Maya civilization

Mesoamerican former civilization

48 dated entries naming Maya civilization, drawn from 47 separate years between 1800 BCE and 2012 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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18th century BC

1800 BCEc. 1800 BC: Sedentary Mayan communities in Mesoamericasource

15th century BC

1500 BCEc. 1500 BC: Early traces of Maya civilization developing in Belize.source

2nd century BC

132 BCEThe Late Formative (or pre-Classic) period of the Maya civilization begins.source

1st century BC

100 BCEMural room in the Maya pyramid at San Bartolo, Guatemala, painted.source

2nd century

200The Classic Age of Maya civilization begins (around this year).source

3rd century

292The oldest known Mayan stele is erected at the capital Tikal (modern Guatemala).source

4th century

378Siyaj K'ak' begins to replace Mayan kings with relatives of Spearthrower Owl, emperor of Teotihuacan.source

5th century

422August 8 – Casper, ruler of the Maya city of Palenquesource
426K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' becomes the founder of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization at Copán (modern Honduras).source
437K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' dies after an 11-year reign. He is the founder and first ruler of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization centered at Copán (modern Honduras).source
465July 5 – Ahkal Moʼ Nahb I, Maya ruler of Palenque (d. 524)source

6th century

501The Maya are peaking in economic prosperity. The civilization at Teotihuacan begins to decline and its people are migrating to the greatest Mayan city, Tikal, bringing with them ideas about weaponry and new ritual practices.source
504A major expansion of Copán's ceremonial center, the Acropolis complex, is undertaken by B'alam Nehn (Waterlily Jaguar), the seventh ruler (ajaw) of the southeastern Maya city (approximate date).source
507A Mayan altar with the head of the death god is built in Copán, Honduras.source
524November 29 – Ahkal Moʼ Nahb I, ruler of the Maya city of Palenque in what is now the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, dies after a reign of 23 years. The city enters an interregnum which lasts a little over four years.source
562First Tikal-Calakmul War: The Maya state of Caracol (Belize) defeats King Wak Chan K'awiil (Double Bird) of Tikal in battle, ending his dynasty.source
583Yohl Ikʼnal succeeds Kan Bahlam I as queen of the Maya city of Palenque (Mexico).source
591May 21 – A Mesoamerican ballgame court is dedicated at the Mayan city of Chinkultic (Mexico).source
599The Maya city of Palenque (southern Mexico) is plundered by King Scroll Serpent of Calakmul (approximate date).source
600Loma Caldera (El Salvador) erupts, burying the Maya village of Joya de Cerén (approximate date).source

7th century

605Aj Ne' Yohl Mat becomes ruler (ajaw) of the Maya city of Palenque (Mexico). During his reign his kingdom is invaded by people from Calakmul.source
612October 22 – Sak Kʼukʼ succeeds her father Ajen Yohl Mat, as queen of the Maya state of Palenque (modern Mexico).source
615July 29 – Queen Sak Kʼukʼ is succeeded by her son Pacal the Great, as ruler of the Maya city state Palenque (Mexico). He begins a building program at his capital, that produces some of Maya civilization's finest art and architecture.source
629The Maya military outpost of Dos Pilas (Guatemala) is founded, in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region. Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil is installed as its leader by his father, K'inich Muwaan Jol II, the ruler of Tikal.source
678Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III, Maya ruler of Palenquesource
683K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of the Maya state of Palenque (Mexico), dies after a 68-year reign. He is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions. He is the longest-reigning monarch in the world until Louis XIV breaks that record in 1711, almost 1028 years later and remains the longest-reigning monarch in the Americas until Elizabeth II breaks that record in 2020, almost 1337 years latersource
684February 10 – Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II accedes to the rulership of the Maya polity of Palenque (modern Mexico).source
700Maya civilization: Tikal Temple I, called the "Temple of the Giant Jaguar" (tomb of Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I), Tikal, (Guatemala), is built.source

8th century

722January 3 – King Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III takes the throne of the Maya city-state of Palenque (southern Mexico).source
724December 29 – K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat becomes king (ajaw) of the Maya city-state of Quiriguá, now in Guatemala), and serves for more than 60 years until his death in 785.source
736Yik'in Chan K'awiil, ruler (ajaw) of the leading Maya city state of Tikal (modern-day Guatemala), conquers rival Calakmul, within the northern Petén region of the Yucatán region (Southern Mexico).source
736Kʼinich Ahkal Moʼ Nahb III, Maya ruler of Palenquesource
738The Mayan city-state Xukpi (Copán) is defeated by a rival city-state, Quiriguá. Xukpi leader Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ("Eighteen Rabbit") is deposed thereafter.source
741February 10 or 11 - Lady Six Sky, Maya queen of Naranjosource
755Alliances and trade between Mayan city-states have begun to break down. Malnutrition is on the rise. A diminishing of the food supply creates social upheaval and war (approximate date).source
760The Maya city of Dos Pilas (modern Guatemala) is abandoned, after the Tamarindito and Petexbatún centres revolt against their Dos Pilas overlord.source
771January 24 – Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat dedicates a 65-ton stele, the largest stone known to be quarried by the Maya civilization, at his city of Quiriguá.source
773The number 0 is introduced to the city of Baghdad, which will be developed in the Middle East by Arabian mathematicians, who will base their numbers on the Indian system (long after the Maya culture developed the concept, cf. Maya numerals).source

9th century

822February 6 – Ukit Took becomes the last ruler (ajaw) of the Mayan city-state Copán (modern Guatemala). After his death in 830, the kingdom is wiped out, most likely from an epidemic.source

10th century

901The Mesoamerican ballgame court is dedicated by the Maya ruler Chan Chak K'ak'nal Ajaw (also known as Lord Chac) at Uxmal (modern Mexico).source
909The last Long Count date is inscribed on a monument at the Mayan site of Toniná (modern-day Chiapas, Mexico), marking the end of the Classic Maya Period.source

12th century

1179The Maya city Chichen Itza is sacked and burned by Hunac Ceel, ruler of Mayapan (approximate date).source

15th century

1441A revolt occurs in the Mayan nation of Mayapan; the Maya civilization splits into warring city-states.source

16th century

1525Mixco Viejo, capital of the Pocomans Maya State, falls to the Spanish conquistadores of Pedro de Alvarado (in modern-day Guatemala) after a three-month siege.source
1546November 8 – (5 Cimi 19 Xul, Mayan calendar) An uprising by the Maya civilization against the Spanish colonial administrators of New Spain begins in the Yucatan area of Mexico, with simultaneous attacks at Mérida, Valladolid, and Bacalar. The attack comes from seven Mayan provinces on the Gulf of Mexico, Cupul, Cochuah, Sotuta, Tases, Uaymil, Chetumal, and Chikinchel. The rebellion is suppressed by March and the instigators are arrested and executed.source
1562July 12 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatan, burns the sacred books of the Maya.source

17th century

1697March 13 – The Spanish conquest of Petén, and of Yucatán, is completed with the fall of Nojpetén, capital of the Itza Maya Kingdom, the last independent Maya state.source

21st century

2012December 21 – 2012 phenomenon: End of 13th b'ak'tun in the Mayan calendar, supposed end of the world according to new age beliefs. Festivities took place to commemorate the event in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.source