1269-1310 (516-557 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

The Mesoamerican Timeline

1194-1269 (441-516 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

1269-1310 (516-557 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

1310-1376 (557-623 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

The Great Mayan War

The Assault of Lamanai

With secretly built up ships from both the Maya and the Zapotecs, this coalition of forces moved on the city of Lamanai on the coast of the Uaxactunese lands. The Zapotecs and the Maya leadership had both learned about the production of the plague on this city and made this secret known to their people to encourage public hatred for the

Depiction of the Assault on Lamanai

Uaxactunese, and thus support for this invasion. Early in the morning, with the sun rising behind them, in the Summer of 1269 (516 AD), the city of Lamanai came under fire with the Maya’s new Chantico style cannons from one of their new warships. The citizens of Lamanai were actually surprisingly well prepared for such an attack. The communication lines between Lamanai and the other cities would carry their distress signal all the way to the nearest naval bases and would result in the first battle of the Great Maya War. The Uaxactunese flamethrowers especially would become problematic for the coalition warships. By the end of the battle, the Uaxactunese and the Maya had both suffered significant losses and this was not the start of a war that would be simple or one sided. That being said, the damage to Lamanai made that city unusable until reconstruction started after the war. Despite this the Maya did not take the city because their commanding officer was captured and burned before the soldiers on one of the warships.

The Battle of Pajon

With the loss of Lamanai, the Maya regrouped their losses and planned to attack from another angle. The Uaxactunese cities on the northern coast were known to be very well defended and as both sides expected, the

Depiction of the Battle of Pajon

Maya would go through the southern coast of Uaxactun eventually cutting their Empire in half if they could reach the northern coast. The city of Pajon was one of the few larger sites on the southern coast and it was the most likely target. Coming out from the Central American portion of the Maya Alliance and from the southern bases of the Zapotecs, a joint operation was once again the way they went. The assault on the city of Pajon was much more successful than the one in Lamanai. They Zapotecs disembarked from their ships and overran the city and this had a foothold in Uaxactunese territory.

Uaxactunese troops began moving southward to counter and contain these actions but the Maya expected this too. The strategy was to have the Maya and Zapotecs move in through the north as the Uaxactunese moved south toward Pajon. This strategy similarly would prove paper thin to the Uaxactunese. The movement toward Pajon was very small and only served top reinforce the barrier cities around the southern area in case that was the serious plan of the Maya and Zapotecs. The defenses in the north were held and the Zapotecs found themselves at a serious disadvantage because not only were the Uaxactunese prepared but the Maya were late for the rendezvous. The great losses by the Zapotecs in the north were even more than in Lamanai and the Zapotecs at this point attempted to make a peace with the Uaxactunese.

The Treaty of Matacapan 1271 (518 AD)

Matacapan was a city near the border of the Zapotec and Uaxactunese territories and it would be the site of the treaty between these two nations. Following this the Maya Alliance and the Uaxactunese found themselves fighting the Uaxactunese once again. The Maya were not going to give up. The first move they made was on the city of Lamanai once again. That city had been so demolished that the Maya believed that the Uaxactunese had almost abandoned it. Instead they found soldiers and sailors working diligently to reconstruct the city. When the

Diplomacy depicting what led to the Treaty of Matacapan

Maya moved in toward this city the Lamanai builders were taken by surprise. News of the Peace treaty with the Zapotecs had calmed some people’s fears about the war. Without hesitation the Maya tried to take advantage of the surprise. The soldiers working there were largely unarmed and the armory that existed and which was not far away had been diverted to the north to protect against the Zapotecs. Leaders of the Uaxactunese believed that the Maya would reach out for a peace treaty also and end the fighting and so they neglected to move the armory back to and equal distribution throughout the Empire. Because of their neglect the city of Lamanai was captured after its second time seeing battle. The soldiers of Uaxactun were treated so badly that the city became known as a “Den of Depravity and Torture.”

With a new foothold the Maya believed that they could perhaps emerge from this war with some gains even if it was not total victory. From the city of Lamanai came attacks on the rest of the Western Yucatan Peninsula. The Maya had made such an impressive string of victories that many began to believe that they did not now nor ever need an Alliance with the Zapotecs. The Uaxactunese similarly were caught by surprise at the resounding success that the Maya had made in their western lands. Rather than move against these attacks the Uaxactunese knew that there were enough troops stationed well in the areas near the new Maya gains that the Uaxactunese needn’t worry too much. The Uaxactunese, without fear of the Zapotecs and with plenty of their military stored up on the northern shore began pursuing a offensive strategy rather than remaining defensive in the wake of the Mayan Aggression.

