The Maya metropolis of Tikal was once one of the greatest cities in the world, and today it has become one of the most visited Maya sites. Drawing upon more than thirty years of excavation and research, Peter D. Harrison gives a vivid account of the turbulent history of Tikal. Strategically located, the city served as a major center of trade and as an architectural style-setter for the central Peten region of the Maya Lowlands. The apogee of power and wealth was achieved between A.D. 692 and 800 under the reigns of three generations of the Jaguar Claw clan, whose ruling lords built the Great Temples that symbolize the character and individuality of the city. Some of these Great Temples served as mortuary structures, and the contents of the tombs--from mosaic masks and jade jewelry to beautiful ceramics and alabaster bowls--hint at the richness of life as a lord of Tikal. Making full use of the remarkable recent breakthroughs in translating the Maya"s own hieroglyphic record, Professor Harrison summarizes what is known to date of this mysterious city and its rulers.