montezuma warlord of the aztecs

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The Colorado College

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montezuma

Warlord of the Aztecs

Peter G. Tsouras

Potomac Books, Inc.Washington, D.C.

10831 Montezuma** 9/21/05 2:12 PM Page iii

Copyright 2005 by Peter G. Tsouras

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. Allrights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced inany manner whatsoever without written permission fromthe publisher, except in the case of brief quotationsembodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tsouras, Peter.Montezuma : warlord of the Aztecs / Peter G.

Tsouras.1st ed.p. cm. (Military proles)

Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 1-57488-821-8 (cl. : alk. paper)

ISBN 1-57488-822-6 (pb. : alk. paper)1. Montezuma II, Emperor of Mexico, ca. 1480-

1520. 2. AztecsHistory16th century. 3. AztecsKings and rulersBiography. 4. MexicoHistoryConquest, 1519-1540. I. Title. II. Series.

F1230.M6T76 2004972'.018'092 dc22 2004006857

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paperthat meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard.

Potomac Books, Inc.22841 Quicksilver DriveDulles, Virginia 20166

FIRST EDITION

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

10831 Montezuma** 9/21/05 2:12 PM Page iv

To my aunts and uncles, loving xtures of my life, who have fallenasleep in the LordKatherine, Mary, George, Idell, Dorothy, and Mero

and

Venea, Connie, Chris, and Dorothy

Contents

List of Maps ix

Preface xi

Chronology xv

Chapter 1 The Rise of Empire 3

Chapter 2 There Was Dread in the World 18

Chapter 3 Arrow Wars and Flower Wars 33

Chapter 4 Omens of the End of the World 41

Chapter 5 The Meeting of Two Worlds 50

Chapter 6 The Taming of Motecuhzoma 61

Chapter 7 He Had Survived His Honor 70

Chapter 8 The Dusk of Empire 86

Epilogue 95

Notes 98

Bibliographic Note 106

Index 111

About the Author 115

List of Maps

1. The Campaigns of Motecuhzoma II, 15031519 2

2. Anhuac: the World of the Valley of Mexico 5

3. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, 15191520 66

4. The Sacred Square of Tenochtitlan 74

Preface

Corts could not pronounce his name and so gave it a Spanish a-vorMontezuma. There was much more about this Indian rulerof fteen million subjects that the Conquistador did not under-stand, aside from his nameproperly Motecuhzoma, the AngryLord. But he did grasp the one most correct thing about thismighty man, that he was the single point of failure of his empire,indeed, of his civilization.

Two hundred years before, the Aztecsor more correctly, theMexica1had been wandering barbarians before they found theirway into the lush Valley of Mexico. There they found civilization,carved out with the obsidian sword the greatest empire NorthAmerica had ever seen, and built a brilliant capital that ranked asone of the great cities of the world. Mexica armies conquered fromthe Gulf to the Pacic coasts to the borders of Guatemala. A mil-lion bearers carried the tribute of a world into the capital everyeighty days.

Motecuhzoma was absolute master of this world, the last of theMexica rulers to have assumed his throne before the arrival of theSpaniards in Mexico. He was an accomplished warrior and generalwho added to the endless string of Mexica conquests. To him wasdue the great eforescence of this civilization as the wealth ofMexico created a cosmopolitan civilization never before seen inthe Americas.

To him also was due the brutal centralization of the empire,withering initiative and exibility among the Mexica. Always be-fore, Mexica rulers had relied on the good counsel of experiencedmen. Motecuhzoma kept his own counsel. As the glories of em-pire mounted, Mexica society lost a vital element of adaptability,

the very qualities needed to repulse conquerors from across thesea.

Still, even a rigid structure could well have dealt with Cortshad it been ably led by this autocrat. Instead, the autocrat cracked,victim of his own superstitious nature and a legend of a returnedgod come to reclaim his rightful empire. The Mexica imperial ideawas based on the claim that it was the legitimate heir of the near-mythical time of perfection, the Toltec Empire. Much like thelegacy of the Romans for medieval Europe, the Toltecs exerted apowerful pull on the minds of their successors. The creator of thatempire, the man-god Quetzalcoatl, had sailed away to the eastvowing someday to return. That prophecy had not been an im-portant element of Mexica imperial ideology. His return lay slum-bering safely in the ever-receding future, as safely as the SecondComing, until Corts arrived in the year associated with Quetzal-coatl.

With that, Motecuhzoma was undone. His moral center col-lapsed. He allowed Corts to march into his capital and thenturned over the empire to him as a god or emissary of a god. TheMexica could do nothing but watch in growing anger and con-sternation, cowed by the absolutism of Motecuhzoma. The slavishobedience that Motecuhzoma had instilled stayed the hands ofmen who would otherwise have made short work of theSpaniards. Corts exploited this weakness to the hilt and throughMotecuhzomas willing collaboration seized control of the func-tioning empire. The plan would have worked smoothly had notone of his subordinates committed a mass atrocity that broke allthe bounds of obedience. But for the Mexica, it was too late. Theirvictories would be ephemeral, their wounds too deep.

A few words on the pronunciation of names in Nhuatl, thelanguage of the Mexica and central Mexico. Fray Diego Durn re-ferred to it as language of poetry, innite metaphors, and greatsubtlety. All words in Nhuatl are accented on the second to lastsyllable. The x is pronounced as a sh; the h is spoken with a soft as-pirant as in English. The tl and tz represent single sounds. The uused before a, e, i, and o is pronounced like the English w. Cu be-fore vowels is pronounced kw. Thus, Mexicamay-SHEE-kha

xii p r e fa c e

and Huitzilopochtliweets-eel-oh-POCH-tlee; Tenochtitlantay-noch-TEE-tlan; CuitlhuacKwe-TLAH-hwac. Many placenames were hispanized simply because Spanish tongues could notpronounce Nhuatl words. Cuauhnahuac (Near the Trees) be-came Cuernavaca, and Tollan became Tula.

Special thanks to my oh-so-talented wife, Patty, who createdthe splendid maps for this book, and to the family of Keith Hen-derson for the incomparable illustrations.

Peter G. TsourasLieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve (Ret.)August 2003Alexandria, Virginia

p r e fa c e xiii

Chronology

1299 Mexica settle in the Valley of Mexico (Anhuac).1345 Mexica establishes Tenochtitlan on islands in Lake

Texcoco.1358 Mexica faction founds neighboring city of Tlatelolco.1372 Tlatoani Acamapitchli takes Culhua bride of the

Toltec bloodline.1398 Motecuhzoma I and Tlacalel are born.141526 Tlatoani Chimalpopoca reigns.1426 Tezozmoc dies.142740 Tlatoani Itzcoatl reigns.1428 Azcapotzalco falls to Mexica-led coalition.144068 Tlatoani Motecuhzoma I reigns.1467 Motecuhzoma II is born.146981 Tlatoani Axaycatl reigns.1473 Tlatelolco subordinated to Tenochtitlan in Mexica

civil war.1479 Tarascans defeat Mexica invasion.148186 Tlatoani Tizoc reigns.14861502 Tlatoani Ahutzotl reigns.1487 Rededication of Great Temple, in which 80,400 peo-

ple are sacriced.1492 Columbus lands in the Bahamas.1496 Tlacalel dies.1500 Mexica conquers Soconosco, farthest reach of

empire.150220 Tlatoani Motecuhzoma II reigns.15021503 Coronation war.

1503 Motecuhzoma attacks Tlachquiauhco for its precioustree.

1504 Motecuhzoma challenges Tlaxcallan to Flower Warand loses. Motecuhzoma campaigns in the Huaxya-cac region of Oaxaca.

15051506 Motecuhzoma conquers Tototepec and Quetzaltepecin Oaxaca.

15061507 Huexotzinca beat Mexica in Flower War. Revolt inHuaxyacac region suppressed.

1508 Motecuhzoma attacks Huexotzinco, Cholollan, andAtlixco.

1509 Failed attack on Amatlan in Huaxacac region of Oax-aca.

1510 Nezahualpilli warns Motecuhzoma of end of theirworld. Motecuhzoma rst sees heavenly apparitions.

151112 Revolt of Tlachquiauhco and other southern Huax-caca cities suppressed. Zapotec region conquered.Flower Wars with Tlaxcallan, Huexotzinco, Atlixco.

151415 Upper Gulf Coast campaign.1515 Tlaxcallan defeats Mexica invasion. Nezahualpilli

dies; Texocan civil war. Omens of the end of theworld begin.

151617 Revolt of Tlachquiauhco suppressed. Mexica are suc-cessful in Flower War with Tlaxcallan.

1517 Ship of Cordoba expedition sighted.1518 Word of the Grijalva expedition received by Mote-

cuhzoma.1519 Corts lands in Mexico, 21 April. Massacre occurs at

Cholula, mid-October. Corts tops the pass intoAnhuac, 2 November. Corts arrives in Tenochtitlanand meets Motecuhzoma in the Meeting of TwoWorlds, 8 November. Corts calls upon Motecuhzomain his palace, 9 November. Motecuhzoma gives Cortsa tour of the Great Temple, 11 November. Corts kid-naps Motecuhzoma, 14 November. Qualpopoca exe-cuted, early December. Cacamatzin seized for plottingresistance to Corts, late December.

xvi c h r o n o l o g y

1520 Motecuhzoma declares himself a vassal of Charles V,early January. Corts marches against Narvaz, earlyMay. Massacre occurs at Toxcatl, 16 May. Corts de-feats Narvaz, 29 May. Corts reenters Tenochtitlan,24 June. Mexica begin siege of Spanish compound,26 June. Tlatoani Cuitlhuac reigns from Junethrough January, 1521. Mexica warriors stone Mote-cuhzoma, 27 June. Motecuhzoma dies 29 June. TheSpanish depart Tenochtitlan (La Noche Triste), 30June1 July. Battle of Otumba, 8 July. Corts invadesAnhuac, 28 December.

