Which city was the capital of the K'iche' Maya kingdom at the Spanish conquest? Q'umarkaj.
Q'umarkaj was the capital of the K'iche' Maya kingdom when Spanish forces led by Pedro de Alvarado invaded the Guatemalan highlands in 1524. The city is also known by its Nahuatl name, Utatlán, and lies near modern Santa Cruz del Quiché.
The K'iche' state grew into one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Maya highlands during the fifteenth century. Q'umarkaj functioned as a fortified political and ceremonial center, with temples, palaces, plazas, and elite residences organized around a defensible location.
After military defeats, K'iche' rulers invited Alvarado to the capital, where he captured and executed leading nobles and subsequently destroyed the city. Q'umarkaj is therefore distinct from Iximche, the Kaqchikel capital, and Zaculeu, the major center of the Mam Maya. Kaminaljuyu was far older and was not the K'iche' capital at conquest.