The Küicheü kingdom of Qüumarkaj was a state in the highlands of modern-day Guatemala which was founded by the Küicheü (Quiché) Maya in the thirteenth century, and which expanded through the fifteenth century until it was conquered by Spanish and Nahua forces led by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.
The Küicheü kingdom reached its height under the king Küiqüab who ruled from the fortified town of Qüumarkaj (also called by its Nahuatl name Utatlán) near the modern town of Santa Cruz del Quiché. During his rule the Küicheü ruled large areas of highland Guatemala extending into Mexico, and they subdued other Maya peoples such as the Tzüutujil, Kaqchikel and Mam, as well as the Nahuan Pipil people.
The history of the Quiché Kingdom is described in a number of documents written in postcolonial times both in Spanish and in indigenous languages such as Classical Küicheü and Kaqchikel. Important sources include the Popol Vuh which, apart from the well-known mythology, also contains a history and genealogy of the Kaweq lineage such as the TÃÂtulo de Totonicapán. Information from these can be crosschecked with the Annals of the Cakchiquels recounting the history of the Kaqchikel vassals and later enemies of the Küicheü. A number of other tÃÂtulos such as those of Sacapulas, the Cüoyoi, Nijaib and Tamub titles each recount Küicheü history from the viewpoint of a specific Küicheü lineage. Other sources include those written by conquistadors and ecclesiastics, and administrative documents of the colonial administration.
The Mayan Küicheü people had lived in the highlands of Guatemala since 600 BCE but the documented history of the Küicheü kingdom began when foreigners from the Mexican Gulf coast entered the highlands via the Pasión River around 1200 CE. These invaders are known as the "küicheü forefathers" in the documental sources, because they founded what would be the three ruling lineages of the Küicheü kingdom. The invading peoples were composed of seven tribes: the three Küicheü lineages (the Nima Küicheü, the Tamub and the Iloküab), the forefathers of the Kaqchikel, Rabinal, Tzüutujil peoples, and a seventh tribe called the Tepew Yaqui. Not much is known about the ethnicity of the invaders: the ethnohistoric sources state that they were unable to communicate with the indigenous Küicheü when they arrived, and that they were yaquies, meaning that they spoke Nahuatl. J.E.S. Thompson identified them as Mexicanized Putún merchants. But Carmack (1968) is of the opinion that they were probably bilingual Nahuatl and Chontal Maya speakers who were influenced by Toltec culture and arrived as conquerors rather than merchants. It is well documented that Nahuan influence in the Küicheü language already occurs in this period, and the names of the "forefathers" are better understandable as coming from Chontal and Nahuatl than from Küicheü. The Küicheü forefathers brought with them their tribal Gods: the Patron God of the Küicheü tribe was the sky god Tohil.
The "forefathers" conquered the indigenous highland peoples and founded a capital at Jakawitz in the Chujuyup valley. During this period the Kaqchikel, Rabinal and Tzjutujil tribes were allies of the Küicheü and subordinate to Küicheü rulership. In these days the languages of the four peoples were largely similar but as contact between the groups waned, and finally became enmity, the languages diverged becoming the distinct modern languages.
The Küicheü people itself was also composed of three separate lineages, the Küicheü, the Tamubü and the Iloküabü. Each lineage served a different function, the Nima Küicheü were the ruling class, the Tamub were probably traders and the Iloküab warriors. Each lineage was further divided into sublineages which also each had their specific functions: The Küicheü sublineages were Ajaw Küicheü, Kaweq, Nijaib and Sakiq. The Tamub sublineages were Ekoamakü and Kakoj. The Iloküab sublineages were the Siqüa and Wanija.
After conquering and settling Jakawitz under Balam Kitze, the Küicheü now ruled by Tzüikin expanded into Rabinal territory and subdued the Poqomam with the help of the Kaqchikel. Then they went southwest to found Pismachi where a large ritual center was built. At Pismachi, both Küoqaib and Küonache ruled, but soon internal conflicts between the lineages erupted, and finally the Iloküabs left Pismachi and settled in a nearby town called Mukwitz Chiloküab. During the rule of the ahpop ("man of the mat" â the title of the Küiche ruler) Küotuja the Iloküabs revolted against the leadership of the Nima Küicheü lineage but were soundly defeated. Küotuja expanded the influence of the Küicheüs and tightened the political control over the Kaqchikel and Tzüutujil peoples by marrying his family members into their ruling lineages.