1521 Cuitlhuac dies of smallpox, 3 January. The smallpoxepidemic ravages Tenochtitlan for two months.Cuauhtmoc crowned, 21 February. The siege ofTenochtitlan begins, 20 May. Cuauhtmoc captured,siege ends, 13 August.

1525 Cuauhtmoc executed, October.

c h r o n o l o g y xvii

montezuma

1The Rise of Empire

AnhuacIn early November 1519 Hernan Corts and his band of adventur-ers emerged from a mountain pass and saw the Valley of Mexico,the teeming heart of the Mexica Empire. Known later as theAztecs, the Mexica had created in less than a hundred years themightiest and richest empire Mesoamerica had ever seen. Theirachievement still resounds in splendor and terror half a millen-nium later.

What the Spaniards saw was stunning. Snow-covered moun-tains ringed a valley a hundred by sixty kilometers, home to asmany as three million people. Like a string of sapphire blue jewelsstrewn down its length were a series of interconnected lakes. Richelds gave way to forests as the land sloped up to the mountains.White cities ringed the lake. This was Anhuac, Near the Water,or the Watery World. The Spaniards gaze owed down from thesnowy heights to the blue of the lakes to the immense city,Tenochtitlan, resting on islands in Lake Texcoco, connected to the

3

mainland by a web of causeways and nourished by aqueducts.Towering white temples and polychrome palaces glittered in itscenter. For the Spaniards the effect was more than the senses couldbear. They believed they had fallen into the make-believe world ofheroic romances and legend.

In a few days the absolute master of this universe would greetthem on the edge of this city. His word was life and death, andthere was no appeal from or remonstration to his slightest wish.The treasure of an entire world was his, and fteen million soulsdid his bidding without question. He was the tlatoani, or reveredspeaker of the Mexica, the descendant of a line of empire buildersstretching back almost a hundred years. He bore himself with im-mense dignity. He was the second of that name and thus wasstyled Motecuhzoma Xocoyotl (the Younger).

The Imperial IdeaTwo hundred years before, his Mexica ancestors had been savages,the last of the Nhuatl-speaking barbarians to wander south fromthe semi-arid lands of northern Mexico to the lush lake-world ofAnhuac in the late thirteenth century. Despised and feared by theinhabitants for their viciousness and barbarity, they were drivenfrom place to place until they found refuge on the marshy islandsin Lake Texcoco in 1345. In a dispute, part of the Mexica brokeaway in 1358 to form the city of Tlatelolco on the northern edge ofthe same island group.1 From the lake the Mexica found a bare sub-sistence. Of greater value was their warlike nature, the services ofwhich they sold to minor empire builders around the lake. Theirlast patron was the wily Tepanec king Tezozmoc, who from hiscapital at Azcapotzalco on the western shore of Lake Texcoco, fash-ioned an empire in his long lifetime. He had use for rst-classghting men. The Mexica had use for such a patron and tied them-selves to him with a royal marriage. In his indulgent dotage, theirpower grew from vassal to master of vassals. His alarmed successorattempted to destroy them but was destroyed himself, when theyorganized a great alliance to pull the Tepanecs down in 1428. Theirterritorial spoils were the kernel of their own empire.

4 m o n t e z u m a

This was the work of a Mexica triumvirate, members of the rul-ing dynasty of the Eagle Clan. The Mexica Tlacochcalcatl (Man ofthe House of Hurled Spears), or captain general, the seasonedgeneral Itzcoatl, was its leader. He would become the rst of theimperial tlatoani. The other two were his young nephews, theroyal princes and half-brothers Tlacalel and Motecuhzoma. TheMexica were not strong enough to carry the entire burden of theirbudding empire alone. Instead they formed the Triple Alliance.One ally was their young kinsman Nezahualcoyotl, king of the Al-colhua kingdom of Texcoco, on the eastern shore of the lakes.Nezahualcoyotl, of the Mexica Eagle clan, had been instrumentalin bringing strong allies to the war against Azcapotzalco. Texcocosplace was second in the Triple Alliance. To placate their conqueredmasters, the Mexica incorporated Tlacopan, a major Tepanec cityas the third and junior member of the alliance. Motecuhzoma wasadvanced to the position of Tlacochcalcatl and Tlacalel as Cihua-coatl, literally Snake Woman, the chief minister.2

Tlacalel was the warrior priest, a man of conceptual and orga-nizational genius as well as a formidable general, diplomat, andstrategist. Had it not been for Tlacalel, the Mexica bid for empirewould probably have been no more lasting than those of the mini-empires that had come and gone in Anhuac over the previoustwo centuries. Tlacalel provided the imperial idea, the animatingmoral force that built a sturdy foundation for conquest and con-solidation on a scale never before seen in Mesoamerica.

Shimmering in the past was the memory of the golden age ofToltec Empire with its center at Tollan (Tula), sixty kilometersnorth of Anhuac. The Toltecs had engulfed all of central Mexicoand were remembered as having brought a time of perfection andunimaginable wealth. Their time remained a golden memory forthe peoples that followed.

The burning of Tollan about A.D. 1168 resounded through Mex-ican history as extensively and deeply as had Romes fall half aworld away, leaving a similar void of order and legitimacy. The ee-ing nobility found refuge in many cities in Anhuac, especially thatof Culhuacan, meaning The Place of Those Who Have Ances-tors. Dead though the Toltec state was, the refugees carried in theirblood a priceless treasure, legitimacy. So when a miserable nomadic

6 m o n t e z u m a

people, the Mexica, entered the Valley of Mexico craving a placeamong civilized peoples, they were careful to acquire legitimacythrough marriage to local royalty of the Toltec bloodlines. They es-tablished a monarchy in 1372 of which the first tlatoani,Acamapitchli, quickly married a princess of the bluest blood inCulhuacan. From this shrewd policy a philosophy of empire wasborn, as Tlacalel boldly appropriated the entire Toltec legacy, pro-claiming, in a magnicent exercise of imperial propaganda, theMexica the heirs and regenitors of the Toltec patrimony.

Tlacalels propaganda effort contained another element thatwas to lay dormant until 1519, when Corts arrived. Inextricablybound with the Toltec Empire was the story of the founder and au-thor of its magnicence, Topiltzin (Our Lord) Quetzalcoatl. Thisgure emerges from history in shadowy form as a man named CeAcatl (1-Reed), after the name of the year in the fty-two-yearMesoamerican calendar in which he was born. Quetzalcoatl, mean-ing Feathered Serpent, was an ancient god even then, and CeAcatl may have become the leader of the gods priesthood, becom-ing known by the gods name. Eventually the man and god wouldbecome confused in the histories passed down through the cen-turies. The striking feature of his character was his abhorrence ofhuman sacrice, then an accepted part of religious life. His nemesiswas Tetzcatlipoca, probably high priest of the eponymous god, chiefof the pantheon in later times. He was very much a proponent ofhuman sacrice. Through his conspiracy, Quetzalcoatl was drivenfrom Tollan; he traveled to the coast of Yucatan, where he embarkedupon a ship and sailed to the east, in a new fty-two-yearMesoamerican centurys fateful year of Ce Acatl. Ominously, hevowed to return and reclaim his kingdom.

That promise to return did not enter into Tlacalels propa-ganda. It may have even been a relatively minor part of the legendsof Tollan. In any case, it survived the burning of all previous his-tories instigated by Tlacalel, who was determined that no writtenaccount would contradict his vision. From then on, Mexica prop-aganda would relentlessly proclaim this Toltec vision, at rst to eataway at rival claims and later, as the growth of empire achieved apowerful momentum, to disarm morally a growing list of victims.

There was more to Tlacalels vision than simply appropriating

t h e r i s e o f e m p i r e 7

the mantel of Toltec legitimacy. The Mexica required a far moreimmediate and constant motive to spur them on to conquest. Tla-calel was a priest of Huitzilopochtli, the Mexica patron deity,whose name meant Hummingbird of the Left (i.e., of theSouth).3 Hummingbird was altogether too minor a deity for Tla-calels ambitions. The people whose revered speaker haddonned the imperial blue Toltec cloak and the turquoise diademrequired a far more august divinity. Single-handedly Tlacalel re-fashioned Huitzilopochtli from a minor war god into the bringerof endless victories. Tlacalel was more than willing to pay theprice. Huitzilopochtli had always been a cruel and bloodthirstygod, but his taste for blood had always been limited by the abilityof the Mexica to provide sacricial victims. Now Tlacalel pro-vided an increasingly abundant supply of beating hearts. He hadstruck a bargain with the godblood for victory. The bargain wasbased on the belief that the gods required blood to sustain them intheir eternal struggle to prevent the destruction of the world.Blood was the most precious of human offerings, the essence oflife, and only it could feed the gods. Tlacalel took things a stepfartherblood not only sustained Huitzilopochtli but causedhim to reward the Mexica with victories and wealth. So began thecycle of war feeding war. After the Spanish conquest, the Mexicainformants of Diego Durn would add that Tlacalel himself hada taste for human esh that only endless fresh victims wouldsupply.

Itzcoatl, on Tlacalels advice, reordered Mexica society into athoroughly militarized state. Every male had to prove himself inbattle in order to advance beyond the lowest rungs of society.Birth was no guarantee. The greatest rewards in treasure and ofcewent to the nest warriors. Here again Tlacalel tied the Mexica toHuitzilopochtli, by emphasizing the custom that the successfulwarrior took captives to offer to the god. There was no premiumon killing, as such; Mesoamerican weapons were fully capable ofkilling, especially the favored obsidian-edged oak sword, but evenbetter suited to wounding exposed arms and legsand woundsmeant prisoners. The thick, brine-soaked quilted cotton suits ofbody armor were practically immune to underpowered missileand brittle slashing weapons. The efciency of obsidian as a cut-

8 m o n t e z u m a

ting weapon actually may have inhibited the development ofmetal weapons that would inict lethal stab wounds.

