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Chapter 9
The Preimperial Kings |
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When the Aztecs entered the basin of Mexico, their political system was simpler than that of the city-states they encountered. Political control was divided among a weak paramount leader and the heads of the various calpolli, thus lacking strong centralization.
1 After some initial difficulties with the surrounding peoples the early Aztecs allied themselves with the city of Colhuacan and soon adopted the tlahtoani system of leadership common throughout the basin of Mexico. |
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The Aztecs' first tlahtoani, Acamapichtli, was not an Aztec but a member of a Colhuacan noble lineage that claimed direct descent from the Toltecs (see chart 1 for the genealogy of the Aztec kings). The Aztecs adopted the tlahtoani system because it was militarily superior to their own decentralized system, and they chose a foreign ruler to provide legitimacy and overcome the competing interests of the various calpolli leaders, which prohibited the elevation of an internal candidate.2 But more importantly, the Aztecs had settled on a small island in the lakes, and they needed to establish (or legitimize) close relations with lakeshore cities, such as Colhuacan, to gain regular access to needed agricultural products. This they did, though the price was technical subordination to Acamapichtli, who consolidated political control over external matters (largely manifested as military power) while internal control remained in the hands of the calpolli leaders. However, Acamapichtli married the daughters of the twenty calpolli leaders, and the children of these unions inherited not only the mantle of nobility but traditional calpolli leadership roles as well.3 This did not mean an automatic convergence of internal and external control because the calpolli leaders' power still |
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