Golden Age Thinking: How One King Built the Greatest Mayan City of All

The ancient city of Palenque, located in the state of Chiapas in Southern Mexico, is considered the greatest and best-preserved Mayan city ever found. Once an independent city-state on the fringes of the Mayan world, it rose from obscurity to its height in the 7th Century when its then-ruler, K'inich Janaab Pakal (also known as Pacal the Great) ascended to the throne and set about building it up into a commercial and cultural hub. Though successive generations would continue his legacy of greatness, by the late 8th Century, it had all gone the way of the dinosaurs and the site was abandoned. When was Palenque founded? Who was Pacal the Great? And how have the two become inextricably linked? Find out in this fascinating episode!