6th–8th centuries CEReputable sourceWell documented

Tikal and Calakmul: The Superpower Rivalry

On the timeline · around 6th–8th centuries CE ·

What happened

For generations Tikal and its great northern rival Calakmul waged a struggle for supremacy, drawing lesser cities into two vast networks of alliance. Calakmul engineered Tikal's defeat in 562, but Tikal roared back to triumph in 695.

Why it matters

This 'superpower' rivalry structured Classic Maya geopolitics, a war of shifting alliances fought across the whole lowland world.

Sources

World History Encyclopedia. Tikal · Reputable source

Part of a timelineThe Maya Civilization17 events · Astronomers and god-kings of the rainforest — the rise of the Classic Maya city-states, their writing, calendars and cosmos, the great collapse, and a civilization that never truly vanished.View all →