Before long there arose a large warrior class for whom war wasthe road to advancement, and entry to this class was open to talent.War quickly dominated Mexica society. For the ambitious, warfarebecame a necessity. The Mexica could not, however, be constantlyengaged in wars of conquest, known as arrow wars. Ambition re-quired another innovation. Tlacalel devised the ower war, toslake ambition and feed Huitzilopochtli as well. He challenged theirenemies to send champions to combat an equal number of Mexicaon a designated eld; both sides would have the opportunity toshow valor and take prisoners for sacrice.

Despite Tlacalels innovations in creating an imperial idea,fostering the cult of Huitzilopochtli, and militarizing Mexica so-ciety, the Mexica rulers followed traditional forms of conquest.Unlike the Romans or the Chinese, the Mexica did not incorpo-rate their conquests into a unied administrative system. Rather,on the Assyrian model, the Mexica allowed defeated states to keeptheir own ruling houses as long as they accepted vassal status andprovided stipulated tribute on a punctual and exact basis. This notonly eased the administrative burden but allowed vassal rulers toarm, train, organize, and lead their peoples to war. They were of-ten called upon to provide troops for Mexica wars. Nonetheless, arecurrent theme of Mexica history would be a constant necessityto stamp out revolts among vassals who took advantage of anyweakness in Tenochtitlan to shed fealty or found the burden oftribute beyond bearing.

Itzcoatls reign was spent in consolidating conquests in the Val-ley of Mexico. He was succeeded by his nephew, the prince Mote-cuhzoma, in 1440. Tlacalel and Motecuhzoma formed anextraordinarily effective team and together extended Mexica rulewell outside Anhuac. As the twenty-eighth year of Motecuh-zomas rule came to a close in 1468, the brothers could look backwith great satisfaction at their lives work. Tribute and tradeowed in unheard-of amounts from throughout the centralplateau of Mexico to the rich Hotlands along the gulf coast, andfrom as far away as the land of the Mixtec Cloud People in Oax-aca. Tenochtitlan was daily growing in size and magnicence; it


had long since outpaced any city in memory. In forty years thetwo men had transformed the Mexica from vassals so poor theironly possession of value was their stolen legacy of Toltec glory, tobecome the masters of mighty Tollan reborn.

Motecuhzoma wished Tlacalel to succeed him, but the Ci-huacoatl much preferred to be the power behind the throne andrefused. Instead, over the next twenty years he advanced theyoung grandsons of Motecuhzoma.

Axaycatl the Scourge

With Motecuhzoma in his grave, Tlacalel summoned Nezahual-coyotl of Texcoco and Totoquihuaztli of Tlacopan to join him inprivate in Tenochtitlan in 1469 to select the new tlatoani. By cus-tom, Nezahualcoyotl had the right to announce the selection beforethe assembled royal council, the lords and royal kin of the EagleClan. No one could have been more thunderstruck than the nine-teen year-old young man to whom Nezahualcoyotl pointed his n-ger. The Acolhua lord chose Axaycatl (Water Face), grandson ofMotecuhzoma through his daughter the fabled beauty Huitzil-xochtzin. His father was Prince Tezozomoctzin, grandson of Itz-coatl, Motecuhzomas own predecessor and uncle.

It was a shrewd choice. Axaycatl thus united the lines of therst two rulers and reinforced the elective nature of the monarchy,opposing any tendency to revert to primogeniture. Perhaps Tla-calel and Nezahualcoyotl hoped to control such a young man,but if that had been the case, the Cihuacoatl could have promotedone of his own sons.4 Already Axaycatl had, despite his youth,proven an able warrior and had held important junior com-mands.5 Perhaps it was this ability and its further potential thatthe old men had seen.

Axaycatl proved himself an aggressive and valorous ruler. Healso had the good sense to be guided by Tlacalel. His coronationwar took Mexica armies to the Pacic coast for the rst time, buthis rst real test came ve years later. Relations had broken downbetween the twin Mexica cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. In1473 he overwhelmed the Tlaletlolca in a lightning attack and cor-

10 m o n t e z u m a

nered their tlatoani in the citys temple of Huitzilopochtli. Axay-catl bounded up the pyramid, engaged him in single combat, andkicked his lifeless body down the steps he had just climbed.Tlatelolcos independence was extinguished; it was incorporatedinto Tenochtitlan, but it would remain the site of the great marketand the home of the far-ranging Mexica merchant class.

Two years later Axaycatl extended Mexica conquests to thewest into the buffer land beyond, where lay the Tarascan Empire,centered in Michoacn. Success only whetted Tlacalels appetite,and he encouraged further encroachment on the marches of theTarascans by conquering the few remaining buffer states in147778. The following year, he decided to attack the Tarascansdirectly. Axaycatl led an army of twenty-four thousand men butwas stunned to be confronted by forty thousand Tarascans shortlyafter his army crossed the border. The ensuing two-day battle wasthe greatest defeat in Mexica history. For the rst time in fortyyears, Mexica commanders advised retreat. They ed at night, theTarascans harrying them all the way back inside their own bor-ders. Of the host Axaycatl had brought to battle, fewer than onein ten survived.

No survivor maimed on the eld was more crippled than theyoung tlatoani himself, though he bore no mark upon his body.His defeat desolated him. In 1481 he became seriously ill and died,barely thirty-one years of age. Axaycatl was surely one of thetragic gures in Mexican history. Try as he might to follow in thefootsteps of Itzcoatl and Motecuhzoma, Axaycatl was too youngand unseasoned. His predecessors had each been mature and ex-perienced men when they came to the throne. They also hadknown how to employ Tlacalels genius. That genius, now of leg-endary power, had dominated if not smothered this young tla-toanis talent, rather than develop it. Unchecked by the cooljudgment of a more mature ruler, Axaycatl had responded to Tla-calels bold imperialism with recklessness in pressing the TarascanWar. So crushing was the defeat that it would be over thirty yearsbefore the Mexica would seek another war with the Tarascans,against whom they now constructed their only fortied frontier.

Among his many children, Axaycatl left behind a son barelyfourteen years old, already known for his intelligence and devo-


tion to Huitzilopochtli. Axaycatl had named him after his ownillustrious grandfatherMotecuhzoma, the Angry Lord.

Ahutzotl, the Lion of AnhuacTlacalel guided the Eagle Council to appoint Axaycatls olderbrother Tizoc as his successor in 1481. As Tlacochcalcatl he was thepresumptive heir. An able soldier, he was a surprisingly unambi-tious tlatoani. The pace of conquest slowed to a halt. Happily forthe Mexica, Tizoc died suddenly in the fth year of his reign, in1486, as he was being carried from his palace; blood suddenlygushed from the mouth, and he died. The chronicles spoke of regi-cide, though no convincing indictments are recorded. Tlacalel ap-pears to have regretted his support of Tizoc. Perhaps the oldimperialists advice had been particularly unwelcome to someonemore interested in gardens than battleelds. The Snake Womanwas the ideological founder of the Mexica imperial idea. He hadbeen there at the beginning; his companions had been heroes. Ax-aycatl had failed in battle, but his valor had washed away defeat.Tizoc was a living insult to Tlacalel and his lifes work, and thatlifes work was now clearly threatened by the slowing of Mexica ex-pansion. By 1486 Tlacalel was eighty-eight years old but still lucidand respected. The only one who would have dared to strike at aking was the kingmaker himself.

Tlacalel threw his support to the last of Motecuhzomas grand-sons, Ahutzotl (Water Beast), for the succession. The electors ofthe Eagle Clan were alarmed that Tlacalel was nominating an-other young man, this one so young that he was still in school andhad not even been to war. So vehement was the opposition thatTlacalel could not ram his selection through but had to refer theissue to Nezahualpilli, son of Nezahualcoyotl and king of Texcoco.Nezahualpilli had acquired a growing reputation for statesmanshipand wisdom, and he had inherited his fathers role as the ofcialnominator of the tlatoani. He now nominated Tlacalel, whose re-fusal was a remarkable indication of his real power: Have I beennothing? Why have I not put the diadem upon my head, why haveI not worn the royal insignia? Have all the orders I have given beennull and void? . . . If I could do these things, and I have been do-


ing them for eighty or ninety years, I am then a king and you haveheld me as such. What more of king could I have been? And it willcontinue so until my death. He calmed the electors fears, how-ever, by assuring them that he would act as regent.6

Ahutzotl was literally plucked from school to assume the du-ties of tlatoani. Tlacalel selected for his coronation campaign thecrushing of a revolt by cities conquered by his father. It was an ap-prehensive army that watched the arrival of the young ruler. Yetthe boy proved to be precociously able and valiant, a consummateleader of men, a superb tactician, strategist, and logisticianthevery denition of the Mexica warlike ideal. In every way, he was toprove worthy of the titles given by later historiansThe Mexi-can Alexander, The Lion of Anhuac. He wore the insignia ofHuitzilopochtli, the rst Mexica tlatoani to do so. Also during hisreign occurred the rst blatant efforts to assign to Huitzilopochtlithe attributes of other gods, particularly Tetzcatlipoca, the ancienthead of the pantheon and rival of Quetzalcoatl.

Ahutzotl went from one victory to another in the next year, re-vitalizing the empires morale and fearsome reputation. Barely ayear after his accession to the throne, he determined, to Tlacalelsjoy, to nish the latest reconstruction of the Great Temple.Mesoamerican temples marked the points on earth of divine con-uences of heaven, earth, and the underworld. New layers wereadded to existing structures in ever-greater magnicence to con-rm and enhance this conuence. This temple pyramid had twoshrines on its summitto Tlaloc, god of rain and fertility, and toHummingbird. The temple itself was located within a huge walledcompound called the Sacred Square, lled with other temples,shrines, priestly schools, and residences.

