The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

Brasseur throws much light upon the events of this period. It seems that the Aztecs provoked Copil's efforts for their destruction by two raids against Malinalco, which belonged to Culhuacan, and that the Mexicans treacherously drew the son of Malinalxochitl into their power by offering him the position of high-priest, according to a pretended revelation of Huitzilopochtli's will. His daughter, Azcaxochitl, was forced to become the mistress of Quauhtlequetzqui; all his nobles were taken prisoners, and a band of Culhuas who came to Tlalcocomocco soon after, were massacred. All the rulers of the valley, save, perhaps, Quinantzin, were soon leagued together for the destruction of these marauders and butchers. Huitzilihuitl made a valiant and long-continued defence, defeating the Tepanecs in a fierce battle, but exciting renewed horror by murdering and cutting in pieces Acolnahuacatl, king of Azcapuzalco, and formerly emperor. They were at last conquered through their rash bravery, since, while their army was fighting the Culhuas whom they had been challenged to meet, another body of the enemy took and burned Chapultepec, carrying off the surviving inhabitants as prisoners. The Mexican army was then defeated, nearly exterminated, and the remnants scattered in the lake marshes, while Huitzilihuitl was taken, and, with his daughter and sister, put to death in revenge for the murder of Copil and the Tepanec king. These events occurred about 1297. For two years the scattered Mexican remnants were subjected to every indignity, but in 1299, perhaps through the influence of Acamapichtli, his son and heir, Coxcoxtli was induced to grant this unfortunate people the small, barren, and serpent-infested isle of Tizaapan.[560 - Hist., tom. ii., pp. 380-98.]

WAR WITH THE XOCHIMILCAS

The Spanish writers do not imply that Acolnahuacatl, king of the Tepanecs, was killed by the Aztecs, or that he even fell in battle. His son, Tezozomoc, was heir to the throne, but as he was very young, his mother seems to have ruled as regent during his minority, and as she was the wife of Coxcoxtli, the power was practically in the hands of the Culhua monarch.[561 - There is some confusion about the parentage of Tezozomoc and Acamapichtli: 'Coxcoxtli épousa une fille d'Acolnahuacatl dont il eut Tezozomoc, ou Acolnahuacatl épousa une fille de Coxcoxtli dont ce prince serait issu. Quoique le MS. de 1528 donne Acolnahuacatl pour père à Tezozomoc, le Mémorial de Culhuacan le donne pour le fils de Coxcoxtli et frère d'Acamapichtli. Ixtlilxochitl dit également qu'Acamapichtli était son frère.' Id., pp. 394-5. See Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 349, 397, 401. He, however, seems to make Acamapichtli also the son of Acolnahuacatl. Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 73, 161-2, fixes the date of the king's death at 1343. Torquemada, tom. i., p. 68; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., pp. 142-3.] Coxcoxtli thus saw his power in Anáhuac largely increased, but he was continually annoyed with petitions from the Mexicans for larger territory and permission to settle at various points in his dominions, and at the same time harassed by the encroachments of the Xochimilcas, particularly in the lake fisheries. He at last proposed to grant the requests of the Aztecs on condition that they would aid him in chastising the insolent and powerful Xochimilcas. The services of the followers of Huitzilopochtli were always in demand when there was fighting to be done. The secret plan of the king was to place the new allies in the front to receive the force of the attack; the heavier their loss the better, for his troops would have an easy victory, and a dead Aztec was a much less troublesome neighbor or subject than a live one. No arms were supplied to the allies, but their priests taught them to make shields of reeds, and arm themselves with clubs and obsidian knives. By a strange freak of fancy they resolved to retain no captives, though a reward was offered for them, but to disarm and release all they captured after having marked them by cutting off the right ear of each. The fury of their attack and their novel method of warfare struck terror into the hearts of the enemy, who were defeated and driven back to their capital in confusion, the Mexicans obtaining much plunder, and the Culhuas an extraordinary number of prisoners. Returning to Culhuacan, the Culhua braves proudly displayed their captives, ridiculing their allies, until the latter pointed out the lack of ears among the victims of Culhua valor, and calmly produced the missing features from their sacks; the effect was complete, and they carried off the honors of the day. Coxcoxtli was proud of such allies, their petitions were granted, and the two nations were also connected by intermarriage.[562 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 119-22. This author places this event in the lifetime of Huitzilihuitl and of Acolnahuacatl. Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 90-1; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 165-7.]

