chiefdom · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Chakan

1441 CE – 1542 CE (approx.) · capital T'ho

A Maya province of north-western Yucatán around T'ho, on whose ruins the Spanish founded the city of Mérida in 1542.

Origins

Chakan was one of the provinces formed after the collapse of the League of Mayapan around 1441. It covered the area around T'ho (Ichcaansihó), an old centre with large pyramids, in the north-west of the peninsula.

Rule and society

Unlike the more centralised provinces, Chakan appears to have had no single overlord; its towns were governed by batabs of several lineages, including the Canché, who cooperated loosely. Its people farmed maize and kept bees, and the coastal area produced salt. It is known chiefly from Spanish colonial records.

Decline and legacy

In 1542 Francisco de Montejo the Younger founded Mérida on the site of T'ho, using its stones for the new buildings, and Chakan became the core of the Province of Yucatán.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

League of Mayapan 1220 CE – 1441 CEChakanProvince of Yucatán 1542 CE – 1821 CE

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Chakan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chakan
MLA
“Chakan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chakan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Chakan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chakan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Chakan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/chakan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