Aztec Empire

Triple Alliance
1325–1521
Flag Coat of arms of Aztec Empire Coat of arms
Tributary territories of the Triple Alliance at the maximum expansion of the Aztec Empire (1521)
Status	Federation of altepetl
Capital	Tenochtitlan
Common languages	Nahuatl
Unofficial languages	Oto-Pamean, Popolocan, Totonac, Huastec, etc.
Religion	Mexica religion
Government	Elective monarchy and theocratic
Huey Tlatoani
• 1325–1376	Ténoch
• 1376–1396	Acamapichtli
• 1396–1417	Huitzilíhuitl
• 1417–1427	Chimalpopoca
• 1427–1440	Itzcóatl
• 1440–1469	Moctezuma I
• 1469–1481	Axayácatl
• 1481–1486	Tízoc
• 1486–1502	Ahuízotl
• 1502–1520	Moctezuma II
• 1520–1520	Cuitláhuac
• 1520–1521	Cuauhtémoc
Historical era	Postclassic Period
• Founding of Tenochtitlan	1325
• Spanish Conquest	August 13 1521
Area
1521	304,325 km2 (117,501 sq mi)
Population
• 1521	7,000,000
Preceded by Succeeded by Triple Alliance (Mexico) Chalco-Atenco Coixtlahuaca Viceroyalty of New Spain Kingdom of Mexico

The Aztec Empire, also called the Triple Alliance, the Mexica Empire or, more precisely, the Tenochca Empire, was a complex political unit that existed in the central area of Mesoamerica, during the Late Postclassic, until the Spanish Conquest.

Formally, it was made up of the domains of the Triple Alliance (Ēxcān Tlahtolōyān, "the three places where orders are given"), formed by Texcoco, Tlacopan and México-Tenochtitlan. In practice, the Mexicas held central power.

Founding of México-Tenochtitlan. First page of the Codex Mendoza, showing the founding allegory of México-Tenochtitlan in the year "2 Calli" (1325).

When the Spaniards arrived in 1519, the lands of the Alliance were effectively governed from Tenochtitlan, while the other partners in the alliance had assumed subsidiary roles. The imperial cult, specifically, was that of Huitzilopochtli, the distinctive warrior patron god of the Mexicas.

The founding and subsequent expansion of the Triple Alliance took place in 1430, once Azcapotzalco had been defeated, the capital of the Tepanec Empire, until then dominant in the Valley of Mexico (Santamarina 2006). This huey tlahtocayotl was defeated by the alliance of Mexicas, Acolhuas and Tlacopanecs, until then all of them vassals of Azcapotzalco. From then on, the territories of the Aztec Empire gradually expanded until they came to occupy central Mexico, the central zone of Oaxaca, the Gulf of Mexico coast, Guerrero and Soconusco. The end of the Aztec Empire came on August 13, 1521, when the Spaniards—in alliance with the Tlaxcaltecs and Totonacs, among other indigenous peoples—defeated the Mexica resistance in Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco.

Etymology and definitions

The word "Aztec" in modern usage would not have been used by the people themselves. It has been used in various ways to refer to the empire of the Triple Alliance, to the Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico before the Spanish Conquest, or specifically to the Mexica ethnic group of Nahuatl-speaking people. The name comes from a Nahuatl word meaning "people of Aztlán", which reflects the mythical place of origin of the Nahua peoples. But the word Mexica is more correct and precise

Historical and geographical context

Various peoples coexisted in the final stage of Mesoamerican development, known archaeologically as the Late Postclassic, which spanned the 13th to 15th centuries. During this time the political entity of greatest complexity came to be México-Tenochtitlan (Carrasco 1996), whose rise to power dates back to a military coalition established in 1428 and known as the Triple Alliance, which linked three emerging states: the Mexicas, whose capital city was México-Tenochtitlan, which would be the governing center in political and military matters; the Acolhua, with Texcoco as their primary city, considered the cultural center par excellence; and Tlacopan, a secessionist Tepanec center. Until the aforementioned date, the three centers had been subject to the Tepanec Empire centered in Azcapotzalco, which until then dominated the Valley of Mexico. The Mexicas shrewdly imposed their hierarchy over their allies and extended their dominion to the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. They acquired wealth and power through the imposition of a strict system of tribute, such that upon the arrival of the Spaniards at the beginning of the 16th century, their capital was considered the most important and magnificent city of its time. The dominant language among the allies was Nahuatl, which became the "lingua franca" of a large part of Mesoamerica, used to name the geography of ancient Mexico, even replacing the words of other ancestral languages. As for the other indigenous state, the Tarascan Empire, also known as the Purépecha, whose principal city was Tzintzuntzan, which at the end of its historical period functioned as its political capital, it imposed its military dominion over a wide area that encompassed north-central and western Mexico. The language of this people was Porhe or Tarascan, fundamentally different from Nahuatl and not related to any other language of ancient Mexico.