THE MOTHER OF THE GODS

The history of the Mexicans and Culhuas, during the early part of the fourteenth century, down to the founding of the city of Tenochtitlan in 1325, presents a confusion unequaled, perhaps, in any other period of the aboriginal annals. A civil war on the eastern plateau at Cholula, in which king Coxcoxtli was involved to a certain extent, will be mentioned elsewhere, as it only slightly concerns the general history of Anáhuac. Torquemada, Clavigero, and others, relate that after the battle with the Xochimilcas, the Aztecs had secreted four captives destined for sacrifice, and had, besides, asked the Culhua king to provide them with a suitable offering and to be present at the ceremonies. They were sent a dead body and a mass of filth which the Mexicans, restraining their anger at the insult, placed upon the altar and said nothing. When Coxcoxtli and his suite appeared, the priests, after a religious dance, brought out the four captives and performed the bloody rites of sacrifice before the guests. The Culhuas left the place in disgust, and orders were immediately given that the Mexicans should be driven from the territories of Culhuacan.[563 - See references in last note (#cn_561); also Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., pp. 260-1; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., pp. 80-1, 260-1.] As Acosta and Duran tell the story, the Aztecs sent from Tizaapan, where it seems many of them were still living, to the Culhua king, requesting him to give them his daughter to rule over them and be the mother of their god. The request was cheerfully granted and the young princess conducted with great pomp to the town of her future subjects. A great festival was prepared, the princess was privately sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli, who, it seems, had signified his intention of adopting her as his mother; her body was flayed, and her skin placed as a garment on a youth, or an idol, which was set up in the temple to receive the offerings of visitors. Among those who came to make such offerings, as a compliment to their allies, were Coxcoxtli and his nobles. Their rage at the sight that met their eyes may be imagined. The bloody followers of Huitzilopochtli were driven from their homes, and the allies their bravery had gained were lost to them.[564 - Acosta, p. 464; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. iv. He calls the Culhua king Achitometl. Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xi.] Ixtlilxochitl, without mentioning their return to Culhua favor by the Xochimilco war, says that the Aztecs escaped from their bondage at Culhuacan on hearing that king Calquiyauhtzin intended to massacre them, and resided, for a time, at Iztacalco, whence they made inroads upon Culhua territory, but finally retreated to the island where Tenochtitlan was founded.[565 - In Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 398.] I append in a note an abstract of Veytia's version of Nahua history during this and the immediately preceding period, since this version agrees with others at but few points.[566 - Quinantzin succeeded to the empire, and appointed his uncle, Tenancacaltzin, governor in Tenayocan, who usurped the throne in 1299; Huitzilihuitl, of Mexicans, obtained in marriage a niece of king Acolhua II. of Azcapuzalco; Coxcox succeeded Calquiyauhtzin as king of Culhuacan; the Xochimilcas were defeated by the aid of the Mexicans, and Acolhua II. became emperor in 1299; next, Acamapichtli used the Mexicans to conquer Coxcox, and made himself king of Culhuacan in 1301, but died in 1303 and was succeeded by Xiuhtemoc; Huitzilihuitl died in 1318, and the Mexicans chose as their king also, Xiuhtemoc of Culhuacan, where many of them had settled, under the rule of Acamapichtli, and where all now removed from Chapultepec, although against the wishes of the Culhua people; at last, in 1325, for no very definite reason, they were driven from Culhuacan and went to Acatzintitlan, or Mexicaltzinco; then they applied to the emperor Acolhua II. and were allowed to live for a time near Azcapuzalco, while their priests were searching for the predestined location of their future city; then took place the separation between the Mexicans and Tlatelulcas; the Tlatelulcas obtain a King from the emperor after having applied to Quinantzin in vain; Quinantzin regains the imperial throne from Acolhua II.; and finally, Tenochtitlan was founded in 1327. Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 114-57.]

Hardly more can be gathered from the preceding records than that the Mexicans, after living for a time in Culhuacan, were forced, on account of their bloody religious rites and of their turbulent disposition, to leave that city, and to wander for several years about the lake before settling where the city of Mexico afterwards stood. Coxcoxtli is said to have been a devoted follower of Quetzalcoatl, and a zealous persecutor of all other sects, so much so, that many families were forced to abandon Culhuacan, and were gladly received at Tezcuco, as has been stated. It seems to have been an ineradicable Toltec tendency to indulge in religious controversy to the prejudice of their national prosperity. Brasseur[567 - Hist., tom. ii., pp. 402-3, 432-50.] finds in his documents many additional details of some importance respecting the period in question. The religious strife in Culhuacan broke out into open war between the sects of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, the former headed by the king and his son Achitometl, the latter under another son, Acamapichtli, and seconded by the Mexicans, who had been driven by persecution from the city. This is the alliance alluded to by Veytia, when he states that Acamapichtli, of Culhuacan, was chosen king of the Mexicans. The rebellious son, at the head of the Mexicans, was victorious, and compelled his father to flee from his capital, but did not at once assume the title of king, and was, not long after, in his turn defeated and driven from the city. This was the final departure of the Mexicans, most of whom gathered at Iztacalco, where a band of their nation had been for some years residing, under the chief Tenuch. Many, however, settled at other points near at hand on the lake shores and islands, and to this period is attributed also their invention of the Chinampas, or floating gardens.

