Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal

Kʼinich Janaab Pakal I (kʼihniʧ χanaːɓ pakal), also known as Pacal or Pacal the Great (March 24, 603 – August 29, 683), was ajaw of the Maya city-state of Palenque in the Late Classic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology. He acceded to the throne in July 615 and ruled until his death. Pakal reigned 68 years—the fifth-longest verified regnal period of any sovereign monarch in history, the longest in world history for more than a millennium, and still the longest of any residing monarch in the history of the Americas. During his reign, Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture. Pakal is perhaps best known in popular culture for his depiction on the carved lid of his sarcophagus, which has become the subject of pseudoarchaeological speculations. Pakal's full name, Kʼinich Janaab Pakal ("Radiant Corn-Flower (?) Shield"), is rendered in Classic Maya as KʼINICH-JANA꞉B-PAKAL-la, KʼINICH-JANA꞉B-pa-ka-la, or KʼINICH-ja-na-bi-pa-ka-la. Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptions, Pakal had been known by various nicknames and approximations, including Sun Shield and 8 Ahau. In modern sources Pakal's name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number, to distinguish him from other rulers with this name who either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". Reference to him as Pakal II alludes to his maternal grandfather (died c. 612), who also bore the name Janahb Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw ranking, he does not himself appear to have been a king. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the American rulership, Kʼinich Janaab Pakal II (ruled c. 742) and Janaab Pakal III, the last-known Palenque ruler (ruled c. 799). Kʼinich Janaab Pakal was a Palenque native, born on 9.8.9.13.