early in his life, the king of this maya city, yaxchilan married a woman from a powerful local family. all went well until the king whose name was shield jaguar decided to marry again this time to a foreign woman. schele: shield jaguar, in his old age married a beautiful young woman named lady evening star. in his 62nd year of life she gave birth to a son -- a son which he apparently doted on and loved more than anything perhaps because it brought with this child alliance with this very powerful kingdom and he wanted that child to succeed to the throne. keach: shield jaguar tried to lend prestige to his favorite son by erecting stelae on which both are shown performing important rituals. he wanted that son of his late years to be his heir but the woman of his early years had vested interest in having one of her own children become king. keach: after the old king died his favorite son was forced to spend nearly 10 years warring with the supporters of his stepmother before he could finally take the throne. unlike aztec rulers, maya kings spent much time in warfare that benefitted only t