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Fig. 20.
Itzcoatl (''Obsidian-serpent"). (Tovar 99; courtesy of the John Carter
Brown Library, Brown University) |
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The Defeat of Azcapotzalco |
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When Itzcoatl was elected king of Tenochtitlan, he was forty-six or forty-seven. He had been the tlacochcalcatl under Huitzilihhuitl,
4 and he had probably served in the same capacity under Chimalpopoca. A member of the immediate royal family, he was also a mature leader and skilled soldier and, consequently, was an able and likely contender for power. Legitimacy would now be largely a function of ability, at least within the upper nobility. Itzcoatl's legitimacy was confirmed through success; had he failed in the prosecution of the war he would probably have been deposed. He was still vulnerable to the pretensions of others with an equal right to govern, but several factors worked to his advantage. Chimalpopoca left no legitimate successor, Itzcoatl was more experienced than anyone else, and there were no other Aztec cities to provide a power base for potential challengers. Thus the very weakness and limited size of the Aztec do- |
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