MAYA CITY OF SEIBAL BROUGHT UNDER DOS PILAS CONTROL

SEIBAL (CEIBAL), GUATEMALA — 735 AD

Epigraphic and archaeological evidence shows that around this date, the Maya city of Seibal suffered a decisive military defeat at the hands of the nearby kingdom of Dos Pilas, altering the region’s political landscape for decades.

The story is reconstructed primarily from Seibal’s hieroglyphic stairways and monuments, which record that the ruler of Dos Pilas, Ucha’an K’in B’alam, imposed political authority over Seibal’s king, Yich’aak B’alam. Rather than eliminating Seibal’s dynasty, Dos Pilas forced it into vassal status, a political takeover confirmed by surviving inscriptions.

After the conquest, Seibal’s older monuments were intentionally defaced or altered, effectively resetting the city’s political narrative. Hieroglyphic texts from Structure A-14 in Group A describe this subordination in detail, marking a dramatic reordering of authority in the Pasión River region.

Archaeological surveys show that Seibal continued to be occupied after 735 but without full autonomy. Only after the collapse of Dos Pilas late in the eighth century did Seibal briefly re-emerge as a regional power with new artistic styles, foreign influences, and different dynastic connections.

Today, the surviving stelae and inscriptions at Seibal stand as direct testimony from the era, providing the names of rulers, the date of the defeat, and insight into how Maya warfare could reshape a city without destroying it.

At the Appalachian Post, our history reporting is grounded in verifiable evidence, first-hand documentation, and the most reliable archival sources available. We do not speculate, embellish, or reinterpret the past through modern ideological lenses. Instead, we rely on primary records: official documents, eyewitness accounts, inscriptions, government publications, archaeological findings, and contemporaneous reports, to present events as they were recorded in their own time. Secondary sources are used only to contextualize or clarify established historical facts. Our goal is to preserve historical accuracy, respect original sources, and provide readers with a clear, objective account of the past as reflected in the documents themselves.

Primary First-Hand Sources

• Seibal hieroglyphic stairway inscriptions (Structure A-14, Group A)
• On-site monuments and stelae referencing Yich’aak B’alam and Ucha’an K’in B’alam

Secondary Attribution-Based Sources

• Scholarly summaries of Seibal’s political history and its defeat by Dos Pilas.
• Archaeological site overviews describing Seibal’s architecture and monument groups.