On This Day In History: Teotihuacan’s Warlord Siyaj K’ak’ Conquers Tikal – On Jan 16, 378

AncientPages.com - On January 16, 378, warlord Siyaj K'ak' (or 'Fire is Born') conquered Tikal, Uaxactun, and the city of Copan.

Siyaj K'ak' - the emissary of Spear-Thrower-Owl - was a prominent political figure mentioned in many glyphs of Maya monuments at Tikal and Uaxactun dated to the Classic Period (250-800 CE).

Tikal (Guatemala), temple 1, August 2006. Image credit: Raymond Ostertag  - CC BY-SA 2.5

He is believed to have been the general of the Teotihuacan ruler Spearthrower Owl.

He was originally from Teotihuacan or very closely allied with that city. Immediately after the arrival of Siyaj K'ak', Tikal's fourteenth ruler – died, which  suggests a violent takeover of the power at Tikal by Siyaj K'ak,'

In 378 and 379, he oversaw replacing the kings of important Maya states such as Tikal, Uaxactun, and Copan with new rulers who claimed descent from Spearthrower Owl, probably the ruler of Teotihuacan.

Siyaj K'ak' portrayed himself wearing a Teotihuacan battle dress. During his reign, a strong cultural influx from the Valley of Mexico the public architecture, especially the talud-tablero style from Teotihuacan, with temples, platforms, inward-sloping panels or surfaces, and pyramids in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.

Updated on January 11, 2023

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