . .   = = = Late Classic = = =   = = = = Tikal hiatus = = = =   In the mid 6th century , Caracol seems to have allied with Calakmul and defeated Tikal , closing the Early Classic . The " Tikal hiatus " refers to a period between the late 6th to late 7th century where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large @-@ scale construction at Tikal . In the latter half of the 6th century AD , a serious crisis befell
Ġlived Ġ. ĠIt Ġseems Ġlikely Ġthat ĠY ax ĠNu un ĠAy i in ĠI Ġtook Ġa Ġwife Ġfrom Ġthe Ġpree x isting Ġ, Ġdefeated Ġ, ĠTik al Ġdynasty Ġand Ġthus Ġlegitim ized Ġthe Ġright Ġto Ġrule Ġof Ġhis Ġson Ġ, ĠS iy aj ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il ĠII Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠR ÃŃ o ĠAz ul Ġ, Ġa Ġsmall Ġsite Ġ100 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ62 Ġmi Ġ) Ġnortheast Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġwas Ġconquered Ġby Ġthe Ġlatter Ġduring Ġthe Ġreign Ġof ĠY ax ĠNu un ĠAy i in ĠI . ĠThe Ġsite Ġbecame Ġan Ġoutpost Ġof ĠTik al Ġ, Ġshielding Ġit Ġfrom Ġhostile Ġcities Ġfurther Ġnorth Ġ, Ġand Ġalso Ġbecame Ġa Ġtrade Ġlink Ġto Ġthe ĠCaribbean Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġnew Ġrulers Ġof ĠTik al Ġwere Ġforeign Ġ, Ġtheir Ġdescendants Ġwere Ġrapidly ĠMay an ized Ġ. ĠTik al Ġbecame Ġthe Ġkey Ġally Ġand Ġtrading Ġpartner Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġlow lands Ġ. ĠAfter Ġbeing Ġconquered Ġby ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġ, ĠTik al Ġrapidly Ġdominated Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġand Ġeastern ĠPet en Ġ. ĠU ax act un Ġ, Ġtogether Ġwith Ġsmaller Ġtowns Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ, Ġwere Ġabsorbed Ġinto ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġkingdom Ġ. ĠOther Ġsites Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas ĠBe j uc al Ġand ĠMot ul Ġde ĠSan ĠJosÃ© Ġnear ĠLake ĠPet Ã©n ĠIt z Ã¡ Ġbecame Ġv ass als Ġof Ġtheir Ġmore Ġpowerful Ġneighbor Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ. ĠBy Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġof Ġthe Ġ5 th Ġcentury ĠTik al Ġhad Ġa Ġcore Ġterritory Ġof Ġat Ġleast Ġ25 Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ16 Ġmi Ġ) Ġin Ġevery Ġdirection Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAround Ġthe Ġ5 th Ġcentury Ġan Ġimpressive Ġsystem Ġof Ġfort ifications Ġconsisting Ġof Ġd itches Ġand Ġearth works Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġalong Ġthe Ġnorthern Ġperiphery Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġh inter land Ġ, Ġjoining Ġup Ġwith Ġthe Ġnatural Ġdefenses Ġprovided Ġby Ġlarge Ġareas Ġof Ġsw am pl and Ġlying Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġand Ġwest Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠAdditional Ġfort ifications Ġwere Ġprobably Ġalso Ġbuilt Ġto Ġthe Ġsouth Ġ. ĠThese Ġdefenses Ġprotected ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġcore Ġpopulation Ġand Ġagricultural Ġresources Ġ, Ġenc ir cling Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġapproximately Ġ120 Ġsquare Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ46 Ġsq Ġmi Ġ) Ġ. ĠRecent Ġresearch Ġsuggests Ġthat Ġthe Ġearth works Ġserved Ġas Ġa Ġwater Ġcollection Ġsystem Ġrather Ġthan Ġa Ġdefensive Ġpurpose Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTik al Ġand ĠCop Ã¡n Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ5 th Ġcentury Ġthe Ġpower Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġreached Ġas Ġfar Ġsouth Ġas ĠCop Ã¡n Ġ, Ġwhose Ġfounder ĠK Ġ' in ich ĠY ax ĠK Ġ' uk Ġ' ĠMo Ġ' Ġwas Ġclearly Ġconnected Ġwith ĠTik al