The expansion of the Mexicas coincided with the flourishing of an interethnic ideological tradition that linked peoples who spoke different languages and tongues. This artistic language communicated stories, deities and rites in which ancestral myths and traditions converged.

Location of the Aztec Empire

The Aztecs settled in México Tenochtitlan in the center of the Valley of Mexico, expanding their control toward city-states located in the present-day states of México, Morelos, Veracruz, Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca; the coast of Chiapas, Hidalgo, and part of Guatemala.

Origin

The Mexicas were a tribe of nomads who formed one of the largest and most important empires of pre-Columbian America in only 200 years. They had the best technology that could be obtained given the conditions in which they lived, such as aqueducts, palaces, pyramids and temples that were raised as tribute to their gods and as a testimony of power for humanity. Around the 13th century the Mexicas settled in Chapultepec, from where they were expelled by a coalition of enemies. After being expelled, they established their definitive settlement in Tenochtitlan around 1325. Tenochtitlan became the main city of the area, forming an alliance with two other Nahuatl-speaking cities: Texcoco (Acolhuas) and Tlacopan (Tepanecs). This alliance, known as the Triple Alliance (Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān), succeeded in developing great military power. Under Moctezuma II (1502–1520), the Mexicas had become one of the principal empires, dominating a vast territory and millions of subjects.

The Triple Alliance (Mexicas, Acolhuas and Tepanecs), commonly called the Mexica Empire, was the Mexica political formation derived from the process of territorial expansion of the economic dominion of the city-state of México-Tenochtitlan, which flourished in the 14th century in Mesoamerica. It was headed by the Mexicas—wrongly known as Aztecs—a people who, according to some historical documents such as the Tira de la Peregrinación, originated from a place—perhaps mythical—known as Aztlán, which is usually located outside the confines of Mesoamerica. However, it seems plausible that the Mexicas were a people of a purely Mesoamerican cultural tradition and not the descendants of Chichimec groups devoted to hunting and gathering.

Government

The Mexica State was a theocracy headed by the huey-tlatoani, the supreme ruler elected by a council made up of representatives of the twenty groups of related people or clans into which society was divided. When the tlatoani had to make fundamental decisions, for example the declaration of war, he deliberated with some advisers. The most important was the Cihuacóatl, who collaborated with him in government and replaced him in case of absence. At the lower levels there were many officials; among them, the judges in charge of overseeing compliance with the rules and the guardians of the weapons depots.

Political organization

The principal political figure was the tlatoani (tlahtoāni, "speaker"), a kind of hereditary monarchy, of Toltec origin, who governed with a council of prominent nobles. The Huey Tlatoani (huēy tlahtoāni, "great speaker") or Tlacatecutli (tlācatēuctli, "lord of men") was the supreme ruler. He was considered a representative of the gods. Other high officials were:

• The Cihuacóatl was a kind of "co-emperor". He was in charge of tax administration, religious affairs and judicial appeals.
• The Tlacochcálcatl and the Tlacatécatl were heads of the army.
• The Huitzncahuatlailótlac and the Tizociahuácatl were chief judges.
• A Cuauhtlatoani (cuauhtlahtoani, "eagle ruler") was a military governor imposed on a province.
• A Calpixqui (guardian of the house) was an official in charge of supervising the payment of provincial tribute.
• A Tecutli (tēuctli, "lord") was a noble lord.

Structure of domination

The Mexicas and their allies established their dominion over numerous peoples, especially in central Mexico, the Guerrero region and the Gulf of Mexico coast, as well as some areas of Oaxaca. They also possessed enclaves in several strategic positions in the region of (Tabasco)(Xicalanco) and dominated the route between the heart of Mesoamerica and the rich region of Xoconochco—located in the south of the present-day Mexican state of Chiapas—which was ruled directly by the Mexicas.

