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1 The Name

The site was already long abandoned when the Spanish arrived in Chiapas. The first European to visit the ruins and publish an account was Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada in 1567; at the time the local Chol Maya called it Otolum meaning "Land with strong houses", de la Nada roughly translated this into Spanish to give the site the name "Palenque", meaning "fortification". Palenque also became the name for the town (Santo Domingo del Palenque) which was built over some peripheral ruins down in the valley from the main ceremonial center of the ancient city.

An ancient name for the city was Lakam Ha, which translates as "Big Water" or "Wide Water", for the numerous springs and wide cascades that are found within the site. Palenque was the capital of the important classic-age Mayan city-state of B'aakal (Bone).

2 The Maya Classic City

While the site was occupied by the middle Pre-Classic, it did not gain importance until several hundered years later. By 600 the first of the famous structures now visible were being constructed. Situated in the western reaches of Mayan territory, on the edge of the southern highlands, B'aakal was a large and vital center of Maya civilization from the 5th century AD to the 9th century.

The B'aakal state had a chequered career. Its original dynasts were perhaps Olmec. Politically, the city experienced diverse fortunes, being disastrously defeated by Kalakmul in 599Events The Chinese win the war at Ordos. The Mayan city of Palenque is defeated by Kalakmul. Raedwald becomes king of East Anglia (approximate date). Births January 23 Emperor Taizong of Tang China Deaths Taliesin, Welsh poet. King Hye of Baekje 599. and again in 611Alternate meaning: phone number 6-1-1 Events Kalakmul defeats Palenque Cynegils becomes King of Wessex Births Deaths Ceolwulf of Wessex 611..

Nevertheless, B'aakal produced what is arguably the best known Mayan Ajaw (king or lord), Pacal the GreatPacal II also known as Pacal the Great (the name is sometimes rendered as Pakal ( 26 March, 603 31 August, 683), was king of the Maya kingdom of Palenque. He accended the throne at age 12 on 29 July, 615, and lived to the age of 80. The name "Pacal" means, who ruled from 615Events The Edict of Paris grants extensive rights to the Frankish nobility. The Turks invade China. Pope Boniface IV succeeded by Pope Adeodatus I. Sac K'uk' succeeded by Pacal the Great as ruler of Palenque. Pippin of Landen becomes Mayor of the Austrasi to 683Events Umayyad caliph Yazid I ( 680 683) succeeded by Muawiya II ibn Yazid (683 684) End of the reign of Pacal the Great, ruler of Maya state of Palenque Births Emperor Mommu of Japan Bilge Khan, emperor of the Gokturks I Sin, Chinese astronomer Deaths Po, and left one of the most magnificent tomb-works of ancient MesoamericaMesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south through the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European, beneath the Temple of Inscriptions. This is a grand temple atop a step pyramid dedicated in 692Events The Quinisext Council (also said 'in Trullo'), held in Constantinople, laid the foundation for the Orthodox Canon Law The Arabs conquer Armenia. Births Deaths Ibn Zubayr, Muslim caliph 692., inside is an elaborate long heiroglyphic text carved in stone detailing the city's ruling dynasty and the exploits of Pacal the Great. A stone slab in the floor could be lifted up, revealing a passageway (filled in shortly before the city's abandonment and reopened by archeologists) to long interior stairway leading back down to ground level and the shrine/tomb of the semi-divine Pacal. Over his crypt is an elaborate stone showing him falling into the underworld, and taking the guise of one of the Maya Hero TwinsThe Hero Twins feature prominently in Maya mythology. The twins were Ixbalanque and Hun-Apu. Their father was Hun Hunahpu. After Hun Hunapu was tricked and killed by the lords of Xibalba, Hun Hunapu's skull was hung in a tree. When a young virgin woman ap in the Popul Vuh who defeated the lords of the underworld to achieve imortality.

Other important structures at Palenque include:

• The Palace, actually a complex of several connected and adjacent buildings and courtyards built up over several generations on a wide artificial terrace. The Palace houses many fine scuptures and stucco reliefs in addition to the distinctive 4 story tower.
• The Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun, and Temple of the Foliated Cross. This is a set of graceful temples atop step pyramid s, each with an elaborately carved relief in the inner chamber. They commemorate the succession of King Chan Bahlum II to the throne after the death of Pacal the Great, and show the late king passing on his greatness to his successor. These temples were named by early explorers; the cross-like images in two of the reliefs actually depict the tree of creation at the center of the world in Maya mythology.
• The Aquaduct constructed with great stone blocks with a 3 meter high vault to make the Otulum River flow underneath the floor of Palenque's main plaza.
• The Temple of The Lion at a distance of some 200 meters south of the main group of temples; its name came from the elaborate stucco depiction of a king seated on a throne in the form of a jaguar.
• Structure XII with a stucco depiction of the God of Death.
• Temple of the Count another elegant Classic Palenque temple, which got its name from the fact that early explorer Jean Frederic Waldeck lived in the building for some time, and Waldeck claimed to be a Count.

The site also has a number of other temples, tombs, and elite residences, some a good distance from the center of the site, a court for playing the Mesoamerican Ballgame, and an interesting stone bridge over the Otulum River some distance below the Aquaduct.