Career
She acceded to the throne on December 23, 583 and ruled until her death. Yohl Ikʻnal was a grandmother or great-grandmother of K'inich Janaab Pakal I, Palenqueʻs greatest king. She was the first female ruler in recorded Maya history and was one of a very few female rulers known from Maya history to have borne a full royal title.
She must have come to the throne due to extremely unusual circumstances, the details of which have not survived. During the reign of Yohl Ik'nal, Palenque suffered an important defeat by Calakmul, one of the two great Maya powers of the Classic Period. The battle took place on April 23, 599 but Yohl Ikʻnal reigned for several years more and died in 604.
After the defeat, Palenque apparently maintained its political identity but Yohl Ik'nal probably had to pay tribute to the ajaw of Calakmul. There are indications that either Yohl Ik'nal or her successor successfully rebelled against Calakmulʻs dominance before 611. Archaeologist Merle Greene Robertson has suggested that a vaulted tomb under Temple 20 at Palenque is that of Queen Yohl Ik'nal.
