chiefdom · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Ah Kin Chel

1441 CE – 1542 CE (approx.) · capital Tecoh

A Maya province of north-central Yucatán, ruled by the priestly Chel lineage and including the old pilgrimage centre of Izamal.

Origins

According to Bishop Diego de Landa, a priest of the Chel lineage at Mayapan foresaw its fall and, after its destruction around 1441, founded a new realm. The province took his title, Ah Kin (priest) Chel, and its capital was at Tecoh.

Rule and society

Ah Kin Chel covered a large area of north-central Yucatán reaching the coast, with salt beds and fishing grounds. It included Izamal, a pilgrimage centre of the god Itzamna with massive ancient pyramids. Its ruler governed through the batabs of local towns, and the province maintained rivalries with Sotuta and Cupul.

Decline and legacy

Ah Kin Chel submitted to the Spanish in the early 1540s and was absorbed into the Province of Yucatán. The Franciscans built a great convent on a pyramid at Izamal in the 1550s.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

League of Mayapan 1220 CE – 1441 CEAh Kin ChelProvince of Yucatán 1542 CE – 1821 CE

Connections (1)

Ah Kin Chel was conquered by Spanish Empire1542 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ah Kin Chel. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ah-kin-chel
MLA: “Ah Kin Chel.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ah-kin-chel. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Ah Kin Chel.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ah-kin-chel.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ah Kin Chel’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ah-kin-chel (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