B'alam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

B'alam, Balam, Balaam, B'ahlam, Bahlam, Bahlum or Bolom are variant spellings which may refer to:

• A Mayan language name for "jaguar", see also Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture

A number of pre-Columbian Maya civilization rulers bore the name B'alam:

• Itzamnaaj B'alam (r. ca. 697), ruler of Dos Pilas (aka "Shield Jaguar")
• Itzamnaaj B'alam I (r. ca. 4thC ?), ruler of Yaxchilan (aka "Shield Jaguar I")
• Itzamnaaj B'alam II (r. 681—742), ruler of Yaxchilan (aka "Shield Jaguar II (the Great)")
• Itzamnaaj B'alam III (r. 769—800?), ruler of Yaxchilan (aka "Shield Jaguar III")
• Kan B'alam I (r. 572—583), ruler of Palenque
• Kaloomte' B'alam (r. ca. 511—527), 19th dynastic ruler of Tikal (aka "Curl Head")
• Kayb'il B'alam (r. early 16thC), Postclassic ruler of the Mam Maya people of the northern Guatemalan highland region at the time of the Spanish conquest
• K'inich Kan B'alam II (r. 683—702), ruler of Palenque, son of K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great")
• K'inich K'uk B'alam II, (fl. ca. 765), ruler of Palenque
• K'uk' B'alam I (r. 431—435), ruler of Palenque and founder of the state's dynastic line
• Unen B'alam (r. ca. 317), Early Classic ruler of Tikal (aka "Baby Jaguar")
• Yopaat B'alam I (r. 359—?), ruler of Yaxchilan, founder of the state's dynastic line
• Yopaat B'alam II (r. ca. 749), ruler of Yaxchilan

Maya polities and archaeological sites:

• B'alam (Maya polity), a Classic-era Maya state, known from inscriptions but whose location is not determined
• Balamdzay, archaeological site in the Puuc region
• Balamku, archaeological site in central Yucatán Peninsula
• Balamtun, archaeological site in the Petén Basin region

Other meanings:

• Balam (demon), a demon in Judeo-Christian tradition
• Balaam, a prophet in the Torah
• Na Bolom, a non-profit foundation for the advancement of the indigenous Maya peoples of Chiapas, Mexico