The Mexicas expanded their economic control, mainly through tribute, across a wide region of present-day central Mexico, with important exceptions of political control in dissident or border altepetl. Formally, it was a set of domains initially ruled by the three member states of the Triple Alliance—Texcoco, Tlacopan and México-Tenochtitlan—although it is true that the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan headed this confederation and were the most expansionist state of the three mentioned. On the other hand, the Mexicas never established direct rule over the conquered peoples.

Precisely, the ruling elite of the Triple Alliance appropriated the production of the other Mesoamerican nations through the imposition of a tribute, which was set according to the economic and geographic specialization of the dominated and collected by a calpixque, or tax collector. The dominators did not impose their religion or their language on the dominated. Although it is true that the subjugated states did not have total political independence, they continued to be governed by local groups. Only in some cases did the Mexicas establish military control at certain strategic points of their domains.

The way in which the Mexicas imposed their dominion over other Mesoamerican peoples was diverse, not conforming to a traditional imperial structure as in the European monarchies. Although the military character of several Mexica conquests is usually pointed out, they also established a complicated network of marriage alliances with local elites to ensure loyalty to the power of México-Tenochtitlan. Such was the case, for example, of the Zapotecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The dominion of the Mexica State in Mesoamerica was not total. Several Mesoamerican states were able to resist the push of the Tenochcas and their allies, among them the Popolocas of Teotitlán del Camino, the Tlapanecs of Yopitzinco, the Lordship of Metztitlán (northern Hidalgo), the Mixtecs of Tututepec, the Tlaxcaltec confederation and the Tarascan state of Michoacán. It is well known that the Tlaxcaltecs were bitter enemies of the Mexicas, who had imposed on them the obligation to take part in the Xochiyáoyotl in exchange for their independence. Nor should it go unmentioned that the Mexicas were never able to defeat the Tarascans, and that the presence of this people prevented the expansion of their domains toward the west.

The end of the regime of international domination of the Mexicas and their allies in Mesoamerica came with the Spanish Conquest of México-Tenochtitlan. In this event, which is usually taken as the end point of the independent development of Mesoamerican indigenous civilization, not only the European expeditionaries took part but, decisively, their indigenous allies from numerous tributary nations of the Triple Alliance, who saw in the newcomers an opportunity to put an end to Tenochca domination.

Mexica rulers

Main article: Huey tlatoani

The name Huey tlatoani is a Nahuatl expression used to designate the rulers (tlahtoāni literally means "he who speaks") of México-Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan, who exercised their power over the Valley of Mexico. Tradition relates that upon the death of the leader Tenoch, the Mexicas considered it necessary to emulate in their political and social organization the neighboring peoples of Toltec lineage, and they begged the lord of Culhuacán to give them as huey tlatoani «Acamapichtli», which means "he who grasps the reed", who around the year 1375 became the first huey-tlatoani of México-Tenochtitlan.

List of Mexica tlatoanis before the reorganization of their government:

Name	Reign
Tozcuecuextli	1233–1272
Huehue Huitzilíhuitl	1272–1299
Ilancueitl	1299–1347
Ténoch	1347–1366

Hierarchy chart

Executive and Military	Tribute System	Judicial System	Provincial System Huetlatoani, the supreme or external rule Cihuacoatl, the lesser or internal ruler Council of Four, an advisory body of generals and source of the future Huey Tlatoani Tlacochcalcatl Tlacateccatl Ezhuahuacatl Tlillancalqui Military societies Cuachicqueh, or Shorn Ones Cuāuhtli, or the Eagle Knights Ocēlōmeh, or Jaguar Warriors Otōntin, or Otomies	Petlacalcatl, central head of tribute Huecalpixque, provincial tribute supervisors Calpixque, pairs of tribute administrators	Supreme Court Special Courts Courts of Appeal Pochteca Courts Pochteca agents	Tlatoani, a subordinate ruler of a province, otherwise ruled by a: Cuauhtlatoani, a military governor Heads of the Calpulli wards Heads of family within the calpōlli wards who served as labor

