The Aztecs

by Michael E Smith

  The fourteenth century was a time of rapid and far-reaching transformation among the Aztecs. One of the most striking changes was an unprecedented population explosion. Another dramatic change was the emergence of the first true empire since Teotihuacan. In the native historical record, these changes are best documented for the Mexica and their city, Tenochtitlan. From the beginning, the Mexica saw their history – from migrations to the founding of Tenochtitlan to the expansion of the empire – as ruled by divine destiny.

  Tenochtitlan and Empire: The Late Aztec Period

  Tenochtitlan's First Century (1325–1428)

  Tenochtitlan's location on a small island in the middle of a swamp may seem inauspicious, but actually it had numerous advantages for the Mexica. The salt marshes provided abundant wild plant and animal resources to feed people until agricultural fields could be constructed and become productive. High-yielding chinampas or raised fields were built on land reclaimed from the swamp and methods were devised to keep the salty waters of Lake Texcoco apart from the fresh waters of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco. A system of dikes and canals accomplished this purpose, and gradually the cultivated fields turned the outskirts of Tenochtitlan into a lush green ring around the inner city. Commerce with other towns in the valley was facilitated by the use of canoes and boats; at the same time, the limited access to the city provided protection against military attack.

  To build their city, the Mexica obtained construction materials through the market system in exchange for swamp delicacies such as fish, frogs, ducks, and algae. Once the Mexica were able to settle in one place, their numbers began to increase rapidly. Soon the other communities in the Valley of Mexico came to regard the Mexica as equals. During this time, two city-states had begun to expand their reach through conquest: the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco on the western shore of Lake Texcoco and the Acolhua of Texcoco on the eastern shore (figure 1.5). The Mexica, not powerful enough to resist these two incipient empires, allied themselves with the Tepanec ruler Tezozomoc and became tax-paying subjects. For the most part, their tax consisted of military service. Tezozomoc was a shrewd and powerful leader who put the military abilities of the Mexica to work as part of his imperial plans. From the mid-fourteenth century until the formation of the Aztec Empire in 1428, the Mexica fought under the Tepanec banner and helped Tezozomoc forge the first significant empire since Teotihuacan. Later, once the Mexica achieved their independence, the Mexica Itzcoatl would try to erase the memory of the Tepanec Empire by rewriting the history books.19

  The Mexica were becoming an increasingly powerful polity, and in 1372 they sought a legitimate king – a tlatoani – of their own to provide leadership and legitimacy. They looked to Culhuacan for help, in spite of their earlier alienation of the Culhua king, because of the prestige of the ancient Toltec dynasty there and the past cooperation between the two peoples. There were four simultaneous royal dynasties at Culhuacan, and one of the Culhua kings gave his daughter in marriage to a high-ranking Mexica. Their son Acamapichtli became the first Mexica tlatoani. Acamapichtli led the Mexica for 19 years (1372–1391) and then passed the throne to his son Huitzilihuitl, whose mother was also a Culhua princess.

  Huitzilihuitl, who ruled from 1391 until 1415 (figure 2.9), presided over one of the most important periods in Mexica history. Under his popular leadership, people from all over the Valley of Mexico came to live in Tenochtitlan, and the city expanded greatly. The Mexica became highly skilled as soldiers and diplomats in their dealings with neighbors. One of Huitzilihuitl's major accomplishments was the establishment of successful marriage alliances with a number of powerful dynasties. Marriage alliances were an important component of diplomacy among Mesoamerican states. Lower ranking kings would endeavor to marry the daughters of more powerful and important kings. A marriage established an alliance between the polities and was a public acknowledgment of the dominant status of the more powerful king. Aztec nobles practiced polygamy, and as time went on, the dynasties of important polities became closely intertwined. Huitzilihuitl planned a strategy to improve his own standing and the political fortunes of the Mexica by marrying princesses from several of the more powerful central Mexican dynasties.

