The Aztec council of elders elected Itzcoatl (r. 1427-1440) to be the next tlatoani. Itzcoatl was the son of Acamapichtli and a slave woman. Itzcoatl worshipped the god Huitzilopochtli and wanted that god to receive the highest honors offered by the Aztec people. He also wanted to throw off the rule of Maxtla and the Tepanecs. His nephew Tlacaelel (ca. 1397-1487) helped him carry out his plans.
Itzcoatl soon gained two allies in his struggle against Maxtla and the Tepanecs. One was the Texcoco prince Nezahualcoyotl (1402-1472). When he was a young man, Nezahualcoyotl’s father was killed by the Tepanecs and he was forced to live in exile (away from his homeland) for many years. After Itzcoatl became tlatoani in Tenochtitlan, Nezahualcoyotl regained his place as ruler of Texcoco. Nezahualcoyotl hated the Tepanecs, and Itzcoatl was his uncle. It seemed fitting that the two would form an alliance.
The leader of Tlacopan then joined the alliance. In 1428, the three banded together to rid themselves of the Tepanecs. They formed the Triple Alliance, the political unit that led the Aztecs to expand their empire from coast to coast.
For the battle with the Tepanecs, drums called the Aztecs warriors to action. They and their allies met in the fields near Maxtla’s troops. The Aztecs screamed with all their might and charged the Tepanec warriors. Maxtla’s forces were so stunned by the Aztecs’ actions that they failed to react. The Aztec warriors fell on them, killing and wounding many of Maxtla’s men.
This was so shocking because it was not typical of warfare at the time. Generally, the warriors in front of an army made a huge amount of noise—drums, stamping feet, chanting, and whistling. While this happened, another group of warriors slipped around to the sides of the battlefield and tried to surround the opposition. Maxtla’s troops may have been stunned because the Aztecs normally drew the enemy to them and surrounded them, but this time they attacked head on.
The Tepanecs retreated into the city of Azcapotzalco with the Aztec warriors in hot pursuit. The Aztecs destroyed buildings and tore apart temples in Azcapotzalco. They killed the people and left the bodies to rot on the ground. This also was not typical of the time. The Aztecs rarely killed their opponents, preferring to wound them. The opponents could then be used as slaves, sacrifices, workers, or to fill out the ranks of the Aztec army.
Maxtla hid in one of the palace steambaths, but he was quickly found and brought to Nezahualcoyotl, the ruler of Texcoco. The young prince finally took revenge for his father’s death and killed Maxtla. Warriors set fire to the once-great Tepanec city of Azcapo-tzalco, and it was soon reduced to rubble. Its people lay dead in the streets or became slaves. The city center eventually became a slave market.
The Aztecs and their allies took everything of value that they found in Azcapotzalco. The Triple Alliance divided up the territory once ruled by the Tepanecs and began collecting tribute. Tenochtitlan and Texcoco each took two shares of the Tepanec wealth, and Tlacapan took one share.
New Source of Water
During Chimalpopoca's reign, he began a major building project that greatly helped his people. As Tenochtitlan grew, the demand for fresh water increased. Chimalpopoca built an aqueduct, an artificial channel specifically designed to carry water over long distances.
The aqueduct was 7.5 miles long and brought in water from springs located outside the city, near a mountain called Chapultepec. The aqueduct was made from mud, so over the years the rushing water wore away its sides. The Aztecs later built a new aqueduct of stone along the path of the first one.
The change that took place in the Valley of Mexico was dramatic. Instead of everyone paying the Tepanecs and providing soldiers for their army, the three allies enjoyed their first taste of independence. This was not the end of the Tepanec Empire, though. Other Tepanec cities continued to thrive, but they did not have nearly as much power as the Aztecs.
The Power Behind the Tlatoani
TIacaelel served as a chief advisor for several Aztec tla-toque (the plural of tlatoani). Some historians consider him to be the true power in the Aztec government during the first decades of the empire.