Rulers

Tenochtitlan		Texcoco	Tlacopan
Hueitlatoani Acamapichtli, r. 1367–1387 Huitzilíhuitl, r. 1391–1415 Chimalpopoca, r. 1415–1426 Itzcōhuātl, r. 1427–1440 Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, r. 1440–1468 Axayacatl, r. 1469–1481 Tizocic, r. 1481–1486 Ahuizotl, r. 1486–1502 Moteuczoma Xocoyotzin, r. 1502–1520 Cuitláhuac, r. 1520 Cuauhtémoc, r. 1521–1524	Cihuacoatl Tlacaélel, r. c. 1426–1475 Tlilpotonqui, r. 1475–1503 Tlacaeleltzin Xocoyotl, r. 1503–1520 Matlatzincatzin, r. 1520 Tlacotzin, r. 1521–1524 Tlacontzin was baptized as don Juan Velásquez and made lord by Cortés, r. 1524–1526	Acolhua Hueitlatoani Quinatzin Tlaltecatzin, r. 1272–1331 Techotlalatzin, r. 1331–1399 Ixtlilxochitl Ome Tochtli, r. 1409–1418 Nezahualcóyotl, r. 1431–1472 Nezahualpilli, r. 1473–1515 Cacamatzin, r. 1516–1520 Coanácoch, r. 1521–1524 Tecocoltzin, r. 1524–1525	Hueitlatoani Aculnahuacatl Tzaqualcatl, r. c. 1400–1430 Totoquihuaztli I, r. c. 1430–1469 Chimalpopoca, r. 1469–1489 Totoquihuaztli II, r. 1489–1519 Tetlepanquetzaltzin, r. 1519–1524

List of the Mexica huey-tlatoani

Name	Date of birth	Reign
Acamapichtli	1347	1366–1391
Huitzilíhuitl	1379	1391–1415
Chimalpopoca	-	1415–1427
Itzcóatl	1381	1427–1440
Moctezuma Ilhuicamina	1398	1440–1469
Axayácatl	1430?	1469–1481
Tízoc	1436?	1481–1486
Ahuitzotl	1468	1486–1502
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin	1466	1502–1520
Cuitláhuac	1476	1520
Cuauhtémoc	1496	1520–1525

Provincial structure

Originally, the Aztec Empire was a loose alliance between three cities: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and the junior partner, Tlacopan. As such, they were known as the 'Triple Alliance'. This political form was very common in Mesoamerica, where alliances of city-states were always fluctuating. However, over time it was Tenochtitlan that assumed paramount authority in the alliance, and although each partner city shared the spoils of war and the rights to the regular tribute of the provinces and was governed by its own Huetlatoani, it was Tenochtitlan that became the largest, the most powerful, and the most influential of the three cities. It was the de facto and recognized center of the empire.

Although they were not described by the Mexicas in this way, according to some authors (Smith and Berdan 1992) there were two types of provinces: Tributary and Strategic. The strategic provinces were essentially subordinate client states that provided tribute or aid to the Aztec state under "mutual consent". The tributary provinces, on the other hand, provided regular tribute to the empire; the obligations of the tributary provinces were mandatory rather than consensual.

Organization of the Aztec Empire
The Triple Alliance	Provinces
Tenochtitlan, modern Mexico City. Texcoco, modern Texcoco Municipality. Tlacopan, also modern Mexico City.	Tributary Provinces	Strategic Provinces
	Atotonilco de Pedraza Atotonilco del Grande Axocopan Cihuatlan Coixtlahuaca Cotaxtla Cuahuacan Cuauhnāhuac, modern Cuernavaca Cuilapan Huatusco Huaxtépec Malinalco Ocuilan Oxitipan Quiauhteopan Soconusco Tepeaca Tepecoacuilco Tlachco Tlacozauhtitlan Tlapacoyan Tlapan Tlatlauhquitepec Tlaxiaco Tochpan Tochtepec Toluca Tzicoac Xilotepec Xocotilan Yoaltepec	Acatlán Ahautlan Ayotlan Chiapan Chiauhtlan Cuauhchinanco Huexotla Ixtepexi Ixtlahuaca Miahuatlán Misantla Ocuituco Tecomaixtlahuacan Tecpantepec Temazcaltepec Teozacoalco Teozapotlán Tetela de Río Tetela Xalapa Cēmpoalātl, or Zempoala Zompaynco

Election of public officials

Public officials were appointed by the nobility of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. As a rule, they chose from a dominant bloodline.

