Born March 26, 603 C.E.
Palenque, Mexico
Died August 31, 683 C.E.
Palenque

King of Palenque

On the Maya Long Count date 9.9.2.4.8 (or July 29, 615 C.E.) in the Maya city of Palenque (pronounced pah-LAIN-kay), K'inich Janahb' Pakal, more commonly referred to as Pacal, ascended to the city's throne. He ruled for sixty-eight years, becoming the most well-known of Palenque's, and perhaps the Maya world's, kings. During his reign and the reign of his oldest son and immediate successor, Chan Bahlum (635–702), the formerly humble town of Palenque became an extraordinarily beautiful Maya ceremonial center (a central place where people from surrounding areas gather to practice their religions, usually at large temples and plazas built for this purpose). Under the direction of these kings, the Mayas in Palenque created some of the finest bas-relief carvings (sculpture in which the background is cut away,...