The Enemies of the House, the powerful states to the east ofAnhuac, were quick to accept invitations to participate, undersafe conduct, in the rededication. The population of Tenochtitlanswelled to over a half million, Ahutzotl having ordered the entirepopulations of neighboring cities to swell the crowds of Mexica.He emptied the citys warehouses of a years tribute to show off thewealth of the empire. Before himself and his royal guests were pa-raded 80,400 war prisoners and slaves.

The next day the three rulers of the Triple Alliance, dressed in a


blinding array of gold and royal blue mantles and loincloths, as-cended the Great Temple in the company of the eighty-nine-yearold Tlacalel. Then the captives began to ascend the 114 steps of thepyramid, which took them 106 feet above the precinct oor.7 Soar-ing another fty-six feet into the air were the twin temples. At thetop of the stairs, priests seized the captives and bent them back-ward over stones of sacrice, arching their chests upward. Withpracticed slashes, the kings sliced open the chests of their victims,then reached in and pulled out the steaming, still-beating hearts.Blood dripped down their arms as they offered the hearts to thesun and the idols of the gods. Again and again the knives ashedamid red blood spray until the kings grew tired, to be replaced byrelays of priests. The killing went on from dawn to dusk for fourdays in a constant fountainlike spray of blood.8

The streams of human blood that ran down the steps of thetemple were so vast that when they reached the bottom andcooled they formed terrifying clots. Priests went about gatheringthis blood in large gourds, taking it to the different temples of thewards and smearing it on the walls, lintels, and thresholds. Theyalso smeared the idols and the rooms of the temple both insideand out, and the stench of the blood was so strong that it was un-bearable. It had a sour, abominable smell that became unen-durable for the people of the city.9

The dead were cast down the sides of the temple to be decapi-tated and dismembered by deft teams of butchers. Parts of thebodies were distributed to warriors who had taken prisoners, to betaken home, ritually cooked, and eaten as a form of commun-ion. Ahutzotl ordered the existing skull rack in the templeprecinct destroyed and a new one built to exhibit all the newskulls, now so abundant. Still, the remaining mounds of humanesh presented an awkward problem; it was temporarily solved bycasting the headless corpses into the surrounding lagoon.10 Foronce, the faultless Mexica sense of logistical organization brokedown. The bodies corrupted in the still waters and bred a pesti-lence that carried off many of the Mexica themselves.

Ahutzotl had executed a death-soaked propaganda tour deforce. He had gathered his enemies in one place, overwhelmedthem with the endless riches of his empire, and then stunned them


with its ruthlessness. All the time he bore himself with a humbleopen-handedness toward men ostensibly his equals in kingship. Infact, he had morally disarmed them more thoroughly than had hebeaten them in the eld. As they departed in silence, Tlacalel re-marked to Ahutzotl that the memory of what they had seen therewould long outlast the treasures that lled their canoes. Let our en-emies go and tell their people what they have seen.11

For the next fteen years Ahutzotl cut a blood-soaked paththrough Mexico, taking his conquests boldly up to the borders ofthe Tarascan Empire in the west and farther up the Gulf of Mexicocoast in the east than any Mexica army had ever gone before. Hehammered his way through the Mixtec lands and took his invinci-ble armies as far south as Soconosco, along the Pacic coast on theborder of Guatemala. No Mesoamerican army had ever traveled sofara host of two hundred thousand men had marched 2,300kilometers, and all on foot. Year after year, endless columns of pris-oners, loot, and tribute owed into Tenochtitlan.

The Tlatoanis NephewAhutzotl consistently had watched the career of his brothers sonMotecuhzoma with care. His nephew was only a few yearsyounger, and they may have already been friends. Ahutzotl sawthat the young man had ability and that his reputation as bothpriest of Huitzilopochtli and warrior grew steadily. The young tla-toani was eager to surround himself with talent.

Ahutzotl quickly arranged a marriage for Motecuhzoma. Thebride was a princess from Tollan, of impeccable Toltec descent andgreat beauty. Every effort was made to nd such women for mar-riage into the Eagle Clan in order to strengthen the Toltec blood-line. Her name was Tezalco; and she was praised for her beauty bypoets as the gliding jewel of the palace. She would be his Wifeof the Mat, his principal wife throughout his life. Though hewould take countless concubines and diplomatic wives, she wouldremain the wife of his heart.

Promotion followed one upon the other. By 1497, Motecuh-zoma, at thirty years of age, had proven himself on many battle-elds and in councils of the Eagle Clan. He had showed himself an


outstanding organizer and an equally good battleeld commander.His advice was remarked upon for its shrewd good sense. Ahutzotlappointed him Tlacochcalcatl about that time and thereby put theturquoise diadem within reach. The position of Tlacochcalcatl hadoften been the nal step before the throne. Succession was notguaranteed; the Eagle Clan still considered the position of tlatoanito be an elective ofce, lled from among the most able of the royalkin. In the next ve years, Motecuhzoma organized and led in per-son many of Ahutzotls campaigns. Only victory attended his ef-forts, a record noted by many of the electors of the Eagle Clan.

With ofce came wealth and privilege. Besides a great residencein Tenochtitlan, he built a summer palace on the slopes above Tol-lan from which to contemplate the religious and historical impor-tance of his Toltec origins. He built a more comfortable summerpalace beyond the mountains ringing Anhuac in the forests nearChololln (Cholula). Here again he drew close to his heritage, forChololln was the cult center of Quetzalcoatl. The name Cholol-ln means the place of the ightit had been there that Quet-zalcoatl rst ed after his expulsion from Tollan. The mightiestpyramid temple in all Mesoamerica1,300 feet on a side and twohundred feet tallhad been raised there. The structure comprisedve temples superimposed one upon another over the space of sixhundred years.12

At Chololln Motecuhzoma drank in the stories and prophe-cies of the Feathered Serpent. Although Tlacalel had not placedany emphasis on Quetzalcoatl or his return to claim his birthright,the prophecy was a critical element in Motecuhzomas worship inChololln. It permeated Motecuhzomas sense of the god and de-votion to him. What Tlacalel had passed over, Motecuhzomatook to heart. It was the worm in the golden glory of empire. Forall that devotion to Quetzalcoatl, Motecuhzoma had nonethelessbecome a priest of Huitzilopochtli early in life, following his un-cles example. The conict he felt between Huitzilopochtlis de-mand for endless blood and Quetzalcoatls abhorrence of humansacrice would surface much later.

Motecuhzomas ofce also allowed him to take more wives, buthe chose only one more wife of the mat, another beauty namedAcatlan, whose name meant Besides the Reeds, because her gen-


tleness was like the swaying of reeds in the breeze. She and Tezalcoapparently got along well, no doubt because they had separateapartments in their palaces.

Given his nearness in age to Ahutzotl and the tlatoanis goodhealth, Motecuhzoma may well have considered his chances tosucceed his uncle slight. When the time came many years in thefuture, he likely presumed, younger men, perhaps Ahutzotls ownsons, would bypass him. In 1500, however, the tlatoani embarkedon yet another campaign, this time to borders of the fabled wealthof Guatemala. Upon his return, he suddenly fell ill with a wastingdisease that reduced him to a living skeleton, skin stretched overbones. He died in 1502, still in his early thirties. For Motecuh-zoma, in his prime, the turquoise diadem was now within reach.


18

2

There Was Dread in theWorld

The Election of the TlatoaniThe electors of the empire met to pick Ahutzotls successor theday after his ashes had been interred in the Great Temple. As washis right, Nezahualpilli, lord of Texcoco and son of Nezahual-coyotl, addressed the assembled lords. First he spoke of the im-portance of the ofce they would soon ll.

With your vote and consent we are to choose the luminary that is togive us light like one of the suns rays. We are to choose a mirror inwhich we will be reected, a mother who will hold us to her breasts,a father who will carry us on his shoulders, and a prince who will ruleover the Aztec nation. He will be the shelter and refuge of the poor,of widows and orphans, and he will have pity upon those who goabout day and night in the wilderness working for their sustenance.1

Then he spoke of the array of candidates, one of the greatstrengths of Mexica kingship. This is the one that you must elect,O mighty lords. Look about you, as there is much to see! You are

surrounded by all the Aztec nobles. . . . They are the jewels andprecious stones which fell from the throats and wrists of thoseroyal men. Emphasizing the elective nature of the monarchy, heexplained that Axaycatl and Tizoc had left many bold and spir-ited sons, but that if the council was still not sure of them, it couldchoose from the many descendants of past kings. Extend yourhands, point out your favorite, since anyone you indicate will be astrong wall against our enemies.2

The tlatoani of Tlacopan spoke next, reminding the councilof the need to elect a mature man. The empire had expandedquickly, perhaps too quickly, under Ahutzotl and could not af-ford another young and inexperienced tlatoani. The early favoriteamong the electors was Macuilmalinaltzin, Axaycatls oldest sonand Nezahualpillis son-in-law. He was also the favorite of the mil-itary elite. Popular with his peers and noted for chivalrous love ofcombat, he was the Hotspur of the imperial court.3 His nomina-tion fell between the ambitions of the rival warrior caste andpriesthood of Huitzilopochtli.

So powerful had the priesthood become that it now openlycontested for power with the warriors. The iron will of Tlacalelwas gone from their counsels of the electors for the rst time, andfor the rst time the factions clashed. The forces that he had set inmotion over sixty years before were reeling toward a dangerouscrossroads. The priests argued that Macuilmalinaltzin did not dis-play the solemn and severe dignity of a tlatoani. Even Neza-hualpilli argued that priesthood was essential for the new tlatoani.For the rst time, a sword thrown onto the scales of imperialelection did not win the day. In the end, it was the choice ofthe priesthood that triumphedMotecuhzoma Xocoyotl (theYounger) eighth son of Axaycatl, and great grandson of the rstMotecuhzoma. At thirty-four years of age, he had served bril-liantly as the Tlacochcalacatl, captain general, in Ahutzotls lastcampaigns.