Under Küotuja's son Quqükumatz the Nima Küiche lineage also left Pismachi and settled nearby at Qüumarkaj, "place of the rotten cane". Quqükumatz became known as the greatest "Nagual" lord of the Küicheü and is claimed to have been able to magically transform himself into snakes, eagles, jaguars and even blood. He could fly into the sky or visit the underworld, Xibalba. Qüuqüumatz greatly expanded the Küicheü kingdom, first from Pismachiü and later from Qüumarkaj. At this time, the Küicheü were closely allied with the Kaqchikels. Qüuqüumatz sent his daughter to marry the lord of the Küoja, a Maya people based in the Cuchumatan mountains, somewhere between Sacapulas and Huehuetenango. Instead of marrying her and submitting to the Küicheü-Kaqchikel alliance, Tekum Siküom, the Küoja king, killed the offered bride. This act initiated a war between the Küicheü-Kaqchikel of Qüumarkaj and the Küoja. Qüuqüumatz died in the resulting battle against the Küoja.
With the death of his father in battle against the Küoja, his son and heir Küiqüab swore vengeance, and two years later he led the Küicheü-Kaqchikel alliance against his enemies, together with the Ajpop Küamha (king-elect). The Küicheü-led army entered Küoja at first light, killed Tekum Siküom and captured his son. Küiqüab recovered the bones of his father and returned to Qüumarkaj with many prisoners and all the jade and metal that the Küoja possessed, after conquering various settlements in the Sacapulas area, and the Mam people near Zaculeu. During the reign of Küiqüab, who was particularly warlike, the Küicheü kingdom expanded to include Rabinal, Cobán, and Quetzaltenango, and extended as far west as the Okos River, near the modern border between the Chiapas coast of Mexico and Guatemalan Pacific coast. With Kaqchikel help, the eastern frontier of the kingdom was pushed as far as the Motagua River and south as far as Escuintla.
In 1470 a rebellion shook Qüumarkaj during a great celebration that saw a great gathering that included representatives of all the most important highland peoples. Two sons of Küiqüab together with some of his vassals rebelled against their king, killing many high ranking lords, Kaqchikel warriors and members of the Kaweq lineage. The rebels tried to kill Küiqüab himself but he was defended by sons loyal to him in Pakaman, on the outskirts of the city. As a result of the rebellion, Küiqüab was forced to make concessions to the rebelling Küicheü lords. The newly empowered Küicheü lords turned against their Kaqchikel allies, who were forced to flee Qüumarkaj and found their own capital at Iximche.
After the death of king Küiqüab in 1475 the Küicheü were engaged in warfare against both the Tzüutujils and the Kaqchikels, perhaps in an attempt to recover the former power of Qüumarkaj.
In the period after the death of Küiqüab the weakened Küicheü continuously struggled against the Kaqchikel, the Tzüutujil, the Rabinal, and the Pipil. Under the leadership of Tepepul the Küiche tried to launch a sneak attack on Iximché, whose inhabitants were weakened because of a famine, but the Kaqchikel got word of the attack and defeated the Küiche army. Constant warfare ensued until 1522 when a peace accord was made between the two peoples. Although the Küiche also experienced some military successes in this period, for example in the subordinations of the Rabinal and the peoples on the Pacific coast of Chiapas (Soconusco), the Küicheü didn't achieve the same level of hegemony as they had experienced in earlier times. From around 1495 the Aztec empire which was then at its height in central Mexico began asserting influence on the Pacific coast and into the Guatemalan highlands. Under the Aztec Tlatoani Ahuitzotl the Soconusco province which was then paying tribute to the Küicheü was conquered by the Aztecs, and when Aztec pochteca (long-distance traders) later arrived at Qüumarkaj the Küicheü ruler 7 Noj was so embittered that he ordered them to leave his kingdom, not to return. However, in 1510 when Aztec emissaries from Moctezuma II arrived in Qüumarkaj to request tribute from the Küiche they saw themselves forced to accept vassalage to the Aztecs. From 1510 to 1521 Aztec influence at Qüumarkaj increased and the Küiche lord 7 Noj also married two daughters of the Aztec ruler, further cementing the Aztec lordship, by becoming his son in-law. During this period Qüumarkaj also became known as Utatlán, the Nahuatl translation of the placename. When the Aztecs were defeated by the Spanish in 1521 they sent messengers to the Küicheü ruler that he should prepare for battle.
