Pacal the Great

K'inich Janaab Pakal I
Ajaw of Palenque
Pacal the Great.
Reign	July, 615 – August, 683
Predecessor	Sak K'uk' (his mother)
Successor	K'inich Kan Bahlam II
Regent	Sak K'uk' (his mother)
Born	9.8.9.13.0 - March 603
Died	9.12.11.5.18 - August 683 age 80
Burial	Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque
Spouse	Lady Tz'akbu Ajaw
Issue	K'inich Kan Bahlam II K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II Tiwol Chan Mat?
Father	K'an Mo' Hix
Mother	Sak K'uk'
Religion	Maya religion

K'inich Janaab Pakal I (Mayan pronunciation: [k’ihniʧ xanaːɓ pakal], also known as Pacal, Pacal the Great, 8 Ahau and Sun Shield, (March, 603 - August, 683) was ajaw of the Maya city-state of Palenque in the Late Classic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology. He acceded to the throne in July 615 and ruled until his death. During a reign of 68 years, the longest known regnal period in the history of the Americas, the 30th longest worldwide and longest until Frederick III in the 15th century, Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.

Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptions, this ruler had been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, including Pakal or Pacal, Sun Shield, 8 Ahau, and (familiarly) as Pacal the Great. The word pakal means "shield" in the Classic Maya language.

In modern sources his name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number, to distinguish him from other rulers with this name, that either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". Reference to him as Pakal II alludes to his maternal grandfather (who died c.612) also being named Janahb Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw ranking, he does not himself appear to have been a king. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the Palenque rulership, K'inich Janaab Pakal II (ruled c. 742) and Janaab Pakal III, the last-known Palenque ruler (ruled c.799).