The Northern Yucatan Campaign

The Uaxactunese began to move into Maya land and intended to push all the way to the large capital city of Tikal. The Siege of Dzibilchaltun came early in 1272 (519 AD) and it was a massacre of the Maya people. A resounding success sent shock waves throughout the Maya territories. Dzibilchaltun was known for being a center of trade and communications and it was the best possible landing site for the Uaxactunese in the Northern Yucatan. Following the complete domination of the city the Uaxactunese they moved on to the other major cities of the region. Uxmal,

After the West Coast was taken by the Maya

Mayapan, Chichen Itza, and Coba were the next to fall and the Uaxactunese believed that the war was not coming to a close and the Uaxactunese would have victory if they could take Tikal. The last major city in the north to be taken was Tulum and it fell only after so many thousands of soldiers were lost. With these defeats the Maya had to rethink the strategy that they would pursue. The last major place on the route to Tikal was Edzna but due to the costly battle in Tulum the land routes would not be of much use. Troops still could not be moved into Tikal from their border with Uaxactun due to the impenetrable defenses that were maintained all throughout this war.

Without Edzna the Uaxactunese would have such a thin grouping of troops in the region that the job of Maya in retaking their cities would not be very difficult. Edzna would be the last stand of the Maya and Uaxactunese. The battle began in the autumn and their was a comfortable breeze that was notably pleasing to the people despite the occasion. The first shots were made by the Maya and they were fighting so desperately that historians later would retell that “Their desperation drove them like the wind under a bird’s wings, the regiments of Ekahau [who was the general of the Mayan army at this battle] would have given up anything to keep the sons of Uaxactun out of his nation.”

The Battle of Tikal

Edzna though would be taken by the Uaxactunese. Ekahau was killed near the end of the battle when he tried to

The War after the success of the Northern Yucatan Campaign

rush his way through a group of soldiers with his own firearm with a sharpened piece of obsidian at the end. He was said to have run through nearly thirty men before his own injuries overcame him. When his soldiers saw him die they made a resurgence at first but then were overcome by the remaining forces of Uaxactun. In the end there were only around one hundred Uaxactunese soldiers left alive to administer the city but the scorched earth at the battle site became a warning to the people of Edzna and they did not rebel. The stage was set for the Uaxactunese to take Tikal and they intended to but the problem remaining was the lack of soldiers in the region. The people of Tikal did not know about this. The generals in other cities were not receiving information about the strength of the Uaxactunese any more. They only guessed at their numbers but the Mayans were not able to properly or effectively respond as they would have liked. Uaxactun, under the cover of the cold nights, imported more soldiers from Uaxactun itself in order to take Tikal. The most aggravating fact that became known to the Mayans was that the city of Uaxactun, which is not much more than ten miles from Tikal, was completely undefended in the time between the conquest of Edzna and Tikal. It is more that interesting to note that the Maya could have taken this opportunity and completely changed

The Empire of Uaxactun after the Treaty of Copan 1275 (522 AD)

the war if their intelligence gathering had been more effective. Be that as it may the Uaxactunese moved into Tikal and did take the city but they once again suffered a Pyrrhic victory. So many had been lost that there were hardly enough to secure the capital. Because of this the southern portion of the Maya Alliance declared Copan to be the new capital and made a treaty with the Uaxactunese in Copan to this effect in the year 1275 (522 AD), nearly three years after the war ended.

The Purge of 1290 (537 AD)

Leading up to the year 1290 (537 AD) there had been very few gains in territory by any of the Aztec nations despite the advances that they made in technology and the earlier fervor which they seemed to have. At the same time that this was happening there were also major power shifts in all of the four Aztecs kingdoms. The Tepaneca Republic had come into disrepair after their gains in 1268 (515 AD), the leader of their legislative council had fallen to the plague of Lamanai which had small strains in Aztecs nations. The son of Acamapichtli of the Xochimilca Empire was not anything like his father and neither were the leaders of the Mexica or the Tlaxcalan. What all of the new leaders had in common, including the new hea of the Council in the Tepaneca Republic, was that they were very self serving individuals. Having no experience in building a nation they intended to use what they already had in order to extract as much personal wealth as they could.

