The foreign warlord whose arrival at Tikal in AD 378 is recorded in Maya inscriptions was Siyaj Kʼakʼ. His name is commonly translated as “Fire Is Born,” though older scholarship called him “Smoking Frog” after the appearance of his name glyph.
Siyaj Kʼakʼ was probably from Teotihuacan or closely allied with that powerful central Mexican city. His arrival marked a major political transformation in the Maya lowlands. Tikal’s ruler, Chak Tok Ichʼaak I, died on the same day, and a new regime connected to Teotihuacan soon took control.
The event is recorded in inscriptions at Tikal and nearby sites, including Uaxactun. Siyaj Kʼakʼ appears to have installed or supported Yax Nuun Ahiin I, whose reign introduced strong Teotihuacan-inspired imagery into Tikal’s art and politics. The exact nature of the relationship—conquest, alliance, or intervention backed by military force—remains debated.
He was not the later Tikal king Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil, nor Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ, who founded a dynasty at Copán. Those figures belonged to different cities and periods, making Siyaj Kʼakʼ the canonical answer for the 378 event.