  Figure 2.9 Genealogy of the Mexica kings (drawing by Ellen Cesarski)

  Huitzilihuitl successfully petitioned Tezozomoc himself for the hand of his daughter. She bore a son, Chimalpopoca, who later succeeded Huitzilihuitl as Mexica tlatoani. Chimalpopoca's mother died young, and Huitzilihuitl turned to the powerful dynasty of Cuauhnahuac for another wife. The Cuauhnahuac tlatoani ruled a large domain from his new palace (recently moved from Teopanzolco). He was said to be a great sorcerer, who used magic to protect his daughter from suitors. He initially refused Huitzilihuitl's petition, asking how his daughter could lead the luxurious life to which she was accustomed in the rustic, swampy town of Tenochtitlan.

  According to legend, the Mexica king, following an idea that came to him in a dream, filled a hollow arrow shaft with precious jewels and shot the arrow into the Cuauhnahuac palace where it fell at the feet of the princess. She found the jewels, and soon the couple were wed.20 This marriage formed the first Mexica royal alliance with a king outside of the Valley of Mexico, and a son of this union, Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, would later become one of the great Mexica kings, Motecuhzoma I. In addition to his diplomatic success, Huitzilihuitl also led the Mexica to victory in a number of military campaigns, but the conquered towns became subjects of the Tepanec capital Azcapotzalco, not Tenochtitlan.

  Huitzilihuitl died in 1415 and was succeeded by his son Chimalpopoca, who reigned for 11 years. During this time Tenochtitlan continued to grow in size and prosperity. In the northern part of the island, the separate town of Tlatelolco was also growing. Around this time merchants from Tlatelolco began to offer goods such as parrot feathers and jewels for sale in their market. These exotic luxuries signaled a growing economic prosperity and the presence of enough nobles (the consumers of such items) to make the sales worthwhile. The Tlatelolco market later evolved into the largest in the empire (see chapter 5).

  At the same time that Chimalpopoca was continuing to help the Tepanecs to expand their domain, the Acolhua of Texcoco were expanding in the eastern Valley to become the only true rivals of the Tepanec empire. When a new Acolhua king, Ixtlilxochitl, challenged Tezozomoc, war broke out between the two states. The Mexica played a major role in the fighting, which resulted in the death of Ixtlilxochitl and victory for the Tepanecs. To reward the Mexica for their services, Tezozomoc granted them the city-state of Texcoco as a tributary subject. For the first time the Mexica had tax-paying subjects of their own. This was not the only relationship between the Mexica and the Acolhua, however. Ixtlilxochitl had married Chimalpopoca's half-sister, and their son Nezahualcoyotl became the new Acolhua king. These events cemented a special relationship between Texcoco and Tenochtitlan that was to continue until the Spanish Conquest.

  The death of the Tepanec emperor Tezozomoc in 1426 initiated a series of events that would lead to the formation of the Aztec Empire two years later. In the struggle over succession to the Tepanec crown, the Mexica backed Tezozomoc's chosen heir Tayauh. Tayauh's brother Maxtla, a member of an anti-Mexica faction, usurped the throne, however. Soon after, Chimalpopoca was killed under suspicious circumstances, and the Mexica council chose Itzcoatl, brother of Huitzilihuitl (figure 2.9), to be the new tlatoani.

  Itzcoatl, an experienced soldier and forceful leader, was determined to stand up to Maxtla and the Tepanecs. By now Tenochtitlan was a large and prosperous city, and the Mexica had attained a reputation as the fiercest warriors among the Aztec peoples. The Mexica government was strengthened by Itzcoatl's personality and his use of two able and experienced advisers, Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina and Tlacaelel. Motecuhzoma, Itzcoatl's nephew, would later succeed Itzcoatl as tlatoani. He was an outstanding general, diplomat, and adviser. Itzcoatl created another advisory office, the cihuacoatl (“woman serpent”). Tlacaelel, Motecuhzoma's half-brother by still another o
f Huitzilihuitl's marriage alliances, was its first occupant. This triad of strong leaders – Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma, and Tlacaelel – were in large part responsible for the creation of the Aztec Empire.

