Map of the Guatemalan highlands in the Postclassic Period
Iximcheʼ (/iʃimˈtʃeʔ/) (or Iximché using Spanish orthography) is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Iximche was the capital of the Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524. The architecture of the site included a number of pyramid-temples, palaces and two Mesoamerican ballcourts. Excavators uncovered the poorly preserved remains of painted murals on some of the buildings and ample evidence of human sacrifice. The ruins of Iximche were declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960s.[1] The site has a small museum displaying a number of pieces found there, including sculptures and ceramics. It is open daily.[2]
For many years the Kaqchikel served as loyal allies of the Kʼicheʼ Maya.[3] The growing power of the Kaqchikel within the alliance eventually caused such friction that the Kaqchikel were forced to flee the Kʼicheʼ capital and founded the city of Iximche.[4] The Kaqchikel established their new capital upon an easily defensible ridge almost surrounded by deep ravines.[5] Iximche developed quickly as a city and within 50 years of its foundation it had reached its maximum extent.[6] The rulers of Iximche were four principal lords drawn from the four main clans of the Kaqchikel, although it was the lords of the Sotzʼil and Xahil clans who held the real power.[7]
After the initial establishment of Iximche, the Kʼicheʼ left the Kaqchikel in peace for a number of years.[4] The peace did not last and the Kaqchikel soundly defeated their former overlords around 1491.[8] This was followed by infighting among the Kaqchikel clans with the rebel clans finally being overcome in 1493.[8] Wars against the Kʼicheʼ continued throughout the early 16th century.[8] When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, the Aztec emperor sent messengers to warn the Kaqchikel.[9] After the surrender of the Aztecs to Hernán Cortés, Iximche sent its own messengers to offer a Kaqchikel alliance with the Spanish.[8] Smallpox decimated the population of Iximche before the physical arrival of the Europeans.[8] At the time of the Spanish Conquest, Iximche was the second most important city in the Guatemalan Highlands, after the Kʼicheʼ capital at Qʼumarkaj.[10] Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado was initially well received in the city in 1524 and the Kaqchikel kings provided the Spanish with native allies to assist in the conquest of the other highland Maya kingdoms.[8] Iximche was declared the first capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala in the same year.[8] Due to excessive Spanish demands for tribute, the Kaqchikel soon broke the alliance and deserted their capital, which was burned 2 years later by Spanish deserters.[11] The Europeans founded a new town nearby but abandoned it in 1527 due to the continued hostility of the Kaqchikel,[12] who finally surrendered in 1530.[13]
The ruins of Iximche were first described by a Guatemalan historian in the late 17th century.[14] They were visited various times by scholars during the 19th century, who published plans and descriptions.[15] Serious investigations of the site started in the 1940s and continued sporadically until the early 1970s.[16] In 1980, during the Guatemalan Civil War, a meeting took place at the ruins between guerillas and Maya leaders that resulted in the guerillas stating that they would defend indigenous rights.[17] A ritual was carried out at the site in 1989 in order to reestablish the ruins as a sacred place for Maya ceremonies.[18] United States President George W. Bush visited the site in 2007,[19] and in the same year Iximche was the venue for the III Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples and Nationalities of Abya Yala.[20]
^Centro de Acción Legal - Ambiental y Social de Guatemala (CALAS).
^Cite error: The named reference Kelly96p197-198 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Iximcheʼ (/iʃimˈtʃeʔ/) (or Iximché using Spanish orthography) is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala...
Postclassic Maya times the capital of the main branch of the Kaqchikel was Iximché. Like the neighboring K'iche' (Quiché), they were governed by four lords:...
reached the Spanish at Iximche, the conquistadors marched against the Tz'utujil with their Kaqchikel allies. Pedro de Alvarado left Iximche just 5 days after...
declared Iximche as the first capital of Guatemala, Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala ("St. James of the Knights of Guatemala"). Iximche was called...
name was originally used by the Mexica to refer to the Kaqchikel city of Iximche, but was extended to refer to the whole country during the Spanish colonial...
JSTOR 683405. OCLC 1479294. Guillemín, Jorge F. (1965). Iximché: Capital del Antiguo Reino Cakchiquel [Iximche: Capital of the Ancient Kaqchikel Kingdom] (in Spanish)...
Maya monarchs, also known as Maya kings and queens, were the centers of power for the Maya civilization. Each Maya city-state was controlled by a dynasty...
including: ojoche, ojite, ojushte, ujushte, ujuxte, capomo, mojo, ox, iximche, masica in Honduras, uje in the state of Michoacan Mexico, mojote in Jalisco...
Iximche' en el contexto de la revitalización lingüística y la recuperación jeroglífica en las comunidades mayas de guatemala" [The stela of Iximche 'in...
Retrieved 2011-03-01. Guillemín, Jorge F. (1965). Iximché: Capital del Antiguo Reino Cakchiquel [Iximche: Capital of the Former Kaqchikel Kingdom] (in Spanish)...
the Mam in Zaculeu, the Poqomam in Mixco Viejo, and the Kaqchikel at Iximche in the Guatemalan highlands. The Pipil resided in El Salvador, the Nicarao...
former Kʼicheʼ allies and founded a new kingdom to the southeast with Iximche as its capital. In the decades before the Spanish invasion the Kaqchikel...
Retrieved 2013-12-17. Guillemín, Jorge F. (1965). Iximché: Capital del Antiguo Reino Cakchiquel [Iximche: Capital of the former Kaqchikel Kingdom] (in Spanish)...
ISBN 978-0-19-518363-4. OCLC 57319740. Guillemín, Jorge F. (1965). Iximché: Capital del Antiguo Reino Cakchiquel [Iximche: Capital of the Ancient Kaqchikel Kingdom] (in Spanish)...
in June). Chimaltenango is also home to the Maya civilization ruins of Iximché and Mixco Viejo, in addition to many smaller sites. As of the 2018 census...
Santa Rosa 27 July 1524 Iximche declared first colonial capital of Guatemala Chimaltenango 28 August 1524 Kaqchikel abandon Iximche and break alliance Chimaltenango...
the Soconusco region of lowland Chiapas, where they met delegations from Iximche and Q'umarkaj at Tuxpán; both of the powerful highland Maya kingdoms declared...
Santa Rosa 27 July 1524 Iximche declared first colonial capital of Guatemala Chimaltenango 28 August 1524 Kaqchikel abandon Iximche and break alliance Chimaltenango...
Guatemala The name was first associated with the Kaqchikel Maya capital Iximche, adopted as the Spanish capital soon after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala...
from the hostile Iximche Kaqchikel kingdom than their previous capital. In spite of this, the city fell under the domination of Iximche and the city's architecture...
centuries. On 27 July 1524, Pedro de Alvarado declared the Kaqchikel city Iximche the first regional capital, styled Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala...
particularly fine ballcourts in good condition include Tikal, Yaxha, Copán, Coba, Iximche, Monte Albán, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Yagul, Xochicalco, Mixco Viejo, and...
are Mayan archaeological sites (Tikal in the Petén, Quiriguá in Izabal, Iximche in Tecpan Chimaltenango, and in the City of Guatemala). Destinations visited...
modern Nahuatl dialects. The Mexica used the word for the Kaqchikel capital Iximche in central Guatemala, but the word was extended to the entire zone in colonial...
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