Izamal, Mexico
Tourism

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illustration of the encounter between pre-Columbian and Spanish cultures.

History

Although Izamal ("City of Hills" in Maya) has been the subject of little archaeological investigation, it is believed to have reached its peak in the Maya Classic period (ad 300-900). According to legend, it was founded by Itzamná ("Dew from Heaven"), later revered as a sky god. After his death his body is said to have been divided into three parts, which were then buried under the three hills of Izamal. On these hills were built three huge temples, the principal one being known as Kinich-kakmó ("Sun-Bird with the Fiery Face"). This pyramid is the third largest of its kind in meso-America after that at Cholula and the sun-pyramid of Teotihuacán. Izamal then became a place of pilgrimage frequented by worshippers of the sun god Kinich-kakmó and the sky god Itzamnea, from all over the country. Together with other sacred sites such as Cozumel and above all Chichén Itzá, Izamal later developed, perhaps under the rule of the legendary Itzá ("Mayanised" Toltecs or "Toltecised" Mayas), into an important political centre.

The chronicles tell of the abduction by Chac-xibchac, ruler of Chichén Itzá, of the betrothed wife of Ah-ulil, ruler of Izamal, and of the subsequent war which ended in the expulsion of the population of Chichén Itzá about ad 1200. This war seems also, however, to have initiated the political decline of Izamal. At the same time began the rise of Mayapán, the last stage in the development of Maya civilisation.

Izamal's importance as a place of pilgrimage led the Spaniards to take strong measures when they captured it about 1540. They at once pulled down most of the pyramids and used the stone to construct their own religious buildings.