Ġ. ĠCop Ã¡n Ġitself Ġwas Ġnot Ġin Ġan Ġethn ically ĠMaya Ġregion Ġand Ġthe Ġfounding Ġof Ġthe ĠCop Ã¡n Ġdynasty Ġprobably Ġinvolved Ġthe Ġdirect Ġintervention Ġof ĠTik al Ġ. ĠK Ġ' in ich ĠY ax ĠK Ġ' uk Ġ' ĠMo Ġ' Ġarrived Ġin ĠCop Ã¡n Ġin ĠDecember Ġ426 Ġand Ġbone Ġanalysis Ġof Ġhis Ġremains Ġshows Ġthat Ġhe Ġpassed Ġhis Ġchildhood Ġand Ġyouth Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠAn Ġindividual Ġknown Ġas ĠAj aw ĠK Ġ' uk Ġ' ĠMo Ġ' Ġ( Ġlord ĠK Ġ' uk Ġ' ĠMo Ġ' Ġ) Ġis Ġreferred Ġto Ġin Ġan Ġearly Ġtext Ġat ĠTik al Ġand Ġmay Ġwell Ġbe Ġthe Ġsame Ġperson Ġ. ĠHis Ġtomb Ġhad ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġcharacteristics Ġand Ġhe Ġwas Ġdepicted Ġin Ġlater Ġportraits Ġdressed Ġin Ġthe Ġwarrior Ġgar b Ġof ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġ. ĠHier ogly ph ic Ġtexts Ġrefer Ġto Ġhim Ġas Ġ" ĠLord Ġof Ġthe ĠWest Ġ" Ġ, Ġmuch Ġlike ĠS iyah ĠK ĠâĢ Ļ Ġak ĠâĢ Ļ Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġsame Ġtime Ġ, Ġin Ġlate Ġ426 Ġ, ĠCop Ã¡n Ġfounded Ġthe Ġnearby Ġsite Ġof ĠQu ir ig u Ã¡ Ġ, Ġpossibly Ġsponsored Ġby ĠTik al Ġitself Ġ. ĠThe Ġfounding Ġof Ġthese Ġtwo Ġcenters Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġpart Ġof Ġan Ġeffort Ġto Ġimpose ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġauthority Ġupon Ġthe Ġsoutheastern Ġportion Ġof Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġ. ĠThe Ġinteraction Ġbetween Ġthese Ġsites Ġand ĠTik al Ġwas Ġintense Ġover Ġthe Ġnext Ġthree Ġcenturies Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġlong Ġ@ - @ Ġrunning Ġrivalry Ġbetween ĠTik al Ġand ĠCal ak m ul Ġbegan Ġin Ġthe Ġ6 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġwith Ġeach Ġof Ġthe Ġtwo Ġcities Ġforming Ġits Ġown Ġnetwork Ġof Ġmutually Ġhostile Ġalliances Ġarray ed Ġagainst Ġeach Ġother Ġin Ġwhat Ġhas Ġbeen Ġlikened Ġto Ġa Ġlong Ġ@ - @ Ġrunning Ġwar Ġbetween Ġtwo ĠMaya Ġsuper powers Ġ. ĠThe Ġkings Ġof Ġthese Ġtwo Ġcapitals Ġadopted Ġthe Ġtitle Ġk al oom te Ġ' Ġ, Ġa Ġterm Ġthat Ġhas Ġnot Ġbeen Ġprecisely Ġtranslated Ġbut Ġthat Ġimplies Ġsomething Ġakin Ġto Ġ" Ġhigh Ġking Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġearly Ġ6 th Ġcentury Ġsaw Ġanother Ġqueen Ġruling Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġknown Ġonly Ġas Ġthe Ġ" ĠLady Ġof ĠTik al Ġ" Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġvery Ġlikely Ġa Ġdaughter Ġof ĠChak ĠTok ĠIch Ġ' a ak ĠII Ġ. ĠShe Ġseems Ġnever Ġto Ġhave Ġruled Ġin Ġher Ġown Ġright Ġ, Ġrather Ġbeing Ġpartnered Ġwith Ġmale Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġrulers Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġof Ġthese Ġwas ĠKal oom te Ġ' ĠB Ġ' alam Ġ, Ġwho Ġseems Ġto Ġhave Ġhad Ġa Ġlong Ġcareer Ġas Ġa Ġgeneral Ġat ĠTik al Ġbefore Ġbecoming Ġco Ġ@ - @ Ġruler Ġand Ġ19 th Ġin Ġthe Ġdyn astic Ġsequence Ġ. ĠThe ĠLady Ġof ĠTik al Ġherself Ġseems Ġnot Ġhave Ġbeen Ġcounted Ġin Ġthe Ġdyn astic Ġnumbering Ġ. ĠIt Ġappears Ġshe Ġwas Ġlater Ġpaired Ġwith Ġlord Ġ" ĠBird ĠClaw Ġ" Ġ, Ġwho Ġis Ġpresumed Ġto Ġbe Ġthe Ġotherwise Ġunknown Ġ20 th Ġruler Ġ. Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠTik al Ġhiatus Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġmid Ġ6 th Ġcentury Ġ, ĠCar ac ol Ġseems Ġto Ġhave Ġallied Ġwith ĠCal ak m ul Ġand Ġdefeated ĠTik al Ġ, Ġclosing Ġthe ĠEarly ĠClassic Ġ. ĠThe Ġ" ĠTik al Ġhiatus Ġ" Ġrefers Ġto Ġa Ġperiod Ġbetween Ġthe Ġlate Ġ6 th Ġto Ġlate Ġ7 th Ġcentury Ġwhere Ġthere Ġwas Ġa Ġlapse Ġin Ġthe Ġwriting Ġof Ġins criptions Ġand Ġlarge Ġ@ - @ Ġscale Ġconstruction Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġlatter Ġhalf Ġof Ġthe Ġ6 th Ġcentury ĠAD Ġ, Ġa Ġserious Ġcrisis Ġbe fell