Mesoamerica after the Great Maya War and the Great Purge of 1290. In light blue is the Chichimecs, in pink is the Huastecs, in light green is the people of Meztitlan, in burgundy is the Mexica, in blue is the Tlaxcalan Kingdom, in orange is the Tepaneca republic, in dark green is the Xochimilca Empire, in purple is the Zapotec Empire, in Yellow is the Empire of Uaxactun, in red is the Maya Empire.

Not only did this system effect the internal management of the nations but it extended throughout all of them. Taxation, which before had been used almost exclusively on the military, was increased greatly in all nations. Promises of new land gains were made to justify these actions but none ever came. Replies and excuses about the “Rigidity and strength of the peoples now on their borders” circulated but fell on very upset ears. Despite their general displeasure the people remained docile toward their leaders. With this they began to all raise prices on their crops and trade goods. This was not in any reaction to economic activity or environments, it was price fixing arbitrarily for unnecessary purposes. Claims like “Protecting the interests of the people by raising prices on foreign goods” were unsatisfactory for most of the common people because when all prices rise, everyone becomes poorer except for the merchant class and the leadership collecting the money.

All of these actions came to a head in the year 1290 (537 AD). After around thirty years of this mistreatment the Aztec peoples began to overthrow their leaders. In the Tlaxcalan Kingdom, Mexica Empire, and Xochimilca Empire the leaders were exiled out of any of the four nations. the rebellion that took place in this year purged so many of the leaders and their close advisors from power that it prompted the Zapotecs and the Uaxactunese to all declare that they would not allow the exiled leaders in. The Tepaneca Republic executed their leaders and made no grave for them. They were largely replaced with the leaders of the riots that caused the old leaders to be ousted. In the Kingdoms and Empires the new leaders were chosen by the population, and presumably by the Gods, but they were chosen to start a new dynasty of Rulers and not a republican style of government.

The Exiled leaders did not die in the desert. Rather, they arrived in the capitals of new tribes and claimed to have come from a heavenly kingdom and were sent to be special leaders for these people. Some who were more naive believed them on the spot but others demanded proof. As a display of their power, the weapons that they had smuggled from their Kingdoms became “miracles” to impress these border people. The King of the Tlaxcalan had settled in the city of Meztitlan and intended to create a new Kingdom for himself. The Emperor of the Mexica fled to the Chichimeca center of Otomi a solitary city with a large and fertile hinterland surrounding it. Lastly the Emperor of the Xochimica ascended to the leadership of the Huastec people living on the coasts. He had to take the farthest journey and through this it is legend that he had a series of visions making him a better leader. When he arrived in the Huastec capital of Tampico. There were now three more nations in OTL Mexico and they would

Mesoamerica in 1310 (557 AD). The Red is the Maya, Yellow is Uaxactun, Purple is the Zapotecs, Orange is the Tepaneca Republic, Blue is the Tlaxcalan Kingdom, Burgundy is the Mexica Empire, Dark Green is the Xochimilca Empire, Pink is the Huastecs, Light Blue is the Chichimecs, and Light Green is the Meztitlan

grow steadily up to the year 1310 (557 AD).

It should also be noted that after the expulsion of the poor leaders the new ones began many new expansions and the people that they were facing were apparently not as strong as had been rumored. The expansions by all of these nations as well as the fall in prices after the new leaders took power, as a sign of their legitimacy and their integrity, would be a great economic boom for the Aztec region. Throughout Mesoamerica advances were being made.

The New Maya

After the fall of the northern part of the Maya Alliance the government of Copan was all that remained of the independent Maya people. Having control of Central America the Maya had extensive lands. With the experience and technology that the Maya in the north had been working on the New Maya were still one of the more advanced societies. With that the Maya continued to expand until they eventually shared a border with the people known as the Chimu Empire. From the end of the war and since, the New Maya have maintained secure borders and a strong military throughout their country and on its waters. The slightest act would cause a military response and because of this communication throughout Central America was the fastest in the world at that time, save for the telegraph in Rome. The Maya would have very mixed reactions to the changes that would take place in and after 1310 (557 AD).

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The Mesoamerican Timeline

1194-1269 (441-516 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

1269-1310 (516-557 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)

1310-1376 (557-623 AD) (L'Uniona Homanus)