Kowoj

The Kowoj were a Maya polity in the Petén lake region of northern Guatemala, active from the mid-thirteenth century. Their towns included Zacpetén on Lake Salpetén and Ixlu between Lakes Salpetén and Petén Itzá.

The Kowoj said their ancestors came from Mayapán after its collapse around 1441; their C-shaped plazas and temples proclaimed that connection. They fought neighbouring polities, especially the Itzá. Hernán Cortés crossed the region in 1525, but the lake kingdoms resisted until 1697, when Martín de Ursúa took the Itzá capital Nojpetén and overran Kowoj towns.