1414 years ago, amid a dense jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, a Mayan king was born in Palenque, which is the modern-day State of Chiapas, Mexico. Born in 603 CE, and dying eighty years later after a reign of 68 years, K’inich Janaab Pakal I was considered the greatest king of Palenque. His reign was the longest known regnal period in the ancient America’s and the 30th longest in all the world to date.
Commonly known as King Pacal (which means ‘shield’), he is famous for transforming the city of Palenque into a great power through his building projects in the city (namely the Temple of the Inscriptions). But…perhaps his number one claim to fame in modern times is his elaborately carved sarcophagus lid.