Judicial system

The principal judicial courts were established in México-Tenochtitlan and in Texcoco, where territorial and criminal disputes that could not be resolved by the local and administrative justice of each of the altepetl were to be settled. A similar structure was preserved in the indigenous towns after the Conquest of Mexico.

Mexica courts

The Mexicas had a hierarchical judicial organization, which ranged from the tecutli, a kind of popularly elected judge, for a term of one year, competent to hear minor matters, up to a court of three judges appointed for life, what we would today call professionals, designated by the cihuacóatl. The rulings could be challenged—appealed, in better legal terminology—before the court of the king. In Texcoco justice was administered in the royal palace, which contained three chambers with a total of twelve judges appointed by the monarch, who could appeal; assisted by two or three nobles. In addition, lower-ranking judges operated, distributed throughout the territory. There were also commercial courts in charge of resolving disputes arising in the markets (called tianguis). The procedure was oral and was sometimes documented by means of hieroglyphs.

Social organization

Society was divided into twenty clans called calpullis, in which religion had a preponderant influence, made up of groups of people linked by kinship, territorial divisions, devotion to a particular god and the continuation of ancient families united by a bond of biological and religious kinship derived from the cult of the titular god. Each clan had lands, a temple and a chief or calpullec. They were divided into three classes: nobles, commoners and slaves.

Nobles (pīpiltin)

The pīpiltin ([pī]pil-tin, "nobles", is a plural form formed by reduplication from the singular: pil-li, "noble") were the ruling elite that controlled both government and religion. They paid tribute and had their own lands, which were worked by the peasants.

Commoners (Mācēhualtin)

To this group of commoners (mācēhualtin) belonged the artisans, the merchants and the peasants or the ordinary people. These were the foundation of all the Mexicas because without them the system would collapse.

Slaves (Tlātlācohtin)

The tlātlācohtin (plural form of tlācohtli, "slave") were prisoners of war, people who had committed a crime, or people with large debts that they were unable to pay in the short term and who hired themselves out as servants to those to whom they owed.

Economic organization

The economy was prosperous. In the first place, their control over the other peoples allowed them to count on an abundant labor force. Aztec economic organization was governed by the calpulli, a group of families to whom an amount of land was assigned to work, so that the production was distributed among the families, the State, the priests and the chief of the calpulli. On the other hand, the collection of tribute gave the Mexicas an abundance of raw materials and products. Another factor that made prosperity possible was the use of advanced agricultural techniques. Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexicas, was built on an island in the center of Lake Texcoco. The Mexicas used the cultivation system known as chinampas, and with this system they brought the land to the water. They did it in the following way: they drove four ahuehuete stakes into the marshy land and formed a rectangle. They filled it with sticks and strips of grass and covered it with mud; the stakes took root and held the soil at the edges. The chinampa absorbed water from the lake and the mud served as fertilizer; in this way they sowed several times a year. They also built cultivation terraces in mountainous areas. They used plant and animal fertilizers.

Trade

Mexica trade was based mainly on barter. In addition, there may possibly have been fairs in the empire, as in the Inca Empire. Normally the Mexica merchants (pochtecas) exchanged products from Tenochtitlan and its surroundings to obtain luxury products from the other cities and nations. Because of the size of the population and indirect data, it is believed that Tenochtitlan in its period of splendor was the largest market in the world, and it was located in the central plaza of Tlatelolco; they traded in slaves, prisoners of war, cacao, exotic fruits, etc.

The generation of surpluses, a product of chinampa cultivation, allowed the development of trade in handcrafted goods. They exchanged objects worked in gold and silver, ceramics, feather ornaments and cotton textiles.

Industries

• Mining: Obsidian (a crystalline stone of volcanic origin) was obtained from the Sierra Madre del Sur and Occidental and was used to make weapons and everyday objects (knives, plates, necklaces)
• Textiles: An industry of great importance among the inhabitants of the Aztec Empire, whose main products included the manufacture of cotton and maguey fiber fabrics.

