The forms of government of the Mayans were very different because their history is divided into three major important periods (Pre-Classic, Classic and Post-Classic) that developed between 1500 BC and 1500 AD
The pre-classic period was characterized by few major policies and a high level of illiteracy. The classic improved the policies of a civilization, as well as trade.
Finally, the postclassic period meant the decline of one of the most important empires in history. You may be interested in the political organization of the Mayans.
Historical line of the Mayan forms of government
It is believed that the government policies of the Mayan civilization began around 300 BC, thus understanding that the kings of the pre-classic period lacked a stable and defined policy.
In the pre-classic there was the belief that the rulers were a combination of human god, thus establishing a kind of unified state. This belief managed to make visible the line of power in the family, a nucleus where it was normal to see how a person of any gender ruled.
Men and women were in the capacity to rule. Women could do it if the king of the day was a minor, if he was at the foot of a war, or if he was simply not available for some reason.
Those who ruled reaffirmed themselves as kings and lords and there was the custom of making an effigy for each king in the Sacred Round, a calendar that had a total of 260 days and that was divided into 13 months that in turn had 20 days.
A specific god represented each month. In this way, the sacred rituals were destined for the Day of the Lord (Ahau).
With the passing of the Mayan era, they maintained separate regimes, thus avoiding the constitution of an empire, a phenomenon that also occurred during the classical period.
It is believed that the classical period had 72 or more major political units, achieving through them, making the Mayan civilization an international commercial civilization.
According to the studies carried out on the form of government of this civilization, it has been possible to conclude that the Mayans lived two cycles of politics:
On the one hand, there was a time of rise and fall, which implied a longer time for economic, political and population development to take place; then an epoch called rebound.
The post-classical period (900 AD - 1530 AD) was characterized by the decline of the then positioned city-states, which ended up being abandoned, thus achieving a severe decrease in inhabitants.
Wars between Mayan policies
The Mayan civilization suffered numerous wars due to the existence of different policies that led to serious conflicts.
Although there is no unified reason for the collapse of this civilization, the idea of natural catastrophes, culture wars, civil unrest, famine and even climate impacts is often shared as important reasons for this to happen.
It is believed that the Mayan collapse was rooted in the rise of war arising from different policies that led to the subsequent disintegration.
However, experts consider that the war was not the only reason for the collapse of the Mayan civilization. In fact, one of the reasons that takes more force is the lack of political unity.
It is estimated that there were as many as 50 Mayan states during the classical period. A devastating fact that reflects this lack of political harmony.
Likewise, the size of pre-classical policies, which had between 5,000 and 10,000 people, marked a strong contrast in comparison with those established during the classical period, which had populations of up to 50,000 people.
During the preclassical period there was not the same competition that we see during the classical period. The former did not require a specifically political integration to survive, while the latter did require a certain political harmony that would allow them to counteract competition, as well as those who inhabited states of great power.
It could be said that there was a lot of similarity in the pre-classical states, while the power struggles between one and another classical state were very recurrent.
Even so, it is also believed that the decline of civilization, which occurred around the year 1300, had a great responsibility for variables such as agricultural depletion, overpopulation, social upheavals, ecological factors and, no doubt, political ones.
Although there were no permanent armies, the war played a very important role during the Mayan era in various fields such as religion, power and prestige.
References
- Gomez, María C. Maya government. Ancient History Encyclopedia. United States (2015). Recovered from ancient.eu.
- Good to know. What kind of government did the Mayans have. (2014). Recovered from bueno-saber.com.
- Borge, Carolyn A. Yucatan Peninsula website. Mayan Government. U.S. (2000). Recovered from webpages.uidaho.edu.