 In the mid 6th century , <unk> seems to have allied with <unk> and defeated <unk> , closing the Early Classic . The " <unk> hiatus " refers to a period between the late 6th to late 7th century where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large @-@ scale construction at <unk> . In the latter half of the 6th century AD , a serious crisis <unk> the city , with no new stelae being erected and with widespread deliberate mutilation of public sculpture . This hiatus in activity at <unk> was long unexplained until later <unk> <unk> identified that the period was prompted by <unk> 's comprehensive defeat at the hands of <unk> and the <unk> polity in AD 562 , a defeat that seems to have resulted in the capture and sacrifice of the king of <unk> . The badly eroded Altar 21 at <unk> described how <unk> suffered this disastrous defeat in a major war in April 562 . It seems that <unk> was an ally of <unk> in the wider conflict between that city and <unk> , with the defeat of <unk> having a lasting impact upon the city . <unk> was not sacked but its power and influence were broken . After its great victory , <unk> grew rapidly and some of <unk> 's population may have been forcibly relocated there . During the hiatus period , at least one ruler of <unk> took refuge with <unk> ' <unk> of Palenque , another of <unk> 's victims . <unk> itself <unk> during <unk> 's long hiatus period . 
