WHAT WAS THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE MAYANS LIKE? - HISTORY - 2025

The political organization of the Maya was characterized by being of great complexity. The most important rulers were considered direct descendants of the gods, and the ruled class had few privileges.

A relevant element of the political organization of the Mayan culture is that the city-states that made up this civilization were never completely unified. They were well connected through trade and other activities together, but each city-state maintained a certain independence.

The Mayan rulers concentrated most of the Mayan political power. Source: Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata

This implies that there was no single ruler in charge of leading; instead, each city-state had a group of leaders who administered the territories near each location.

The Mayan civilization was characterized by being very culturally connected, but not politically. Commercial activity was very common in the territory and merchants (almost all members of the nobility) were considered important people.

Background

The fact that the Mayans did not consider having unique kings may have to do with the fact that during the first phases of their evolution as a civilization they did not contemplate the existence of these hierarchical figures. They did so only in the Preclassic period, long after the birth of the Mayan culture.

It was at that time when the first dynasty of the Mayans was generated. This happened in 300 BC. C about, and at this time in history structures and statues began to be built through which kings were honored.

Characteristics of the Mayan kings

The kings were considered direct relatives of the gods, which is why they were respected and venerated in a very special way.

The most usual thing was that the rulers were men, although there were cases of women who were part of the royal family and who corresponded to exercise as queens.

This implies that a strict order was followed regarding who it was to take control of the throne at any given time. In fact, various studies have determined that each king was assigned a number that was associated with her place in the row, taking as a reference the first king, founder of the dynasty in question.

Initiation rituals

The possibility of being king depended on whether or not the person was born for it, according to the dynasty of which he was a part.

The prince had to prepare to be a ruler and underwent a series of initiation rituals, whose main function was to test his skills and cultivate them, so that he had the necessary tools when it was his turn to be king.

Among the most prominent rituals are a phlebotomy at age six (evacuation of a specified amount of blood), the capture of prisoners and fights with neighboring rivals.

Once the prince became king, he was in charge of watching over the inhabitants of his city-state, leading the army and participating in a special way in religious rituals, the latter because he was considered a relative of the gods and, therefore, a communication channel with them.

Strong punishments for disobedient

Those who dared to disobey the kings were punished very severely. The reason for this behavior is that for the Mayans it was very important to maintain harmony between the inhabitants and the gods who were related to it.

So, the Mayans were convinced that the way to achieve this was by seeking unquestioned obedience to the rulers, who were seen as a kind of pseudo-gods.

In this context, human sacrifices began to emerge, which functioned as an important form of social and political control.

Political organization

Kings

As indicated above, the kings were considered the highest authorities. However, there were other figures who were also quite influential.

This king or monarch was the Halach uinic, the lord of the city-state, who directed the Mayan jurisdiction. The Halach uinic designated the Ah holpop, Nacom, Ahuacán and Tulipes, which will be explained below.

Nobility

There was a council of nobles that somehow limited the power of the main ruler. The leaders of the armies had an important voice in decision-making, as did the advisers and advisers who came from other territories; all these characters were members of the nobility.

Priests

There was a political class that gained a lot of power: it is the religious class. The king was always seen as the one with the greatest responsibility and power, but the priests could, for example, decide who would be the next king if there were no natural descendants or relatives of the previous monarch.

In fact, each city-state had a high priest who was in charge of determining the dates of important religious ceremonies and other important decisions. In addition, he was in charge of a group of priests.

The name of the highest priest was Ahuacán. On the other hand were the Ah holpop, religious-political delegates who were in charge of parties and ceremonies.

Military

Each city-state had a military leader named Nacom. He was in charge of generating military strategies to defend their territories and summoned soldiers to battles.

Administrators

They were also known as batabs and were in charge of aspects related to tax collection and other administrative tasks of the city-states, especially in terms of supervision.

They had councils made up of other chiefs called Ah cuch cabob, who had administrative functions within their villages. They also worked supported by the Al kuleloob, who were assistants to the Batabs.

Finally, the Batabs also supervised a group of bailiffs who maintained the tranquility and peace of each town; these were called Tupiles.

Craftsmen, peasants and slaves

Finally there was the town, which was in charge of carrying out the different economic activities, highlighting agriculture. For their part, the slaves were limited to carrying out the activities entrusted to them by their masters. However, these three classes had no political power.

Distribution of power in the territory

The largest Mayan cities were ruled by kings. Some of the most iconic cities of this civilization were Calakmul and Tikal, among others.

The kings who led the governments of these city-states were the most important to civilization. Statues were built to honor them and they were among the most remembered and recorded in the history of the Mayans.

After these cities there were others that were smaller and less important, but still had some relevance. These city-states were ruled by direct relatives of the king of the nearby large city, or by members of the Mayan nobility.

In addition to the above, there were also smaller towns that were considered affiliates of the big cities. These towns were led by nobles and had a certain importance because within themselves they housed some relevant religious temples.

The last political organization of the Mayan territory corresponds to the villages, small geographic spaces that dedicated their spaces almost exclusively to agriculture and the homes of the peasants.

References

1. "Mayal political structure" in Tarlton Law Library. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Tarlton Law Library: tarlton.law.utexas.edu
2. Minster, C. "Politics and the political system of the ancient Maya" in ThoughtCo. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from ThoughtCo: thoughtco.com
3. Mayan government at the University of Idaho. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from the University of Idaho: uidaho.edu
4. Gómez, M. "Maya government" in Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Ancient History Encyclopedia: ancient.eu
5. Sailus, C. "Mayan civilization: economy, politics, culture and religion" in Study. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Study: study.com
6. "Political and social organization" at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Retrieved on December 8, 2019 from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: uc.cl