Motecuhzoma was a bold and spirited commander, an indispen-sable attribute for a Mexica tlatoani, but he was also a high priest ofHuitzilopochtli. He stood out even among that small elite with anextraordinary reputation for piety. Ahutzotl had worn the insignia

t h e r e wa s d r e a d i n t h e w o r l d 19

of priests, but Motecuhzoma was the rst priest to succeed to thethrone. He had been steeped in the imperial cult of Huitzilopochtlisince childhood and possessed a philosophical bent of mind sharedby none of his predecessors. As a sop to the warriors, Macuilma-linaltzin was designated next in line of succession.

The messengers of the electors found Motecuhzoma in his ownspecially appointed room in the Shrine of the Eagles within theSacred Square. At the moment of accession to the throne, heseemed to match the description of the perfect ruler recited in thelessons of the young.

The ruler is a sheltererce, revered, famous, esteemed; well re-puted, renowned.

The good ruler is a protector; one who carries his subjects in hisarms, who unites them, who brings them together. He rules, takesresponsibilities, assumes burdens. He carries his subjects in his cape;he bears them in his arms. He governs; he is obeyed. To him as ashelter, as a refuge, there is recourse.4

He thanked his electors with great modesty and with the rea-soned eloquence for which he was famous,

I would indeed be blind, most noble king, if I did not perceive thatyou have spoken thus, simply to do me honour; not withstandingthe presence of so many ne and noble men in this kingdom, youhave chosen me, the most inadequate of all for this calling. I possessfew accomplishments required for such an arduous task, and knownot what I may do, save to rely upon the Lord of Creation to favourme, and to beg all those present that they may give their support tothese my supplications.5

He then mounted the steps of Huitzilopochtlis temple with theelectors, and in front of the shrine, he bled himself with sharp ob-sidian from ears and legs as sacrice to the god. By coincidence theday was 14 May 1503, the very day his grandfather, MotecuhzomaI, had accepted the throne sixty-eight years before.

Fangs and Claws of the GodThis modesty quickly slipped away in his rst actto ll the of-ce of Cihuacoatl, the ofce from which Tlacaelel had guided the



growth of the empire as a shadow king. He shocked the Mexica byappointing Tlacalels son, not on merit but because he was in di-rect line to inherit.

Then he summoned the new Snake Woman and ordered himto dismiss all the palace household of Ahutzotl. He explained thathis uncle had appointed too many commoners to these positionsand that it was undignied and unworthy of a king to be servedby lowly people. He was the representative of Huitzilopochtli,and only the nest blood was worthy of attending him. He alsowished to teach the sons of the nobility the arts of government.

The Cihuacoatl attempted to remonstrate: Great Lord, youare wise and powerful, and certainly you are able to do all that youwill; but to me it seems that this may be taken amiss, because peo-ple will judge that you wish to denigrate former monarchs by un-doing their works.6

Motecuhzoma was not dissuaded and ordered him to searchout the nest of the young nobility to train in the imperial serv-ice. He was to exclude anyone born of a slave or illegitimate, evenshould it be the tlatoanis own brother. The Snake Woman duti-fully found one hundred suitable young men, going so far as tomeasure them all personally to arrive at a pleasing uniformity ofheight. The young men were instructed in their duties and threat-ened with death for even the most minor failings. Then Mote-cuhzoma summarily dismissed all the men raised up byAhuitzotlmembers of his household staff, followed by all theward heads, royal ofcials, and captains of hundreds of commonbirth. Almost as an afterthought, he had them all killed.

Nigel Davies points to two obsessive motivations. Motecuh-zoma was extremely sensitive to Ahutzotls immense popularity; acold and rigid man, he must have seen his uncles charm andcharisma as a constant reproach. He also had a stark class con-sciousness that completely overrode common sense,7 best ex-pressed in his own words:

Because, just as precious stones appear out of place among poor andwretched ones, so those of royal blood seem ill-assorted amongpeople of low extraction. And consequently, just as humble feathersdo not look well alongside rich ones, so the plumes that came fromgreat lords ill behoove workers and their sons.8


However artful his metaphors, the most telling expression ofhis class attitude was his massacre of the ofcials and ofcers oflow birth. At one stroke he had destroyed much of an experiencedand capable imperial administration to satisfy this prejudice. Hewas striking at his uncles memory a second time, as the Cihua-coatl had hinted, because Ahutzotl had advanced so many menon sheer merit. Motecuhzoma had the pleasure of accepting intohis service the sons of men whom Ahutzotl had dismissed in fa-vor of more capable commoners. He even turned his class atti-tudes to language; he ordered that only pure Nhuatl could bespoken in his presence.9

His actions favoring the nobility may have been clear policydecisions playing one class off against another in order to but-tress the power of the tlatoani. The rapid rise of commoners un-der Ahutzotls merit policy had disrupted the hierarchicalstructure of the state. While this argument is surely a part of theanswer, it gives too little credence to Motecuhzomas blatantlymegalomaniacal nature and seething personal insecurity. At thesame time, his insecurity was evident in his demand to put hisimmediate environment under absolute control. Everywhere ishis insistence on orderliness, routine, and formality. He killedwithout compunction for the most minor disruptions of thisclosely controlled world. His attacks on the legacy of his prede-cessor can be seen as a visceral reaction to a dynamic personalitythat seemed an enormous threat even from the grave.

Durn recorded another measure when he asked an old Mex-ica, decades after the death of Motecuhzoma, what the tlatoanihad looked like. The old man recoiled, Father, I will not lie toyou or tell you about things which I do not know. I never saw hisface! Motecuhzoma had decreed death to anyone who lookedhim in the face. The same act within his own household was aneven greater offense for it was committed in the house of God.The penalty was death by being shot with arrows or burnedalive.10 His religious preoccupation was clearly leading to a merg-ing of the person of the tlatoani with that of a deity. The prohibi-tion to look upon his face was just such an example. Commonersand the lesser nobility had always been forbidden to look upon

the image of Huitzilopochtli. Now they were forbidden to lookupon the face of the tlatoani. Even his seal was carved in Hum-mingbirds likeness. His status was made all too clear in the wordsof his lords:

Although you are our friend and fellow, son and brother, we do notcount ourselves as your equal; nor do we consider you to be a man,because you are now possessed of the person, appearance, familiar-ity of our lord god, who speaks to us and teaches us through you; hismouth is your mouth; his tongue is your tongue; his face is yourface; his ears are your ears. He endows you with authority and givesyou fangs and claws, that you may be feared and held in utmost rev-erence.11

No other tlatoani had dared go so far as to confuse himself withthe godhead. It was a fundamental break with Mexica tradition. Al-though Tlacalel had been pushing Huitzilopochtli steadily into theupper reaches of the Mesoamerican pantheon for half a century,Motecuhzoma made an enormous leap from that point to assumeHuitzilopochtlis earthly manifestation. It was more than a theolog-ical revolution. It was social revolution that would fundamentallyrealign Mexica society. Heretofore, the tlatoani had been elected asthe best man among a numerous clan of equal claimants. It hadbeen a rough equality that had steadied the tlatoani by making themappreciate the advice of men who felt they had the rank and theright to give it. Now that safety check on arbitrary behavior was sac-rilege, and its punishment was certain death.

As time went on, there would be indications that Motecuh-zoma was not even satised with his personal divinity. As hisworld rushed toward its fate in the next two decades, it was putabout that Huitzilopochtli was not just the head of the pantheon,he was the only god.12

Imperial Politics

Nezahualpilli was not the only lord who came to regret his sup-port for Motecuhzomas election, but he was the most powerful.As lord of Texcoco, he ranked second among the three tlatoani of


the Triple Alliance. He and his father before him had felt a grow-ing apprehension in the overbearing Mexica domination of the al-liance. Texcoco, as the cultural capital of the empire, was sensitiveto Mexica bullying, and its leading men soon began to form anopposition.

That was evident in the position of Motecuhzomas brotherand rival for the throne, Macuilmalinalitzin, who lived with andhad come to identify with his wifes family, the royals of Texcoco.He was the overwhelming favorite of the Texcocan lords, despiteNezahualpillis support for Motecuhzoma. Support for Macuil-malinaltzin and opposition to Motecuhzoma, especially after hisassumption of godhead became obvious, coalesced into the samemovement.

Motecuhzomas attitude to Texcoco was already poisoned. Hisfather had given a sister, Chachiunenetzin, to Nezahaulpilli to tiehim closer to the Mexica and to breed his heir. Instead, the youngwomen demonstrated the uncontrollable passions of a Messalina,lling her palace with statutes of the young men with whom shehad cuckolded her husband. Eventually, Nezahualpilli discoveredher Messalina-like indelities. As with his father, he would give noprivilege to his family but make of them the most painful exampleto the impartiality of the laws. He would make of it no privatescandal but rub it into the nose of the Mexica. He sent the an-nouncement of her trial to every city in the empire and to the En-emies of the House as well. The trial was public and the verdictdeath. The queen and her lovers were garroted and then burned.Her complicit staff was also executed.

Motecuhzoma and his sons never forgot the public insult butcould do nothing for the crime itself was so blatant that even thepeasantry knew the punishment. With Texcoco clearly in opposi-tion, he sought other allies closer to home. He had only to look atTenochtitlans northern twin, Tlatelolco. His own father had sub-dued it in the Mexica civil war, slain its ruler, and deled andclosed its temple to Huitzilopochtli. Tlatelolco, however, was theeconomic heart of the Mexica and the home of its far-ranging andrich merchant class, the pochteca. Their subordination chaffed,and they were eager to exercise the power that their wealth andstatus as fellow Mexica called for.


Before he departed on his coronation campaign, Motecuh-zoma summoned the lords of Tlatelolco and stated that just be-cause his predecessors had remitted the tribute they owed, hewould not. They were lucky he did not demand back tribute. Atthe same time, he lifted all the penalties his father had imposed onthem, allowed them to restore their temple and their status asmembers of the ruling race. They responded with massive provi-sions for his campaign and became pillars of his rule. He never re-mitted their tribute or anyone elses, however. Tribute was anonnegotiable symbol of submission.

