Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal

Kʼinich Janaab Pakal I, also known as Pacal or Pacal the Great, lived from 24 March 603 to 29 August 683 and was ajaw, or ruler, of the Maya city-state of Palenque during the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology. He acceded to the throne in July 615 at the age of twelve and ruled until his death, a reign of 68 years that is the fifth-longest verified regnal period of any sovereign monarch in history, the longest in world history for more than a millennium, and the second-longest in the history of the Americas. During his rule Palenque saw the construction or extension of some of its most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture, for which he was responsible. He is perhaps best known in popular culture for the carved lid of his sarcophagus, which has become the subject of pseudoarchaeological speculation.