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Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak

ajaw of Naranjo

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ6322426
Source-derived summary

Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak (born January 4, 688 CE), alternatively known by the nickname Smoking Squirrel bestowed before his name glyph was deciphered, was a Maya ruler of Naranjo. He led the city during an extensive military campaign against Yaxha; however, because of his young age at the time, it is presumed that his mother organized much of the campaign. [1]

His grandfather, B'alaj Chan K'awiil of Dos Pilas, sent K'ak' Tiliw's mother Lady Six Sky (sometimes called Lady Wak Chanil Ajaw but probably actually Wak Chan Jalam Lem?) to Naranjo to reestablish a royal dynasty there after the defeat of Naranjo under Ruler I by Caracol. The first sacred rituals for her arrival began on August 30, 682.

K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak became ruler of Naranjo on May 31, 693. Shortly after, Naranjo fought and won a series of victories against polities, some of whom may have been rebelling against K'ak' Tiliw's mother. While most of these were smaller polities, Yaxha, Tikal, and Ucanal all suffered defeats at the hands of Naranjo during this time. However, as he was quite young during these battles, it is assumed that his mother was the chief architect of the wars.

Once of age, he built many monuments in the city he ruled. He was apparently a patron of the arts, especially ceramic, and he is referred to as Sak Chuwen, Pure (or White) Artisan, on Stela 18.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak” as ajaw of Naranjo. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 235-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 0688-01-06. The account is most persuasive where Kʼakʼ, Tiliw and Chan can be independently traced.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as ajaw of Naranjo. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

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This entry incorporates text from Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Chaak” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.