Motecuhzoma now focused on his brother. As his designatedsuccessor, Macuilmalinalitzin, would be the obvious beneciaryof Motecuhzomas own assassination. To move against him di-rectly would sunder the Alliance in civil war. He employed the in-direct approach, challenging Heuxotzinco in 1508 to conduct aower war. He then assigned Texcoco to defend the honor of theTriple Alliance on the designated eld of Atlixco. Motecuhzomahad done more than simply challenge Heuxotzinco; he secretlyasked them to break the rules of the ower war and ght an arrowwar instead. Macuilmalinaltzin led the forces of Texcoco to theeld, only to be assaulted by a larger group of enemy, who werethere to kill. The surprised Texcocans were overwhelmed, and2,800 were slaughtered. Two of Motecuhzomas other brotherswere killed in ight, an unheard of ignominy for a member of theroyal house. Macuilmalinaltzin himself was captured, but ratherthan be dragged back to Huexotzinco for sacrice, he broke free ofhis captors, seized a weapon, and waded into his enemies withsuch fury that they had to kill him. Motecuhzomas treacherycould not be kept secret. It became the subject of common knowl-edge and song. The treachery compounded the utter defeat of aTriple Alliance army, unprecedented since the destruction of Ax-aycatls army at the hands of the Tarascans more than twenty-veyears before. News of it spread until it rocked the empire andsparked revolts that required enormous efforts to suppress. Thenews also encouraged the Enemies of the House to band togetherfor a protracted struggle against the Mexica.

Motecuhzomas strategic vision was cast much lower and re-mained oblivious to the consequences for the empire. He was en-


tirely focused on consolidating power within the power structureof the empire. With much of his opposition dead on the eld ofAtlixo, he swiftly moved to crush the rest of it. He dismissed thecouncil of the empire; he would now make all his decisions in iso-lation, but then when did a god need advice? A purge of ofcials,generals, and local rulers whose loyalty was in question followed,all part of the ongoing effort to surround himself with only thepurest blood. He reached even farther down the social ladder andbanned higher education in the calmeacac schools to all but thesons of the nobility. There would be no upward mobility to upsetthe tightly controlled world he was creating.

Nezahualpilli now had much reason to hate Motecuhzoma andbitterly reproach himself for supporting his election. Deepmourning had fallen upon Texcoco after the massacre at Atlixo,no more so than within his own household. His moment for re-venge came within months and in the person of Tezozmoc, lordof Azcapotzalco and a father-in-law to Motecuhzoma. Tezozmochad been accused of adultery; Motecuhzoma had no choice but tohave him tried. The judges convicted him but inched at deliver-ing the necessary sentence of death to the father-in-law of the manwho was becoming a god. Instead he was merely banished and hispalace demolished. Nezahualcoyotl publicly declared that thejudges had failed in their duty and claimed jurisdiction as a rulingmember of the Triple Alliance. Tezozmocs enemies had alreadydecided the judges verdict had been awed and added to it bycutting off the end of his nose. Nezahualcoyotls judges tried himin absentia and passed his death sentence. He was hunted down inexile and killed. At the same time, Nezahualpilli drove the lessonhome by sending his assassins to murder a favored nephew ofMotecuhzoma.13

He Governs; He Is ObeyedMotecuhzomas exactitude extended to the administration of jus-tice. He was merciless to corrupt judges and was said to disguisehimself to hear their verdicts. He was unusually severe in his ownjudgments. On one occasion when hunting he plucked a few earsof ripe maize from a peasants garden and then entered the mans


house, emptied by the terror of Motecuhzomas name. He orderedthe householder presented to him. When the man had kissed theearth in obeisance, he then straightened up and asked how the tla-toani himself was in possession of stolen corn. Shamed by the justreproof of a man normally forbidden even to look upon him,Motecuhzoma removed his mantle, worth an entire village, anddraped it around the shoulders of the peasant. The following day,he ordered the peasant brought to him before his court and saidthat this was the man who had taken his mantle. Calming theshouts of outrage, he explained, This miserable fellow has morecourage and strength than all those here present, because he daredto tell me that I had broken my laws, and he spoke the truth.14

A descendant of Motecuhzoma would tell another story. Thetlatoani frequently went about in disguise to see that the laws wereobeyed. On one occasion he left his summer palace on foot dis-guised as a nobleman to seek quiet in a wood. He heard the soundof chopping and discovered a peasant cutting the wood of a deadtree. The man defensively stated that his family needed the wood,and in the old days it had been the right of the common people toharvest the dead trees. But now the boundaries of the imperial for-est were moving ever outward. Motecuhzoma marveled at themans boldness, for his actions could lead to his maiming or evendeath. The man went farther and complained that the tlatoanistaxes and labor exactions were crushing and Motecuhzoma himselfoverbearing in his use of power. Motecuhzoma marveled evenmore and commanded the man to present himself at the palace thenext day. The mans parting words were that he expected no justiceat the court but would come. He gave his name as Xochitlac.

He arrived at the palace good to his word and was commandedto stand at the foot of the stairs. He bowed and trembled when hesaw a man in the regalia of the tlatoani himself descending thestairs. Still, he had the presence of mind to kiss the earthtokneel on one knee, put his palm to the earth, and then kiss it. Hethen poured dirt into his hair. Only when the tlatoani spoke didthe man realize that it was the nobleman he had met in the woods.Motecuhzoma kindly touched him and told him to have no fear.The tlatoanis servants placed gifts of clothing and jewels beforethe farmer. He did not resist when the servants bored through the


septum of his nose to place a jeweled ornament and through thelower lip to insert a costly lip plug. The servants wrapped a nemantel around him and placed a brilliant feathered headdressupon him. The priests ceremoniously painted his face. Then thetlatoani called for the elders of the city of Azcapotzalco on the lakeshore and presented them their new chief, Xochitlacotzin, hisname now adorned with the honoric tzin, the sign of nobility.15

The Coronation WarMotecuhzoma may have been elected tlatoani, but his coronationawaited the successful conduct of a war. He decided to wage hiscoronation war against the cities of Nopallan and Icpatepec to thesouthwest along the Pacic coast of Oaxaca. These cities had re-fused to pay tribute, thinking they could defy the Mexica, as didTlaxcallan. One day into the march, Motecuhzoma ordered theCihuacoatl to return to Tenochtitlan and execute all the tutors ofhis children and all the court ladies attendant upon his wives andconcubines. Snake Woman returned with obvious misgivings butpromptly complied with his orders. Motecuhzoma had sent spiesback to the capital to ensure that this was done. In these acts, heset the tone for his reign. He instilled fear with sudden and inex-plicable executions, tested the loyalty of his ministers, and con-stantly checked to see if orders had been executed precisely. Noremonstrations, delays, or supplications were ever permitted.

Mexica scouts moving ahead of the army inltrated Nopallanand Icpatepec at night to appraise their defenses. Apparently thesecities had erected signicant fortications, something unusual inMesoamerican warfare. Moreover, his enemies chose not to con-test the issue before their cities but to rely on their walls. Mote-cuhzoma ordered the construction of several hundred scalingladders. Driven to excel the legendary Ahutzotl, Motecuhzomaled the attack at Nopallan decked in plumes so resplendent thathe appeared to be ying, and bounded up the rst ladder himselfand fought his way over the parapet.16 The army followed him ina rush that owed over the walls like a reverse waterfall, over-whelmed the enemy, and then thoroughly sacked the city. Mote-cuhzoma ordered the execution of everyone over the age of fty,


stating that it had been the older people who had led the cities torebellion.17 As the lords of Nopallan abased themselves beforehim, he warned that he would punish any future rebellion withtheir extermination. The other cities in the rebellious area sufferedthe same fate. The victorious Mexica army dragged 5,100 prison-ers home in its wake, all destined for the stone of sacrice.

Upon his return, Motecuhzoma rested at a pleasure gardenoutside the capital but ordered his entourage of kings and gener-als to proceed. He ordered Snake Woman to receive them with allthe ceremony he had set out. When they had gone, he secretlyboarded a canoe with six paddlers and entered the city at night. Inhiding he watched that the ceremonies were carried out with com-mendable precision. Only then did he reveal himself.

To his coronation, Motecuhzoma invited the Enemies of theHouse, and they all came, even the ruler of Michocan. He enter-tained them lavishly but secretly, as had his predecessors. Thistime, though, not even the kings of Texcoco and Tlacopan, his the-oretical equals in the Triple Alliance, were informed. The corona-tion was celebrated with a four-day feast, and each night there wasa great dance in which the enemy kings participated. Before theyemerged from their apartments, every light in the palace was putout, and they danced only to the shadowy glow of braziers. Whenthey nished to disappear into their apartments, the torches wererelit to make the palace glow like midday. On the fth day, the sac-rice of prisoners in their thousands began. The nal event was amass hallucinogenic party, in which the thousands of dignitaries inattendance fed on mushrooms. After everyone had recovered, theenemy kings departed in secret and under escort, laden with richgifts, designed for the fancy of each guest. Motecuhzoma thereafterinvited his enemies to three great feasts a year. The Tlaxcallans in-vited him in turn, but he seldom attended in person.

An Imperial LifestyleMotecuhzomas sense of his exalted status demanded that hispalace, his house of god, be more splendid than anything thathad ever graced Anhuac or the farthest-ung corner of his em-pire. Years in the building, it would stun the Spaniards in its size


and grandeur. Europe would not see so imposing a pile for an-other 150 years, when Louis XIV built Versailles. It probably re-mains the largest state residence ever built in the Americas,covering six acres.

