Yohl Ik'nal - Family

Family

Yohl Ikʻnal was a grandmother of K'inich Janaab' Pakal, Palenqueʻs greatest king. She was a descendent of K'uk' B'alam I, the founder of the Palenque dynasty and she came to power within a year of the death of her predecessor, Kan B'alam I.

She was the first female ruler in recorded Maya history and was one of a very few female rulers known from Maya history to have borne a full royal title. She must have come to the throne due to extremely unusual circumstances, the details of which have not survived. She was the only woman to have ruled Palenque and was likely to have been either the sister or, more likely, the daughter of Kan Bʻalam, who left no male heir.

Her husband was King Janaab' Pakal and her daughter was Lady Sak K'uk'.