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back information, but they were unable to get in. The city had many houses and people within its fortifications. The first wall was five brazas wide (1 braza = 1.67 meters or 5.5 feet) and three high; the second, third, fourth, and fifth were similar; and the sixth was six brazas wide and two high. Unlike the armies of most other cities, Quetzaltepec's army did not emerge to fight the Aztecs in open fields, probably because of the impressive Aztecs victories. |
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Siege tactics were not well developed in Mesoamerica, because logistical constraints severely limited the time a large army could remain stationary in the field. However, bent on severely putting down the rebellion in the region and also concerned that fortified Quetzaltepec dominated a crucial route from the Gulf to the Huaxyacac area and could offer continual impedance to Aztec travel if left unchastised, Moteuczomah Xocoyotl ordered the construction of more than two hundred wooden ladders, with which the army scaled the walls.
36 Quetzaltepec resisted for several days, but the three armies assaulted the town from different directions and finally conquered it.37 Also probably conquered during this campaign were the towns of Tlacaxolotlan, Texopan, Coaixtlahuacan, and Nocheztlan, in the Yancuitlan area,38 and Itzcuintepec, near Quetzaltepec.39 The route and duration of this advance were similar to those of the previous incursion into the area. Probably during the same campaign season (15061507), Totollan (the region of Piaztlan) was conquered, as was Teuctepec,40 where 2,800 captives were taken.41 |
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Tototepec was also conquered,42 as was Tecozauhtlan (Tecozauhtepec), since captives from Tzotzollan, Teuctepec, and Tecozauhtlan were sacrificed during the New Fire Ceremony celebrating the end of the fifty-two solar-year calendrical cycle in 1507. Also probably conquered during this phase of the campaign were Texotlan, Tzollan, Tozac, and Zacatepec.43 This latter phase required a trek southwest, rejoining the main route at Icpatepec before returning to Tenochtitlan. The entire campaign stretched 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) and required 44 to 74 days of march, exclusive of days for combat, rest, and regrouping.44 |
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Following the second Huaxyacac incursion the Aztecs fought yet another flower war, apparently in 1508.45 The primary objective was Huexotzinco, but many of the cities of the region seem to have been involved (see map 20).46 The Aztecs claimed victory, but they lost many men and took few prisoners. The loss of so many men was the result of a shift toward a more conquest-oriented approach. Under |
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