Before the Spaniards arrived, Merida had been the very large Mayan city known as Ichcansiho; also as T'Ho, and Tiho. Once conquered, the city of T'Ho was dismantled and the stones from its pyramids were used as the foundation for the Cathedral of San Ildelfonso (1556-1599), the oldest cathedral on the American continent. Montejos were the first Spaniards to seriously attempt the conquest of the Yucatan. The Spaniards established this capital among the empty buildings of a Mayan classic city called Tiho or Ichcaanziho, renaming the city Merida after a city of Roman ruins in Spain.
