Itza
Total population
1,983[1]
Regions with significant populations
Guatemala El Petén
Languages
Itza, Spanish
Religions
Catholic, Evangelicalist

"El Castillo" at Chichen Itza

The sacred cenote that gave its name to Chichen Itza. Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Itza' (also Itza, Petén Itzá Maya) is one of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel El Castillo ( Spanish for "The Castle " is the nickname of a spectacular Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a A cenote (pronounced in Mexican Spanish and in English, plural cenotes; from Yucatec Maya dzonot) is a type of Sinkhole Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a

The Itza are a Guatemalan ethnic group of Maya affiliation speaking the Itza' language. The Maya peoples constitute a diverse range of the Native American peoples of southern Mexico and northern Central America. Itza' (also Itza, Petén Itzá Maya) is one of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages. They inhabit the Petén department of Guatemala in and around the city of Flores on the Lake Petén Itzá. Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Lake Petén Itzá ( Lago Petén Itzá) is a Lake in central Petén department in Guatemala. Although there are still around 30,000 ethnic Itza, which retain their indigenous culture, the Itza language is now almost extinct. ^[2]

The Itza in Yucatán

Historically the Itza, descended from a Yucatecan Maya lineage the Ah Itzá, were an important Mesoamerican people who dominated the Yucatan peninsula in the Post-classic period. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation From their capital at Chichén Itzá, Mexico they established a trade empire reaching as far south as Naco in Honduras. Chichen Itza (tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː from Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' "At the mouth of the well of the Itza " is a Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. Chichen Itza means "at the mouth of the well of the Itza" in the Itza' language. Itza' (also Itza, Petén Itzá Maya) is one of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages.

The books of Chilam Balam recount the history of the Itza and the demise of their empire at the hands of a band of Mexicanized Putún Maya led by the mercenary king Hunac Ceel, founder of the Cocom dynasty of Mayapan. The Mayan Chilam Balam books are named after Yucatec towns such as Chumayel Mani and Tizimin and are usually collections of disparate texts in which Mayan and Spanish traditions Putún or Chontal Maya is a collective name for several groups of Maya that displaced much of the older leadership of the Maya Lowlands during the Hunac Ceel (fl late 12th and early 13th centuries was a Mayan general from Telchaquillo who conquered Chichen Itzá and founded the Cocom Mayapan ( Màayapáan in Modern Maya) (in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site in the state of Hunac Ceel fought the Itzas but was taken captive and was to be sacrificed by being thrown into the cenote of Chichén Itzá. However he survived the attempted sacrifice at the Cenote of Chichén Itzá. A cenote (pronounced in Mexican Spanish and in English, plural cenotes; from Yucatec Maya dzonot) is a type of Sinkhole Having spent a night in the water he was able to relate a prophecy of the rain god Chac about the year's coming harvest. Once lord of Mayapan, he orchestrated, aided by sorcery, the destruction of Chichén Itzá.

While part of the story of Hunac Ceel seem to be more mythical than historical it is well accepted that the Itza of Chichén Itzá were the eventual losers in a power struggle between the three Yucatecan lineages of the Cocom, the Xiu and the Itza, all claiming heritage from the Toltecs. Cocom is a Cable modems company based in the United States. It was acquired by Cisco Systems on September 15 1999 Toltec-style Vessel 1jpg|thumb|250px|right|A rather expressive orange-ware clay vessel in the Toltec style And around 1331 archeological remains attest that Chichén Itzá and other Itza dominated sites, for example Isla Cerritos, were abandoned. The fall of these sites was contemporary with a gradual incursion of mexicanized Putún Maya from Tabasco and central Mexico, and it seems that these were indeed the ones that caused the fall of the original Itza state. Putún or Chontal Maya is a collective name for several groups of Maya that displaced much of the older leadership of the Maya Lowlands during the

Aerial view of Flores, Guatemala, built on the ruins of the Itza capital Tayasal

The Itza in the Petén

The Itza then left or were expelled from the Yucatán region and went south to the Petén Basin region to build the city later known as Tayasal as their capital. Yucatán is one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within Tayasal is a Pre-Columbian Maya Archaeological site that dates to the Postclassic period They called it Noh Petén (City Island). It was also called Tah Itzá (Place of the Itzá).

Hernán Cortés visited Tayasal with an army of Spaniards and 600 Chontal Maya on his way to Honduras in 1523 and he celebrated mass with an Itza ruler named Canek. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca ( 1485&ndash December 2, The Chontal Maya are an indigenous people of the Mexican state of Tabasco. The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

The island city of Tayasal was the last independent Mayan kingdom and some Spanish priests peacefully visited and preached to the last Itza king, also called Canek, as late as 1696. Canek is the name of two different historical rulers of the Itza Maya of Petén, Guatemala. The Itza kingdom finally submitted to Spanish rule on March 13, 1697, to a force led by Martín de Ursua, governor of Yucatán. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Martin de Ursua was a Spanish Conquistador during the early colonial period of New Spain in Central America.

Notes

References

• Weaver, Muriel Porter (1993). The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archaeology of Mesoamerica (3rd ed. ). San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-01-263999-0.
• Sharer, Robert J. (1994). The Ancient Maya. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2130-0.