Religion

Rituals: The priests tore out the heart of the prisoner so that his blood would bathe the ground, since it was supposed to increase the fertility of the land and the probability of rain.

Military organization

Main article: Mexica militarism

Tributary provinces of the Triple Alliance before the arrival of the Spaniards.

The expansion of Aztec dominion was the result of their military organization, the valor of their soldiers in battle and the skill of their rulers, who initially relied on the Triple Alliance. They took advantage of the divisions that existed among their adversaries and coercively convinced many altepetl (lordships) that it suited them better to be vassals of Tenochtitlan than to face the terrible risks of a war. In general, most of the altepetl surrounding México-Tenochtitlan agreed to pay tribute to the Mexicas and kept the administration in the hands of the local nobility, which had to answer to the rulers of the capital. In certain advantageously located places, the Mexicas established fortresses and garrisons that watched over the dominated territories and the security of the trade routes, as in Oztoman near the Purépechas, Zozolan with the Mixtecs, Xoconochco and on the borders with the Totonac lordships. Only some conflict-ridden regions were governed directly by officials appointed in Tenochtitlan with political and military powers.

The merchants were a kind of espionage force, since they analyzed the enemy in their cities, and some time later the Mexica invasion armies would arrive. When there was resistance they did not stop until they had conquered the area, with some exceptions, or else areas were annexed to the empire through marriages arranged between the two nobilities, which very rarely occurred.

Tribute arrived in Tenochtitlan from all regions of the empire: food, textiles, precious goods, and also captive human beings destined for sacrifice. That wealth turned México-Tenochtitlan into a dazzling city.

Conquests and tributary peoples of the Mexicas

Aztec territorial expansion.

Twenty years after having arrived in the Basin of the Valley of Anáhuac, today the Valley of Mexico, starting from the defeat of Azcapotzalco, the Mexicas began a series of conquests unprecedented in America. As recorded in the Matrícula de Tributos, the subjugated peoples had to pay various tributes: maize, beans, amaranth, chia, blankets and cloth, copal, liquidambar, salt, military costumes, products made in the region, and to contribute men for war.

Mexicas in Chiapas

Main article: History of Chiapas

From this region what was extracted was not only products of the land and the sea, but also very possibly amber, since it is the only state of the Republic where it is found. Quetzals and red and green macaws were also captured to extract their feathers and make showy costumes and headdresses for royalty and other luxury objects.

By 1486 they conquered the Zoques, collecting tribute from them, but being unable to conquer the Chiapanecs they found it necessary to return to the coast and continue their march to the highlands of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Guatemala.

In 1524 they returned together with Tlaxcaltec armies commanded by Spaniards, conquering this territory. As a reward for the conquest of this territory they were allowed to found a neighborhood in Ciudad Real, present-day San Cristóbal de las Casas, which still exists to this day.

Mexicas in Oaxaca

Main article: History of Oaxaca

Around 1458 the Mexicas began expansionist campaigns under the reigns of Tizoc, Ahuizotl and Moctezuma, and with them came the decline of the Mixtecs, who occupied territory as far as Tuxtepec.

From here cacao was also taken to the empire, together with maize and other products of this province. In addition, products of the sea such as seashells, fish, shellfish and pieces of coral were also extracted from here. But what it was mostly known for was the great skill they had in working metals such as gold, silver and platinum. These were skills that the Mexicas were eventually able to replicate and improve upon, although at the beginning they were taught by the best masters of Mesoamerica. Although the tools they used to work metals did not seem very modern, they could make great works of art with precious metals.

Mexicas in Guerrero

Main article: History of Guerrero

By the 14th century, various peoples with their own cultural characteristics were already settled in the territory of the state, some coexisting peacefully and others in constant armed conflict. Among the most important were the Purépechas, Cuitlaltecas, Ocultecas and Matlatzincas in the Tierra Caliente; the Chontales, Mazatlecos and Tlahuicas in the Sierra Norte; the Coíxcas and Tepuztecos in the Central Valleys; the Tlapanecs and the Mixtecs in La Montaña; the Jopis, Mixtecs and Amuzgos in the Costa Chica; and the Tolimecas, Chubias, Pantecas and Cuitlaltecas in the Costa Grande.