The palace rose on a great ten-foot platform adjacent to the Sa-cred Square to the south, bound by canals to the north and westand facing a great plaza to the east. The platform was designed toprotect the structure from the oods that had ruined much of thecity in the past and to give it a more impressive height. The wallswere built of the red volcanic stone of the region, faced andoored in many places with alabaster. The rst oor housed theadministrative center of the empire and the public places of thecourt. On the second oor were the imperial apartments.

A set of steep steps led to the entrance, over which Mote-cuzhomas coat of arms was inset, an eagle bearing an ocelot in itstalons. The vast bulk of the structure was relieved by numerousporticoed courtyards either gay with brilliantly colored awnings orsparkling with owers and ponds lled with water lilies. Fountainssprayed in the clear air, fed by the aqueduct from Chapultepec,which also supplied numerous baths. Rooms were roofed withwondrously carved, sweet-smelling beams of cedar. Floors werecovered with intricate reed mats. The ne plastered walls werebright with paintings or brilliant wall hangings of cloth and feath-ers. Many of the rooms were immense in dimension, though notof great height. Some were able to accommodate a thousand ormore men. Crowds of brilliantly attired courtiers thronged itshalls, fragrant with incense. One conquistador wrote that hewalked for days on end through the edice and never saw it all. Sovast was the roof that he said thirty knights could easily havefought jousts across it. Fifteen years later Corts would enthusias-tically write to the king of Spain that there was nothing in Spainto compare to it in grandeur and quality.18

The residence of the imperial family housed not only the tla-toani, his two wives, and their children but hundreds of secondarywives and concubines and their children. One conquistador re-ported that Motecuhzoma had fathered 150 children. The twoprincipal wives, Tezalco and Acatlan, each continued to maintainseparate households within the palace.


Despite the number of children that Motecuhzoma wouldeventually sire, children had been denied to Tezalco for almost tenyears since their marriage. Finally in 1509 Tezalco gave birth to adaughter who would be her fathers favorite. On the fourth dayshe was named Tecuichpo, and Montezuma consulted her horo-scope in the book of fate and found to his surprise that she wouldhave many husbands and would be lled with good fortune. Howsuch a break with Mexica custom could come about was beyondhim.19

In addition to this great palace, Motecuhzoma maintained nu-merous estates and specialized establishments in the city itself.One of them was a pleasure palace only slightly smaller than hisgreat palace, faced and oored with polished jasper and lled withbalconies, gardens, and pools swarming with waterfowl. Eachkind of bird was given its own special environment, and each wasfed the foods natural to it in the wild. Three hundred men wererequired to care for the birds. Motecuhzoma would lounge aboutthe balconies amusing himself at the sight of them. Within thispalace was a special room where albino men, women, and chil-dren were kept for the tlatoanis curiosity. Another great establish-ment was the imperial zoo, lled with individual structures tohouse birds of prey and other predators, as well as countless exoticbirds kept for their brilliant feathers. Each building was half-roofed in tiles, the other half covered with a ne latticework to al-low the animals access to the sun and shelter from inclementweather. Here another three hundred men were needed to main-tain the animals.

The most bizarre of Motecuhzomas establishments was theone where lived many deformed men and women, among whichwere dwarfs, hunchbacks, and others with other deformities; andeach manner of monstrosity had a room to itself; and likewisethere were people to look after them.20

Motecuhzoma required his vassal lords to build great homes inTenochtitlan and spend six months a year in the capital and in at-tendance upon him. The concentration of so many princelyhouseholds in Tenochtitlan attracted the creative genius ofMesoamerica in the arts, from architecture to poetry, and trans-formed the city into a truly cosmopolitan center, the rst in


Mesoamerican history on such a scale. Again, he predated LouisXIV, who would similarly keep the troublesome nobility of Francein orbit around him at Versailles. Motecuhzomas purpose was tokeep a close watch on these potentially dangerous men and awayfrom their bases of power. Six hundred of these lords were in con-stant attendance upon him in the palace.

It was an imperial court of the rst order. Its food operationwas on a massive scale as well, feeding all the lords and theirthrongs of servants until late at night. Food and drink were avail-able at any time for the lords. Three to four hundred boys wereemployed in simply serving the food at the great formal meals.Motecuhzoma was served countless dishes at each meal, each hotdish set upon a clay brazier to keep the food warm. A gildedwooden screen was placed in front of him when he ate. He wouldrarely take more than one bite from each dish and would sendportions of his favorite dishes to certain lords as a mark of his fa-vor. Before and after the meal they gave him water and a towelwhich once used was never used again.

Motecuhzoma went through four changes of garments eachday, each of them a creation of embroidered cotton so ne that theSpaniards would compare them to the nest silk weave. None ofthem were ever used a second time. Yet, the imitated elegance ofhis court was to be humbled before the tlatoani. Before cominginto his presence, his courtiers and other distinguished ofcerscovered their nery with garments of coarse, common weave.There were to be no stars that outshone the tlatoani himself. Eventhese, the greatest men of the empire, were not allowed to look di-rectly into his face but had to keep their gazes low and their pos-tures humble. When he infrequently left his palace, the throngsthrough which he passed prostrated themselves. Corts, observingthe state in which Motecuhzoma lived in 1519, wrote, I do notthink that the sultans nor any of the indel lords of whom wehave heard until now are attended with such ceremony.21


33

3

Arrow Wars and Flower Wars

Hammering Oaxaca

The rich Mixtec region of Tototepec along the Pacic coast of Oax-aca had been under assault by the Mexica for several generationsand had been much reduced in size. After his coronation war,Motecuhzoma directed his rst campaigns there. He led the armyin person, determined to excel the now-legendary Ahutzotl

His rst target, however, was chosen more by greed than policy.In 1503 he heard of a small, rare tlapalizquixochitl tree, belonging toMalinal, the Mixtec king of Tlachquiauhco. In a land already fa-mous for its fruit trees, the king had imported this tree at great costfor its blossoms, which were of exquisite fragrance and incompara-ble beauty. Motecuhzoma was determined to have it, even thoughTenochtitlans cold climate was unsuited for such a tropical plant.Nothing of such beauty could exist without his possessing it. Mote-cuhzoma demanded it of Malinal, who refused. That triggered aMexica attack. Malinal and many of his people died defending theircity, which was annexed to the empire along with all its subjecttowns. The tree was uprooted and died.

In 1504 Motecuhzoma challenged Tlaxcallan to a ower war.

The tlatoani led in person, only to see his Mexica bested. A rein-forcing army was defeated as well. Motecuhzoma dispensed withchivalry and led a massive invasion in an arrow war of conquest ofTlaxcallan, which also failed. It would not be the rst time hewould meet defeat at their hands. Nevertheless, each attack onTlaxcallan and the other Enemies of the House nibbled away attheir dependencies and closed a ring of Mexica vassals aroundthem.

Motecuhzoma restlessly looked to easier opportunities for con-quest in the Huaxyacac region of southern Oaxaca near the Isth-mus of Tehuantepec; he was brought one by lapidaries andmerchants of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. These workers anddealers in precious stones complained to him that the cost of thene grinding sand and polishing emery from Tototepec and Quet-zaltepec was far too high. Accordingly, he sent an embassy re-questing sand and emery, for which he would be willing to pay,offering rich mantles. Ostensibly he was asking for an outrightbusiness transaction, but the people of the region saw it for whatit really wasa demand for tributeand promptly killed the am-bassadors and closed their borders. Other merchants learned ofthe killings and brought word to the tlatoani. He sent other mer-chants in disguise to conrm the news.

Motecuhzoma mobilized a four-hundred-thousand man armyfor the 15051506 campaign season and marched directly on thetwo cities. Special commissary preparations were needed becauseof the huge host and the 1,300-kilometer round-trip distance. A -nal difcult approach march ended in the face of a river in fullood, with the enemy cities safely on the other side. The force ofthe river disconcerted his soldiers; their frustration was not helpedby the crowds of people from Tototepec and Quetzaltepec whogathered on the other side to jeer and taunt them. Motecuhzoma,who was the enemy of lost time, was not impressed and imme-diately ordered balsa wood rafts and portable bridges built. Thearmy crossed quickly at night and was breaking into Tototepec be-fore the inhabitants knew they were there. Motecuhzoma criedhavoc as his army rushed through the streets killing and burninguntil daylight, when he ordered the men back into ranks. Asidefrom the 1,250 captives taken for sacrice, only children nine years


of age and younger had been spared, on Motecuhzomas orders.Quetzaltepec also fell.

The next year, 1507, much of the region was in revolt, embold-ened by a severe Mexica defeat at the hands of Huexotzinco. Thecities of Yancuitlan and Tzotzollan went so far as to send chal-lenges to Motecuhzoma. He gathered two hundred thousand menand rapidly marched them into the rebellious region. From thesleeping city, scouts snatched a prisoner for interrogation. Thenext days attack struck the citys weaknesses and collapsed its de-fense. Motecuhzoma ordered its population put to the sword. Thepeople of Tzotzollan were not slow to react and completely evacu-ated their city, eeing so far that the Mexica scouts could nd notrace of them.1

The army marched on Quetzaltepec again in arms against theMexica. As usual, scouts moved ahead to reconnoiter the city, butcould nd no entry through its six sets of encircling walls. The citywas now thoroughly alarmed and determined not to try the issuein open battle with the Mexica but to trust to its walls. Motecuh-zoma faced a serious dilemma. Quetzaltepec was probably one ofthe best-fortied sites in Mexico, a daunting prospect for an armyunused to assaulting fortications. Because of subsistence prob-lems, Mesoamerican armies could not sustain long sieges. If hebroke off the siege, the stronghold would remain a center of re-bellion. The solution was bold, decisive action. He ordered twohundred scaling ladders built. Over three days the contingentsfrom Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan assaulted the city fromthree directions. Finally, under a hail of darts, arrows, and stones,assault parties scaled the walls and forced a breach through whichthe army poured. Only the women and children were spared.Motecuhzoma continued the march through the region, subduingmany cities and dragging a growing train of prisoners. The city ofTeuctepec alone yielded 2,800 sacricial victims. Incredibly, theghting men of Teuctepec left the protection of their four encir-cling walls to test the Mexica in open battle. The entire campaignstretched over 1,400 kilometers and seventy-four days.2

Another campaign was found in the Mixtec lands in theprovince of Amatlan in 1509, but so many men perished in a bliz-zard crossing a mountain range that too few remained to bring off

a r r ow wa r s a n d f l ow e r wa r s 35

a victory. The armys retreat only encouraged instability in an al-ready volatile region. This was the emerging pattern and problemof empire. The Mexica could not be everywhere at once. Defeatsor setbacks in one area triggered revolts elsewhere as brutalizedvassals grasped at evidence of Mexica weakness. The Mexica wereRoman in their relentless hostility to any state that challengedtheir rule. Defeat or not, they kept coming back until they won.

