Military and political expansion of Uaxactun in the beginning of the Early Classic (4th century AD)

The subject of the study is related to the study of the dynastic history of Uaxactun, one of the most important political centers of the ancient Maya of the Late Formative and Early Classic periods. The relevance of the study is due to a new analysis of hieroglyphic inscriptions, conducted within the framework of a comprehensive program of redocumentation of Uaxactun monuments, carried out by the Regional Archaeological Project under the direction of prof. Milan Kovač (University of Bratislava), which allowed us to propose a new reconstruction of the history of Uaxactun. The study aims to reconstruct the events of the military and political history associated with the Uaxactun dynasty in the 4th cent. AD, based on new epigraphic data. The main part of the study is devoted to the analysis of the hieroglyphic inscriptions of Uaxactun of the 4th cent. AD, based on which previously unknown events of the dynastic history of the city were reconstructed. It was determined that in 323 AD, with the accession of a ruler named “TrophySkull Jaguar“, there was a revival of the Uaxactun dynasty, as indicated on Stela 9. In 356 AD, he was succeeded on the throne by king Tz’akbu-Usiij (356 - c. 375 AD), who undertook a military campaign against El Zotz and other cities in the southwest. Thus, the authors determined that by 370/375 AD, Uaxactun had become one of the most powerful Maya political entities in Central Petén, entering into conflict with Tikal. Around 375 AD, Tzakbu-Usiij was defeated and probably captured by his Tikal rival Chak-Tok-Ich’aak II (360-378 AD). Within the framework of existing concepts, the study’s conclusion is important that the defeat of Uaxactun and the establishment of Tikal’s hegemony in Central Petén could have been one of the main factors that provoked the Teotihuacan invasion of the Central Maya Lowlands in 378 AD.