  The Empire of the Triple Alliance, 1428–1519

  The establishment of the Triple Alliance empire in 1428 ushered in the final century of Aztec civilization. This period, the Late Aztec B archaeological phase, witnessed the greatest accomplishments of the Aztecs. The story of the foundation of the empire began in 1426 with the escalation of hostilities between the Mexica and the Tepanecs. To counter the growing threat of the Mexica, Maxtla tried to blockade Tenochtitlan, and he demanded increasingly high amounts of tribute and taxes from the Mexica. At the same time, Maxtla continued to harass the Acolhua, forcing Nezahualcoyotl to flee his palace in Texcoco. The Acolhua king escaped over the eastern mountains to the Puebla-Tlaxcalla area, where he lobbied the kings of Tlaxcalla and Huexotzinco to come to his aid against the Tepanecs. Meanwhile, Motecuhzoma and Tlacaelel were marshaling support for a Mexica rebellion in the Valley of Mexico; their best aid came from dissident Tepanecs in the town of Tlacopan.

  War soon erupted, and in 1428, the combined forces of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan, and Huexotzinco managed to defeat the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco. The Huexotzinca returned to their home over the mountains, and the other three polities formed a military-economic alliance. They agreed not to wage war on one another and to cooperate in wars of conquest against other towns. The taxes generated by these conquests were to be divided, with two-fifths to Tenochtitlan, two-fifths to Texcoco, and one-fifth to Tlacopan. This accord, known as the Triple Alliance, would soon rule the largest empire ever forged in ancient Mesoamerica (chapter 7).

  The first task of the new alliance was to secure control over the Valley of Mexico. Itzcoatl conquered Coyoacan (an old Tepanec town), and then Xochimilco and Cuitlahuac in the chinampa district. The construction of chinampas (raised fields) in the freshwater lakes of Chalco and Xochimilco had begun in Early Aztec times and, by 1430, these productive farm plots covered nearly the entire lakebeds (see chapter 3). This district was the breadbasket of the Valley of Mexico, and its conquest gave the allies access to considerable income in foodstuffs.

  Next, Itzcoatl and Nezahualcoyotl initiated expansion of the empire outside of the confines of the Valley of Mexico. Their first targets – Cuauhnahuac and Huaxtepec – offered a number of enticements. These towns were located just over the Ajusco mountain range south of the chinampa zone in an area with abundant rainfall and a semi-tropical climate. Like the Valley of Mexico, Morelos was the home of a dense Aztec population organized into city-states and reliant upon intensive agricultural practices. Conquest of this rich area was the logical first step toward forging an empire beyond the Valley of Mexico.

  During his reign Itzcoatl began a process of glorifying the Mexica at the expense of earlier Aztec groups, and he burned many historical books written earlier. In the words of Miguel León-Portilla, “With the intention of suppressing the ‘lies’ of history, Itzcoatl directed himself to the creation of a history which would give an appropriate background to the future glory of the Aztecs [Mexica].” As the Aztec Empire expanded during the 91 years between the fall of Azcapotzalco and the arrival of Hernando Cortés, the Mexica increasingly assumed a dominant role, to the point at which some scholars refer to the empire as the “Mexica empire.” The formal revenue-sharing arrangement remained in effect to the end, however.21

  In 1440, soon after the Morelos campaign, Itzcoatl died and Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina assumed the Mexica throne. Scholars refer to him as Motecuhzoma I to distinguish him from his great-grandson Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, ruler of the empire when Cortés arrived in 1519. During his 28 years in office, Motecuhzoma I proved to be one of the two most successful Mexica leaders in furthering the expansion of the empire. A program of political consolidation within the Valley of Mexico occupied the first decade of Motecuhzoma I's rule. The Mexica emperor undertook a series of measures to reduce the threat of rebellion among subject city-states and to ensure the continuity of Mexica rule. Selected kings were replaced by Mexica puppets, new administrative positions were established, and a comprehensive imperial tax system was initiated. The Mexica installed their own people as tax collectors, effectively bypassing the existing city-state dynasties. The long-term effect of this strategy of political consolidation was to promote imperial control over the core area and to contribute toward the rising power and influence of the Mexica at the expense of their Acolhua allies.22

  Motecuhzoma began major construction on the great temple of Tenochtitlan and issued a new legal code that widened the gap between nobles and commoners. Some of its provisions are as follows:

  1. The king must never appear in public except when the occasion is extremely important and unavoidable . . .

  3. Only the king and the prime minister Tlacaelel may wear sandals within the palace . . .

  5. The great lords, who are twelve, may wear special [cotton] mantles of certain make and design, and the minor lords, according to their valor and accomplishments, may wear others . . .

