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Dispatched from Teotihuacan, the mighty city to the west,...

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Dispatched from Teotihuacan, the mighty city to the west, by a mysterious ruler known as Spear-thrower Owl, military envoy Fire Is Born founded new dynasties that brought unparalleled splendor to the Maya world. His foreign trappings, such as his goggles and the spear-thrower he holds in this modern painting, became symbols that later Maya rulers wielded to affirm their ties to the great leader.

Vania Zouravliov/National Geographic Image Collection

1077715

Dispatched from Teotihuacan, the mighty city to the west, by a mysterious ruler known as Spear-thrower Owl, military envoy Fire Is Born founded new dynasties that brought unparalleled splendor to the Maya world. His foreign trappings, such as his goggles and the spear-thrower he holds in this modern painting, became symbols that later Maya rulers wielded to affirm their ties to the great leader.

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In an imagined scene based on discoveries at Cancuén, invaders line up 31 of Cancuén's nobles  men, women, and children  and kill them one by one, then place their bodies into the sacred cistern in front of the royal palace. The king and queen, shown in full regalia, will also be killed and buried nearby. "All these dynasties were intermarried," says Vanderbilt University's Arthur Demarest, lead archaeologist at the site. "It was probably in-laws eliminating the dynasty, their competition." Forensic analysis indicates that at least some of the victims were beheaded.

A painting based on ancient Maya depictions shows a lavish scene of revelry where members of the royal court sip a drink of spiced chocolate in the presence of their king. Such extravagant indulgence blinded the Maya elite to the fateful storm of calamities that was gathering over the Maya.

Mourned by his wife, the deceased King Kinich Yax Kuk Mo (Shining Quetzal Macaw) lies amid offerings in his tomb at Copán in present-day Honduras. Backed by Teotihuacan, he founded a dynasty in 426 that lasted almost four centuries.

Two kings, probably brothers, were born with a star-crossed destiny in the early seventh century at Tikal. Balaj Chan Kawiil was sent as a young child to rule Dos Pilas, a trading outpost, while Nuun Ujol Chaak became king of Tikal. In time Tikal's great rival Calakmul sacked Dos Pilas, captured Balaj Chan Kawiil, and turned him against Tikal. Dos Pilas then defeated Tikal, and Balaj Chan Kawiil sacrificed his brother along with other relatives. "Mountains of skulls were piled up, and blood flowed," says an inscription on a stairway at Dos Pilas. The rivalry continued, however, setting off a devastating cycle of violence that eventually pushed the Classic Maya civilization to collapse.

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