Chan Chan - The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom

History

By Ricardo Segreda

Comprised of high walled citadels decorated with religious motifs, and featuring a tangle of passages leading to ceremonial rooms, reservoirs, burial chambers, temples and, this archaeological ghost town is now a haunting token of what once was the mighty Chimu kingdom. In addition, Chan Chan is not only larger than Machu Picchu, but is the largest pre-Columbian city in South America.

The Chimú was the last Peruvian civilization before the rise of the Incan empire, and Chan Chan was its heart, whose inhabitants – the Chimor – numbered up to 30,000. Spread across the northern coast of Peru, Chan Chan extends 5 km (3 mi) west of Trujillo and roughly about 20 km (16 mi) wide.

As a society, the Chimor lasted for over six hundred years. Legend has it that their first ruler, Taycanamo, arrived on a log raft, wearing a cotton breechcloth and bringing magic yellow powers, proclaiming “a great lord sent him to govern this land from across the sea.” Chan Chan began with Taycanamo's construction of a shrine upon which he used his yellow powders to perform rituals.

Through a combination of military force and irrigation mastery, the city and kingdom founded Aycanamo, expanded and prospered through a succession of nine emperors, converting much of what had been arid into fertile land through creative irrigation and in the course of events manifesting a renaissance in artwork and pottery amongst the Chimor. The Chimú kingdom prevailed until falling to Incan conquerors in the 15th century, and shortly thereafter the Spanish. However, in Chan Chan the legacy of their culture has survived. In 1986, UNESCO officially declared Chan Chan a World Heritage Center.