Itzam K'an Ahk I

Itzam Kʼan Ahk I , also known as Ruler 2, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from AD 639–686. The son of Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I, Itzam Kʼan Ahk I took the throne when he was only 12 years old. His reign was marked by several wars, and he seems to have had a special connection with Calakmul. Itzam Kʼan Ahk I died just a few days before the marriage of his son, who succeeded him as ajaw of Piedras Negras and took on the name Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk II. Itzam Kʼan Ahk I left behind several monuments, including eight stelae, three panels, a throne, and a short stela-like column; this made him the most active of Piedras Negras's leaders in regards to erecting monuments.

Biography

Reign of Piedras Negras

Itzam Kʼan Ahk I, also known as Ruler 2, The title kʼinich translates to "sun-faced", and is a reference to the settlement's rulers' belief that they were the "lords of the sun".

Itzam Kʼan Ahk I reign was one marked by war and acts of aggression. Thanks to carvings on Stelae 35 and 37, it is known that he undertook two victorious military campaigns: one in AD 662 against Santa Elena (in which he may have captured either a "high-ranking girl" or a young man), and another in AD 669 against a Maya polity whose name is now lost.

However, despite all the bellicosity during his reign, Flora Clancy notes that his focus on taking care of his children "suggest that [Itzam Kʼan Ahk I] also desired, and endeavored to achieve, peaceful conditions." Itzam Kʼan Ahk I was buried nine days after he died,

Stelae

Stela 33 was the first erected and served as Itzam Kʼan Ahk I's ascension monument. Carved on December 1, 642, this stela depicts the ajaw sitting on an elevated cushion; a "plain band" is wrapped around his chest, which Clancy argues represents his being "bound to office". The leader is uniquely shown in profile, looking towards his right at a woman who is offering him "royal regalia". O'Neil favors the former argument and writes that Itzam Kʼan Ahk I's mother was likely featured on the stela because she served for a time as her son's regent and was thus politically important. Stela 34 (October 9, 652), Stela 35 (August 18, 662), Stela 36 (July 23, 667), Stela 37 (June 26, 672), Stela 39 (May 31, 677), and Stela 38 (May 6, 682). The leader is shown performing a religious ceremony involving the "grasping" of a Teotihuacan-influenced helmet; the associated glyphs reveal that Itzam Kʼan Ask I performed this ritual in 658over one hundred years after Yat Ahk I had performed the very same rite in AD 510. The ajaw on the panel is notably surrounded by subservient lords of nearby polities, implying that during Yat Ahk I's rule, Piedras Negras was the regional power.

Other

Itzam Kʼan Ahk I commissioned Throne 2.