Teotihuacan Invasion Sparked Maya Civil War

Teotihuacan invaded the Maya world around AD 378, defeating Tikal and imposing a new ruling dynasty. Some Maya cities like Copan showed Teotihuacan influence. The Classic Maya collapse led to city abandonments around 800-900 AD, though the causes remain debated among scholars. The Kan dynasty at Calakmul rose to prominence in the later Classic period (600s-800s AD), becoming a major rival to Tikal and eventually dominating much of the southern Maya lowlands through a network of alliances and conquests. The collapse involved prolonged drought, warfare between Maya city-states, ecological degradation, and disruption of trade networks, with declining states abandoning their cities as the Classic period ended.