Before the arrival of the Spanish led army, the Küicheü were struck by the diseases the Europeans had brought to the Americas. The Kaqchikels allied themselves to the Spaniards in 1520, before they had even arrived in Guatemala, and they also told of their enemies the Küiche and asked for assistance against them. Cortés sent messengers to Qüumarkaj and requested their peaceful submission to Spanish rule and a cessation of hostilities towards the Kaqchikel. The Küiche denied and made ready for battle.
In 1524 conquistador Pedro de Alvarado arrived in Guatemala with 135 horsemen, 120 footsoldiers and 400 Aztec, Tlaxcaltecs and Cholultec allies. They were quickly promised military assistance by the Kaqchikels. The Küiche knew all about the movements of the Spanish forces through their network of spies. When the army arrived at the Küicheü town of Xelajú Noj (Quetzaltenango) the Küicheü steward of the town sent word to Qüumarkaj. The Küicheü chose Tecún Umán, a lord from Totonicapán, as their commander against the Spanish, and he was ritually prepared for the battle. He and his 8,400 warriors met the Spanish/Aztec/Kaqchikel army outside of Pinal south of Quetzalteango and were defeated. After several more defeats the Küicheü offered the Spanish vassalage and invited them to Qüumarkaj on 7 March 1524. By way of deceit Alvarado then seized the lords of Qüumarkaj and burned them alive. He instated two lower Küiche leaders as his puppet rulers and continued to subdue the other Küicheü communities in the area. Qüumarkaj was razed and levelled to hinder the Küicheü in reestablishing themselves at the well-fortified site, and the community relocated to the nearby town of Santa Cruz del Quiché.
In the Late Postclassic, the greater Qüumarkaj area is estimated to have had a population of around 15,000. The inhabitants of Qüumarkaj were divided socially between the nobility and their vassals. The nobles were known as the ajaw, while the vassals were known as the al küajol. The nobility were the patrilineal descendants of the founding warlords who appear to have entered as conquerors from the Gulf coast around AD 1200 and who eventually lost their original language and adopted that of their subjects. The nobles were regarded as sacred and bore royal imagery. Their vassals served as foot-soldiers and were subject to the laws laid out by the nobility, although they could receive military titles as a result of their battlefield prowess. The social divisions were deep-seated and were equivalent to strictly observed castes. The merchants were a privileged class, although they had to make tributary payments to the nobility. In addition to these classes, the population included rural labourers and artisans. Slaves were also held and included both sentenced criminals and prisoners of war.
There were twenty-four important lineages, or ', in Qüumarkaj, closely linked to the palaces in which the nobility attended to their duties; ' means "big house" in Küicheü, after the palace complexes that the lineages occupied. Their duties included marriage negotiations and associated feasting and ceremonial lecturing. These lineages were strongly patrilineal and were grouped into four larger, more powerful ' that chose the rulers of the city. At the time of the Conquest, the four ruling ' were the Kaweq, the Nijaib, the Saqik and the Ajaw Küicheü. The Kaweq and the Nijaib included nine principal lineages each, the Ajaw Küicheü included four and the Saqik had two. As well as choosing the king and king elect, the ruling Kaweq dynasty also had a lineage that produced the powerful priests of Qüuqüumatz, who may have served as stewards of the city.