From these places products very similar to those extracted from Veracruz were obtained, but to a lesser extent, since this area did not have the same importance, although from here came the gold and silver that the Mexicas valued so highly. Together with the artisans who worked it, practically the entire state was conquered by the Mexicas, and those places that resisted made a pact similar to that of the Mexicas with the Tlaxcaltecs.

In the State of Guerrero lived the Yopes, a tribe that was never subjugated by the Mexicas, and which was conquered around 1553 by the Spaniards and almost totally exterminated; as of 2004, only a few small congregations of Yopes remain.

Mexicas in Puebla

Main article: History of Puebla

Puebla was a province of the Mexicas from which came products that served to feed the population. Because of this, Puebla was attacked in several of its cities, not only for being the one that supplied most of the food and materials that were traded, but also because all its cities were loyal to the empire. Being places where the Mexicas could obtain food and men for battle, these cities became a potential enemy. Because of this the City of Cholula was attacked on the pretext of having murdered an envoy of the Tlaxcaltecs.

In the Sierra Negra of Puebla, flowers, which are highly prized, were traded mainly with the capital, and the region that supplied these flowers was known for its green hills that touched the clouds.

Mexicas in Tlaxcala

Main article: History of Tlaxcala

When the Spaniards arrived in Tlaxcala, the Mexicas had been imposing a trade blockade on the Tlaxcaltecs for 60 years. But it had not always been that way, since the Tlaxcaltecs had previously helped the Mexicas defeat the Tepanecs, who at that time controlled central Mexico. After having defeated the enemy, the Mexicas took control and the Tlaxcaltecs rebelled. The Mexicas responded to this with a trade blockade. In order to be freed from the blockade, they negotiated an agreement under which they were allowed to keep their independence in exchange for taking part in the flower wars.

Under this arrangement, Tlaxcala neither paid tribute nor ceded its government if it took part in these events, which served the Mexicas to train their armies. Besides providing victims for human sacrifices, it manipulated the Tlaxcaltecs, preventing population growth and instilling fear to keep them from rebelling.

Mexicas in Veracruz

Main article: History of Veracruz

The Mexicas were the last to arrive in Mesoamerica. But in spite of this, in 1325 they settled in the basin of the Valley of Mexico and founded the City of México-Tenochtitlan. They progressed rapidly, became powerful and conquered other peoples. They influenced language and ceremonial pottery. The Mexicas had garrisons to control their domains and storehouses for tribute. Some of their watch posts in Veracruz were at Xalapa, Jalcomulco, Huatusco and Coscomatepec; one of the first Mexica settlements in Veracruz was Ixtaczoquitlán, since the year it was created was the year 1300. From here tribute was sent such as fish, which the Emperor ate, together with seashells. These also served as offerings to the gods.

The Mexicas managed to control a large part of the present-day state of Veracruz. From here the capital was supplied with tropical products as well as fish and pieces of reef. There were possibly pre-Hispanic ports to receive products from all over the Gulf of Mexico. As Christopher Columbus came to say, he had seen a canoe loaded with very extravagant merchandise.

Mexicas in Tabasco

Main article: History of Tabasco

Here the Mexicas limited themselves to building a trading camp, which was the means of contact between the Aztec Empire and the fragmented kingdoms of the Maya. To this camp the ancient Mexica merchants traveled to obtain some of the most valued materials, valued for the remoteness of the places they were brought from and the difficulty involved.

The camp had only a small garrison of soldiers, who were there to protect the Mexicas who were there. This place also served for cultural exchange.

Mexicas in Michoacán

Main article: History of Michoacán

Its name comes from the Nahuatl Michhuahcān (place of fishermen), one of the four provinces of the Purépecha Kingdom, with its capital in Tzintzuntzan, very close to Lake Pátzcuaro.

Because of this the Mexicas conquered only a fraction of this state; this is where the largest number of Mexica fortresses and garrisons is located. However, there was cultural exchange here between both nations, so much so that they came to consider each other sister peoples.

Around 1473 the Mexica troops went to the eastern border of the Tarascan kingdom, precisely at Taximaroa, led by Axayacatl, who received a mortal wound to the head. This was the only attempt at military imposition on the part of the Mexicas in Michoacán. From this region timber and metalworking artisans came to the empire.

