Why go
The Temple of the Warriors and related carvings invite a closer look at how power was displayed. Warfare could be about controlling another city through dependent rulers, not necessarily destroying or annexing its territory. The imagery can be compared with architecture devoted to ceremony and assembly.
The full story
In many Classic-period Maya conflicts, a powerful ruler sought to replace a rival dynasty with an allied or dependent one. Victory could bring prestige to the ruler and nobles, control over trade and tribute, and captives. Some captives were used in human sacrifice, although whether obtaining victims was a principal aim of a particular war is often uncertain. Defeated cities could remain inhabited and governed by relatives or clients of the victor. Such personal ties were fragile and could lead to renewed fighting. The record does not clearly indicate a permanent professional army common to all Maya states. Forces may often have combined noble leaders with people mobilized for a campaign. Defensive works differed across places and periods; more substantial fortifications appear in some later settings. Warfare is sometimes offered as a main cause of the decline of Classic southern centers. Conflict likely mattered, but it operated alongside environmental, political and economic pressures, and its effects differed by region. Chichen Itza’s warrior imagery should therefore be read as evidence of political ideas and military power, not as a complete explanation for either its rise or decline.