Copán
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How it came to be
People had long lived in the Copán valley of western Honduras when, in the early 5th century, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' arrived from the Tikal area and founded a new dynasty. It lasted about four centuries and produced sixteen kings, and Copán became a power in the southern Maya region.
In 738 King Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was captured and beheaded by the ruler of Quiriguá, his former vassal. Later kings resumed building and rebuilt the Hieroglyphic Stairway on Temple 26. With more than 1,800 glyphs, it is the longest known Maya inscription.
The population fell in the 8th and 9th centuries, and the ceremonial centre was abandoned in the early 10th century. In the late 16th century Diego García de Palacio of the Royal Audience of Guatemala described the ruins in a letter to the king, but excavation began only in the 19th century. The site was inscribed in 1980.
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