In 1510 a series of heavenly apparitions appeared over Anhuac.Their portents spread throughout the empire breeding more rebel-lion. In the 151112 campaign season, Motecuhzoma had to sendone army to the farthest reach of the empire, Soconosco, on theborder of Guatemala. Tlachquiauhco, once sacked for its splendidtree, was wiped out, the 12,210 survivors of the city driven back toTenochtitlan. Motecuhzomas rst conquest, Nopallan, was also re-conquered, yielding 140 more captives. The Mexica were successfulwherever their armies confronted rebellion. By the campaign sea-son of 151415, most of these res had been put out. New conquestswere undertaken north up the Gulf Coast, gathering up the last ofthe Huaxtecs into the empire and even attacking into the bar-barous semi-Chichimec lands farther north. The obstinate king-dom of Metztitlan, which had deed his uncle, Tizoc, was fullyencircled as well.

Flower Wars Become Arrow WarsVictories in Oaxaca and elsewhere were paralleled by bitter frus-trations in a series of ower wars with the Mexicas traditional En-emies of the House nearer to home. Tlaxcallan, Huexotzinco,Chollolan, and Tiliuhquitepec had survived as independent statesin the Puebla-Tlaxcalla Valley through their own strength and theMexicas desire to keep them as companions in the ower wars. Inthe years since Tlacalel had founded the ower war, Mexica con-quests had slowly encircled these states, especially Tlaxcallan.Motecuhzoma evidently believed this tradition had outlived itsusefulness. Arrow wars for state conquest now replaced the owerwars for personal prestige. Their very presence was an affront tohis increasingly divine self-image as master of the world. His 1504


attack on Tlaxcallan began a conict that would continue untilthe arrival of the Spaniards in 1519.

In one of those reversals of alliance, Motecuhzoma made owerwar against Huexotzinco, Cholollan, and Atlixco in 1508. Hecalled for volunteers, and the cream of the ghting men of theTriple Alliance rushed to join his expedition. Against all custom,he now sent a hundred thousand, instead of the normal small con-tingent of warriors. To command the army, he picked his ownyounger brother, Tlacahuepan, who was joined by two morebrothers. The three asked for omens, always a risky business formorale. They were all bad. Commending his family to Motecuh-zomas care, Tlacahuepan marched off.

Although the army adhered to the etiquette of the ower warsand committed only a few hundred picked warriors to combat atany one time, the watching masses were clearly applying psycho-logical pressure by displaying the might of the alliance.

Unfortunately for the Mexica, the watching masses were soonhaving their own morale depressed. Tlacahuepan rst sent twohundred Mexica in to meet a like number of men from Huexotz-inco. The ghting quickly became a slaughter pen, as both sidesforgot about taking prisoners. As the numbers of Mexica shrank,Tlacahuepan sent in a contingent from Texcoco. They too suf-fered heavily in the swirl of feathers and slashing obsidian andwere replaced by the men of Tlacopan. The Huexotzinca alsorushed in replacements, and the corpses heaped the ghtingground, the men behaving like ferocious mountain lionsdrenched in blood.

Tlacahuepan knew the moment had come for an example. Heembraced his brothers, crying, Behold, my brothers, the timehad come to show the valor of our persons! Let us go to the helpof our friends! With a shout, echoed by the battle cries of hismen, he led the army into the attack. They crashed into the Huex-otzinca with such force that many of the enemy were knockeddown, but the Huexotzinca rebounded, held their ground, andcalled in reinforcements. Convinced that he was already a deadman, Tlacahuepan raged like a crazed lion among the Huexotz-inca, driving so deep into their ranks that he quickly found him-


self cut off and surrounded. Battle madness overcame him. Hehacked and slashed at everyone about him until he had left a thickring of Huexotzinca dead. When no one else would challengehim, he stood still for a moment, and the last of his frenzy drainedaway in utter exhaustion. Cease, O Huexotzinca! I see that I amyours and that I cannot defend myself. Let the combat end here!You see me here; now do what you will! The Huexotzinca rushedto carry him off for sacrice in their city, but he seized one of thecorpses, demanding to be sacriced among them. They obligedand tore his body to bits, carrying off every piece as a relic.3

With their commander slain, the army recoiled. The Huexotz-inca pressed hard on them, killed Tlacahuepans brothers, andcaptured many lords and captains. As they returned to Huexotz-inco in triumph, the Mexica crept silently into Tenochtitlan, leav-ing 8,200 dead on the eld. They were met with mourning andlamentation, and burned their weapons in shame. Then they re-ported to a tlatoani sunk in despair. He ordered their woundscared for and their nakedness clothed. His brothers he gave asplendid funeral. Motecuhzoma wept and lamented that he didnot know how he had offended the gods.

In 1515 Tlaxcallan and Huexotzinco had fallen out and warredagainst each other. Tlaxcallan, now the stronger party, harriedHuexotzinco so cruelly that its king and many of his people ed toTenochtitlan for refuge, where they were warmly welcomed byMotecuhzoma. He then attacked Tlaxcallan, but his army sufferedanother catastrophic defeat. Many were killed and captured, andall his chief captains were dragged back to Tlaxcallan as captives.Only eighty Tlaxcallan captives were taken. When this newsreached him, Motecuhzoma leaped from his throne in fury andshouted, What is this you say? Do you know what you are saying?Are not the Aztecs lled with shame? Since when have you lostyour vigor, your strength, like weak women? Are you just learningto take up the sword and the shield, the bow and the arrow? Whathas happened to all the skill acquired since the founding of thisrenowned city? How has it been lost to the point that I stand inshame before the entire world? Why did so many courageous lordsand captains, seasoned in war, go to the battleeld? Is it possiblethat they have forgotten how to command their squadrons . . . ? I


can only believe that they were deliberately heedless in order tomock me!4

The returning army was shown no honors, nor even any signsof mourning. When its leaders arrived at the palace to make theirreport, its doors were slammed in their faces. Motecuhzoma or-dered that they be publicly shamed. Royal judges went to theirhomes to strip them of their insignia and shear their hair. Theywere forbidden the right to wear cotton or sandals and to even en-ter the royal palace for a year.

The war against Tlaxcallan had yielded a single prize, however.Tlahuicoli, a famous Tlaxcallan captain of international renown,had been captured in the campaign. So impressed was he withTlahuicolis deeds and bearing that Motecuhzoma put him incommand of an expedition against the Tarascans. Their armymarched beyond Tolocan and fought a great battle on the Taras-can border. Although they did not retain the eld, the Mexicatook many captives and much booty. For Motecuhzoma, this bat-tle must have been one of the sweetest of all; it restored Mexicaprestige and furthered Ahutzotls gradual encirclement of Mi-chocan. Most importantly, it wiped away the defeat of his father,Axaycatl.

Returning in victory, Tlahuicoli refused the freedom offeredhim by Motecuhzoma and demanded to be sacriced on the glad-iatorial stone. In the ensuing combat, he bashed out the brains ofeight eagle and jaguar knights and wounded twenty more with hisfeather-edged sword before he was cut down and his heart tornout by the Mexica high priest.

At the empires core, the struggle for the throne of Texcoco afterNezahualpillis death in 1515 nearly plunged the empire into civilwar. Nezahualpilli had left three legitimate sons but had failed todesignate the heir. Motecuhzoma intervened and nominated Caca-matzin, the son of his sister. One of the other claimants, Ixtlilx-chitl, refused to accept the tlatoanis high-handed interference, edto the mountains, rallied support, seized the northern part of thekingdom, and stood off the armies of Motecuhzoma and Caca-matzin. At this point, Motecuhzoma chose to cut his losses. A de-termined campaign to suppress Ixtlilxchitl would have torn theAcolhua kingdom apart and fundamentally weakened a major


component of the Triple Alliance. Instead, Motecuhzoma brokereda peace in which Cacamatzin was recognized as king, but only ofthose cities he held. Ixtlilxchitl was recognized as the de factoruler of the rest of the kingdom.

The 151617 campaign season saw the Mexica put down a re-volt by Tlachquiauhco. The former city of the blossoming treehad refused tribute and was stopping trade from the Pacic coastand Tehuantepec, the great entrepot on the isthmus of that name.That same year, Mexica warriors launched a ower war againstTlaxcallan entirely on their own and were victorious. Motecuh-zoma excused this act of initiative, so hungry was he for victoriesover Tlaxcallan. Motecuhzomas nal campaign in 1518 took hisarmies in conquests against the Chichemecs.5

Among the Enemies of the House, Tlaxcallan, Huexotzinco,and Atlixco, all to the east of Tenochtitlan, had been able to keeptheir anti-Mexica alliance intact. Only Cholollan, the great shrineof Quetzalcoatl, had fallen under Motecuhzomas control. It wasthrough this region that strangers from across the sea wouldmarch, straight into the arms of the Enemies of the House.


41

4

Omens of the End of the World

A lready by 1510 the tight bonds that Motecuh-zoma had created to keep his world in place had frayed badly. Re-peated campaigns in Oaxaca had not quelled the regionsrebelliousness, and repeated de

montezuma warlord of the aztecs

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