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dience. The king persisted, however, and said that if the Aztecs lost the war, the people could kill the nobles and eat their flesh. The commoners agreed that they would be the nobles' tributaries, work in their houses, farm their lands, and carry their baggage in war if they won.
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What emerged from the Tepanec war was a more sharply defined class structure and a more independent elite tied more closely to the tlahtoani's interests. To secure his own position, Itzcoatl also instituted changes in the military structure, elevating his brothers and immediate relatives to the ruling council: Tlacaelel was chosen the tlacochcalcatl; Moteuczomah Ilhuicamina was chosen the tlacateccatl; Tlacahuehpan was chosen the ezhuahuancatl; and Cuauhtlecoatl was chosen the tlillancalqui.25 Thereafter new officeholders were chosen at every royal succession, each new king choosing from among his own close relatives, and it was from among these that a successor was selected when the king died.26 Moreover, these changes institutionalized the new system and provided for a more regular succession, the emergence of more skilled and experienced leaders, and some criteria for competence. |
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Another change in the system of social status that emerged (probably during Itzcoatl's reign) was the increased stress on taking war captives for sacrifice. This practice was part of the Mesoamerican tradition and predated the Aztecs, but as practiced by the pre-imperial Aztecs it was a matter of individual achievement. Taking captives now served the state in a direct way, by emphasizing its power and thus helping achieve Aztec ascendency in the hegemonic political world of fifteenth-century Mesoamerica. |
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By itself, Tenochtitlan lacked the power to consolidate the fledgling empire without engaging in numerous military operations and depleting its own strength. Tenochtitlan's partners were necessary to the continuation of the Aztec dominance, just as Aztec support was crucial to their own, because the Acolhua region had not yet been effectively consolidated, and Tlacopan's position vis-à-vis the other Tepanec cities remained insecure. But geographical location and not just power relationships determined the relative strength of the cities in the Triple Alliance. The Aztecs were situated between their |
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