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guides.
16 Failure to meet these tributary obligations was considered an act of rebellion and could prompt the sacking of the town,17 as could abandonment of the town in the face of the Aztec arrival.18 As they waged their campaigns, the Aztecs simultaneously appraised and consolidated their empire. Their army's march through existing tributary areas forced the local rulers to declare their loyalties: they could either render aid, as demanded, or revolt. But the brief time for preparations made rebellion unlikely in the face of a large, well-trained and well-equipped army, and thus the periodic demand of proof of obedience emphasized the weakness of the local tlahtohqueh vis-à-vis the empire. |
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Another major logistical problem was securing the necessary two quarts of water per man per day.19 While providing water was easier than supplying food, the need for water could affect the route selected, and using available sources such as rivers involved considerable time. |
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Thus the Aztecs' logistical capacity depended on imperial expansion and was unmatched by groups without extensive tributary relationships. The Tlaxcaltec army, for example, reportedly stole food en route but the amount was inadequate and did not compensate for the lack of a more sophisticated system of supply.20 If the inhabitants of a town fled an approaching army, the army could pillage it in retaliation. But such an action greatly lengthened the march, yielded only the amount of supplies available in the pillaged town itself, and made a return passage even more difficult.21 |
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In contrast, the Aztec system not only alerted the transit town but also funneled goods from a large area to the march route. The Aztecs also built on their conquests, using towns they had just defeated to supply them for further expansion.22 Because they relied on tributary obligations rather than on plundering, the Aztec army was similarly supplied by transit towns on their return from war.23 Thus it was considerably more mobile than were nonimperial troops. |
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Assembling and coordinating a march of the large Aztec army was a complicated undertaking. Overall control was the responsibility of the king, who determined the route the army was to take, how many days it would march, and the battle plan once the enemy cities were reached.24 The king did not always accompany the army. But when |
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