Mexicas in the State of Mexico

Main article: History of the State of Mexico

The present-day territory of the State of Mexico was the principal and largest supplier of timber, meat and vegetables as tribute to the Aztec Empire. And it was from there that part of what became Aztec culture was obtained, which reportedly drew its inspiration from the Teotihuacanos and Toltecs.

There was friction with Chalco, however, since they resisted being subjugated, but without great consequences, since they were always subjugated again.

Regarding hydrography, what are today the State of Mexico and the Federal District shared the system of lakes of the basin of the Valley of Mexico or of Anáhuac, which were the lakes of Zumpango, Xaltocan, Texcoco and Chalco.

Mexicas in Mexico City

Main article: History of Mexico City

In the 14th century, after a pilgrimage of more than a century, the Mexicas arrived in the basin of the Valley of Anáhuac (or Valley of Mexico) to settle first on its shores and then on an islet, from which they set out to create their empire. When they arrived they were known as "Aztecs", which means "those who come from Aztlán", which means "place of herons". When they finally settled, they received the name "Mexicas", which, according to some authors, means "Children of the Moon"—by extension of the meaning of the word Mexihco; from MEtztli ("moon"), XIctli ("navel") and CO ("place"), that is: "The place of the navel of the moon".

Mexicas in Morelos

Main article: History of Morelos

The Mexicas obtained mostly agricultural products from this region. From other places they obtained tropical products, although in this area the climate also made it possible to cultivate the cacao tree.

Mexicas in Hidalgo

Main article: History of Hidalgo

Around the 12th century AD the Mexicas, coming from Aztlán, settled in Tula, before continuing on through Atlitlalaquia and Apizaco. Later Tula was revered by the Tenochca inhabitants.

From the subjugated areas came maguey fibers of the highest quality.

Mexicas in Guatemala

Main article: History of Guatemala

The only places known so far to have been conquered by the Mexicas on present-day Guatemalan soil are the departments of the mountains, the coast and the zone bordering Mexico.

See also

• Mexica
• Mesoamerica

References

Bibliography

• Carrasco, Pedro, Estructura político-territorial del Imperio tenochca. La Triple Alianza de Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco y Tlacopan. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1996.
• Cervera Obregón, Marco A., Breve historia de los aztecas, Nowtilus, Madrid, 2008
• Cervera Obregón, Marco A., El armamento entre los mexicas, Anejos de GLADIUS, 11, CSIC-Polifemo, Madrid, 2007.
• Trabajos arqueológicos en el Centro de la Ciudad de México, SEP-INAH, Mexico, 1979.
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo and Felipe Ehrenberg: Coyolxauhqui, SEP, second edition, Mexico, 1980.
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo: México-Tenochtitlan: su espacio y tiempo sagrados, Plaza y Valdés Editores, Mexico, 1987.
• Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo: Estudios Mexicas. Volume 1, Tomes 1 and 2. El Colegio Nacional, Mexico, 1999.
• Laurette Sejourné: Pensamiento y Religión en el México Antiguo. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
• Santamarina Novillo, Carlos, El sistema de dominación azteca: el Imperio Tepaneca. Serie Historia, 11. Madrid: Fundación Universitaria Española, 2006.
• Smith, Michael E., "A Quarter-Century of Aztec Studies". Mexicon 25: 4–10, 2003.
• Smith, Michael E. and Frances F. Berdan, "Archaeology and the Aztec Empire". World Archaeology 23: 353–367, 1992.

Chronicles

• Monarquía Indiana, Juan de Torquemada
• Historia eclesiástica, Jerónimo de Mendieta
• Historia general de las Indias, Francisco López de Gómara
• Historia de la conquista de México, Francisco López de Gómara
• Crónica de los Barbarrojas, Francisco López de Gómara
• Anales de Carlos V, Francisco López de Gómara
• Vida de Hernán Cortés, Francisco López de Gómara
• Descripción de las Indias Occidentales, Francisco López de Gómara
• Décadas de Herrera, Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas
• La Crónica mexicana, Hernando de Alvarado Tezozómoc
• La Crónica Mexicáyotl, Hernando de Alvarado Tezozómoc
• Relación histórica de la nación tolteca, Hernando de Alvarado Tezozómoc
• Historia de Ixtlilxóchitl, Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl
• Historia general de la Nueva España, Lorenzo Boturini