During itzcoatl's rule, government officials destroyed all the old documents and records of the mexica migration. Not all historians agree, though, that this actually happened. if it did, it was most likely tlacaelel who ordered the destruction of these records. tlacaelel sought to get rid of any evidence that showed the Aztecs' humble roots as nomads. he wanted the Aztecs—and others—to believe they were always a noble, powerful people.
One Tepanec stronghold that resisted the rise of Aztec power was Coyoacan. The Aztecs sent ambassadors to Coyoacan. The city’s leaders provided a feast, then insulted their guests. They forced the ambassadors to dress as women and return to Tenochtitlan in that way. Itzcoatl was furious. He immediately declared war.
The Tepanecs in Coyoacan did not fully understand the strength of the enemy they had enraged. The Aztec troops and their allies built large fires around the walls of Coyoacan. They cut off the water to the city and put rotting flesh on the fires. The stink from the burning flesh was unbearable.
Finally, the Tepanec army left the protection of Coyoacan and set out to meet the Aztecs in battle. The Aztecs were smart warriors. A small force circled around and attacked the Tepanecs from behind. With fierce warriors at the front and the rear of their troops, the Tepanec warriors fled for their lives. Once more, the combined forces of the Triple Alliance were too strong for their enemies.
The power of the Triple Alliance spread throughout the Valley of Mexico. Ruling such a large, spread-out group had its problems. The biggest problems were transportation and communication. The limited transportation—either on foot or in a canoe—hindered the ability of tlatoque to get from place to place quickly. With little transportation, communicating changes in laws or announcing wars and taxes took time.
The three leaders of the Triple Alliance also wanted their people to follow a standard code of laws. They developed laws that were simple and easy to understand, and each law had a specific punishment. No judge could give harsher sentences to his enemies or easier punishments to his friends. People could not use the law to injure their enemies, since making false accusations against others also brought penalties. Most major crimes were punished by death, either by stoning or strangulation. Most minor crimes had combined penalties of paying the victim for his or her loss and/or becoming a slave. In general, the Aztecs seemed to have obeyed the laws, and their culture did not accept wild or rebellious behavior from adults or children.
In Tenochtitlan, Itzcoatl turned his attention to the needs of his people. He expanded farming by developing more chinampas in the southern region of his empire. He also built more roads, temples, and another causeway leading into the capital city. Before Itzcoatl, the Aztecs were subjects ruled by others. Once the Triple Alliance defeated the Tepanecs, the Aztecs became the rulers of their own empire. They emerged as the most powerful of the three allies, and they built a culture that thrived on power and wealth.
A Prince—and a Poet?
Nezahualcoyotl is remembered as one of ancient Mexico's greatest tlatoque. He earned fame as an architect, engineer, warrior, and lawmaker in the city-state of texcoco. During his rule, he established a library, a zoo, and a university for scholars and poets.
He also was once considered a great poet. A 17th-century Aztec-Spanish historian claimed Nezahualcoyotl wrote many works. (that historian was also the tlatoani's great-great-great-great-grandson, Fernando de Alva ixtlilxochitl, ca. 1568-1648.) For several centuries, people accepted the idea that Nezahualcoyotl was a poet.
In recent years, however, historians have realized that all the poetry said to have been written by him was, in fact, written by others. Nezahualcoyotl may or may not have been a poet. if he was, none of his poems survives. it is likely that ixtlilxochitl was simply bragging about his famous ancestor.
Nezahualcoyotl, though, is still honored in Mexico. He appears on the 100-peso bill.
A Friend from an Enemy
Tlacopan was actually under Tepanec rule just before the Triple Alliance was formed. But the ruler there was a son of Tezozomoc who thought he had a good claim to the throne of the Tepanecs. Because his claim was ignored by the Tepanec ruler, Maxtla, who was also a son of Tezozomoc, Tlacopan's loyalty to Maxtla was weak. When Aztec forces invaded Tla-copan, they were greeted as allies and not enemies, because the ruler had already agreed to side with Itzcoatl against Maxtla.
World History