  7. The commoners will not be allowed to wear cotton clothing, under pain of death, but can use only garments of maguey fiber . . .

  8. Only the great noblemen and valiant warriors are given license to build a house with a second story; for disobeying this law a person receives the death penalty.

  9. Only the great lords are to wear labrets [lip plugs], ear plugs, and nose plugs of gold and precious stones . . .

  13. All the barrios [calpolli, or neighborhoods] will possess schools or monasteries for young men where they will learn religion and correct comportment.

  14. There is to be a rigorous law regarding adulterers. They are to be stoned and thrown into the rivers or to the buzzards.

  15. Thieves will be sold for the price of their theft, unless the theft be grave, having been committed many times. Such thieves will be punished by death.23

  At the same time that he was enlarging the social gulf between nobles and commoners, Motecuhzoma allowed talented commoners to rise to positions of influence by creating a new title, quauhpilli (eagle lord). This status, a kind of nobility of achievement, was awarded to the most successful soldiers in the army.

  In the years 1450–1454 a serious drought hit the Valley of Mexico. For several years running, crops failed and famine was widespread. The royal granaries were opened to feed the public, but the stored food lasted only a few years. By 1454 chaos gripped the Aztecs. Thousands died, and people wandered the countryside looking for any scrap of food to eat. The Totonac peoples of the Gulf Coast were unaffected and took advantage of the famine, bringing grain to the Valley of Mexico in order to purchase slaves. Finally, in 1455, the rains fell again, crops were successful, and the process of rebuilding took place.

  Beginning in 1458, Motecuhzoma I and Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco set out on a series of military campaigns that would expand the empire far beyond the Valley of Mexico. Previously conquered city-states such as Cuauhnahuac (home of Motecuhzoma's mother) were reconquered, and then the Mexica and Acolhua forces subdued the rest of Morelos, the Gulf Coast area, and parts of the modern state of Oaxaca. It is interesting to compare historical accounts of these campaigns. The Mexica histories describe the conquests as carried out largely by Motecuhzoma's forces, with minor help from Nezahualcoyotl, while histories from Texcoco describe the wars as major Acolhua victories, with some help from the Mexica. Taken together, the sources suggest that the Mexica and Acolhua were more-or-less equal partners in the empire at this point. The two kings conquered vast areas of Mesoamerica for the empire. Their victories, together with modest gains made by the next Mexica king, Axayacatl, constituted the first of two great cycles of imperial expansion (figure 2.10).

  Figure 2.10 Cycles of expansion of the Triple Alliance Empire (data from Berdan et al. 1996; drawing by Pam Headrick)

  In 1468 Motecuhzoma I died and was succeeded by Axayacatl. This young prince, whose
grandfathers were Motecuhzoma I and Itzcoatl, was selected by a council consisting of the top nobles in Tenochtitlan, Nezahualcoyotl, and the king of Tlacopan. Much of his 13-year reign was occupied with the consolidation of the conquests achieved by his predecessor. Some towns had to be reconquered, and it took time to work out the logistics of a tax system that covered thousands of square kilometers of the new empire. Three important battles occurred during the reign of Axayacatl: victories over Tlatelolco and Toluca, and defeat at the hands of the Tarascans. A dispute developed between Tenochtitlan and its twin city Tlatelolco, resulting in the conquest of the latter. Axayacatl installed a military governor to rule Tlatelolco in place of the formerly independent tlatoani. The Tlatelolco marketplace had developed into the largest in Mesoamerica, and the professional merchants (pochteca) who ran the market started working for Axayacatl (see chapter 5).

  Axayacatl's only major addition to the empire was the Toluca Valley, a broad expanse immediately west of the Valley of Mexico. The Toluca Valley was of great strategic importance to the Aztecs since it formed a buffer between the Valley of Mexico and the Tarascan empire of western Mexico. The Tarascans lived in what is now the state of Michoacan, just west of central Mexico. In many ways the Tarascan empire resembled the Aztec Empire. Tarascan oral tradition also told of ancestors who were relatively recent immigrants to their home area. They, too, settled in a highland basin with a large lake in the center, the Patzcuaro Basin. Just as in the Valley of Mexico, processes of population growth and cultural evolution led to the development of city-states and then to the expansion of an empire headed by a powerful dynasty.24