Kingdom of Calakmul

The Kingdom of Calakmul, known to its own rulers by the emblem glyph read as Kaan, or Snake, and often called the Kingdom of the Snake or the Snake Kingdom by scholars, was an ancient Maya state whose capital, also called Calakmul, stood on a limestone dome above the jungle of the greater Peten Basin in what is now Campeche state, Mexico, about thirty five kilometers from the Guatemalan border. Its rulers styled themselves k'uhul kaanal ajaw, or Divine Lords of the Snake, and the kingdom reached its height under Yuknoom Che'en II, who reigned from 636 to 686 AD, dominating a network of allied and subordinate cities from the mid-sixth century through the late seventh century, with a governed domain estimated at thirteen thousand square kilometers and a population of roughly 1.75 million, including about fifty thousand people in the capital itself. Calakmul's power collapsed after a catastrophic military defeat in 695 AD, and the kingdom fell into terminal decline by around 830 AD; unlike its great rival Tikal, whose kingship was solidly held by male rulers, Calakmul's royal court gave unusual prominence to its queens.