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Chapter 8
Victory (or Defeat) and Its Aftermath |
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Battles were a major concern for the Aztecs, but, so, too were many collateral activities. Standards of conduct for combatants and other functionaries were enforced; follow-up actions were planned; and the captured, the wounded, and the killed had to be dealt with in a systematic manner. |
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Wartime rabble-rousers and malcontents were widespread, but not approved of, in Mesoamerica, certainly not by the Aztecs who wrote the following description: |
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The subversive [lit., double-sided enemy] is a trouble-maker. He is excrement, he is feces. He causes discord among people [lit., He stretches out between people, among people]. He causes people to turn against one another. He incites people. He convinces people of lies [lit., He causes people to swallow saliva and slobber]. He pollutes people with lies [lit., He repeatedly spits in people's mouths]. He thrives on gossip [lit., His food is words]. He stirs people up, he upsets people, he agitates people.
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These and many other war-related matters were dealt with by a military tribunal. The four (or possibly five) main war leaders also acted as judges in military trials at the battlefield and could order the execution of capital offenders by public clubbing or stoning.2 The judges were drawn largely from the noble class but also from among the exceptional warriors.3 |
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Military justice covered virtually all aspects of martial conduct. If a soldier revealed the generals' plans to the enemy, he was considered a traitor and was killed and dismembered, and his accomplices, |
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