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Chapter 12
Axayacatl "Water-mask" (Ruled 14681481) |
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When Moteuczomah Ilhuicamina died, his son Axayacatl was chosen to succeed him (see fig. 24).
1 Before his coronation Axayacatl undertook his first conquests, probably during the campaign season of 146869. Moteuczomah Ilhuicamina had been a powerful king and skilled military leader whose actions and reputation had kept the tributaries loyal, and imperial continuity required a leader of similar skills and inclination. |
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The king's investiture ceremony required captives, but the primary purpose of these conquests was to display the successor's martial skills and resolve,2 as well as to shore up support among the most recently conquered and distant tributaries. Accordingly, Axayacatl led an army to the Tecuantepec region, and when the enemy attacked, he pretended to flee, withdrawing to an area where some of his soldiers were hidden. When the enemy passed, these soldiers attacked them, advanced, and conquered the city.3 Axayacatl then conquered the entire area as far south as the Pacific port of Cuauhtolco (Huatulco). Although this was a very distant conquest, the transit route ran almost exclusively through areas of existing tributaries where the army could receive logistical support.4 He returned to Tenochtitlan with honor and captives and was crowned (see map 9).5 |
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During the same year (the campaign season of 146869), Axayacatl fought a flower war with Huexotzinco and Atlixco, continuing the pressure on the city-states of the present-day Puebla/Tlaxcala valley (see map 10). The Aztecs and their allies claimed victory, but King Totoquihuaztli of Tlacopan was killed in the war,6 and the region's cities continued to resist Aztec expansion. |
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Taking advantage of the imperial uncertainties caused by the recent death of Moteuczomah Ilhuicamina and possibly that of Toto- |
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