FOUNDATION OF MEXICO

The localities thus occupied at this period, simultaneously or successively, besides Iztacalco, were Mexicaltzinco, Acatzintitlan, Mixiuhtlan, and Temazcaltitlan. At last the priests selected what they deemed a suitable place for permanent settlement, the same spot where Copil had been sacrificed, an island, or raised tract in the lake marshes, and pretended to find there the nopal, eagle, and serpent which had been promised by their god as a token that the proper location had been found. The nopal grew on a rock in the midst of a beautiful pool, into which one of the two discoverers was instantly drawn, and admitted to an interview with the Tlalocs, who confirmed the belief that here was to be their permanent home. According to some authorities, a title to this site was obtained from the king of Azcapuzalco. The first task was to erect a rude temple of rushes for the ark of the idol Huitzilopochtli, which was located exactly over the stone which bore the famous nopal; the huts of the people were built around this as a centre, divided by divine command into four wards, or districts. Then all set industriously to work, the men leveling and filling in the site of their town, or fishing and killing wild ducks on the lakes, the products being mostly bartered by the women in the cities of the main land, for stone and wood for building material. The first victim sacrificed to the god in his new temple was a Culhua noble, of hostile sect, opportunely captured.[568 - On the foundation of Mexico, its date, and name, see —Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. iv. – vi.; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 92-3, 288-91; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 156-60; Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 461; Tezozomoc, in Id., pp. 5, 8-9; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., p. 531; Acosta, pp. 465-6; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 167-9; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 21; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 40; Arlegui, Chrón. Zacatecas, pp. 8-9; Cavo, Tres Siglos, tom. i., p. 2; Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. iv., pp. 1066-7; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 144, 204-5; Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., pp. 405, 415; Müller, Amer. Urrel., p. 534; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., p. 356.] Thus was founded, in 1325,[569 - Date 1325, according to Clavigero, Gama, Chimalpain, Brasseur, and Prescott; 1327, Veytia, following Sigüenza y Góngora; 1318, Duran; 1324, Codex Mendoza; 1140, 1141, or about 1200, Ixtlilxochitl; 1131, Camargo; 1326, Tezozomoc, in Veytia; 1316, Id., in Gondra; 1225, Chimalpain, in Id.; 1317, Sigüenza, in Id.; 1341, Torquemada, in Id.; 1321, Zapata, in Veytia; 1357, Martinez, in Veytia and Gondra.] the city named – probably from Mexi, the original name of Huitziton, and Tenuch, their chief leader at the time the city was formed – Mexico Tenochtitlan.[570 - On derivation of the name, see vol. ii., p. 559; also Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 92-3; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 5; Ixtlilxochitl, in Id., p. 461. These authors derive Tenochtitlan from the Aztec name of the nopal. Cavo, Tres Siglos, tom. i., p. 2, Müller, Amer. Urrel., p. 534, and Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 315, derive Mexico from Metl-ico 'place amid the magueys.']

DEATH OF QUINANTZIN

Quinantzin continued in his glorious career at Tezcuco, allowing the surrounding kings to weaken their power by their intrigues and contentions one with another, while he devoted all his energies as a diplomatist, and all the strength of his armies to the strengthening of his imperial power, the enlargement and embellishment of his capital, where refugees from all directions were kindly welcomed, the quelling of rebellion in various provinces, and the conquest of new lands. Not only did he promptly put down every attempt at revolt in his own dominions, but insisted that the kings of Culhuacan and Azcapuzalco should check the attempts of their revolting vassals. Huehuetlan, Mizquic, Cuitlahuac, Zayollan, Temimiltepec, and Totolapan, are named as the rebellious provinces thus subdued during the last years of this emperor's reign. No monarch in Anáhuac could have resisted Quinantzin's power, but he seems to have had no disposition to encroach on what he deemed the legitimate domains of his brother sovereigns. In spite of the opposition of the Chichimec nobles to his reforms, his tendency to Toltec usages, and his fondness for display, the emperor after his power had become firmly established enjoyed the love and respect of all his subjects. His surname, Tlaltecatzin, 'he who lords the earth,' is said to have been given him in consideration of his success in subduing so many provinces. He died in 8 Calli, 1305,[571 - 1357, Veytia; 1213, 1249, or 1253, Ixtlilxochitl; 1305, Brasseur.] at an advanced age, and his funeral ceremonies were conducted with all the pomp that had been characteristic of him in life. Seventy rulers of provinces are said to have assisted. His body, embalmed, was seated in full royal apparel on the throne, an eagle at the feet, a tiger at the back, and the bow and arrows in his hands. All the people crowded to the palace to take a last look upon their emperor, and after eighty days, according to Torquemada, his body was burned, and the ashes, in an emerald urn with a golden cover, placed in a cave near Tezcuco; or, as Veytia and Ixtlilxochitl say, buried in a temple of the Sun in the Tezcocingo forest.[572 - Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 86-7; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 144-6; Veytia, tom. i., pp. 171, 176, 181; Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 215-16, 352, 400, 453; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 275; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 422-5; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., p. 39.]

LIMITS OF THE CHICHIMEC EMPIRE

Quinantzin's elder sons having proved rebellious during their father's reign, and having, therefore, been banished, his youngest son, Techotl, Techotlalatzin, or Techotlala, was chosen as his successor. Techotl reigned from 1305 to 1357, a period during which the dominions attached to the crown of Tezcuco were almost entirely undisturbed by civil or foreign wars. Only one war is recorded, by which the province of Xaltocan, peopled chiefly by Otomís, with the aid of the chiefs of Otompan, Quahuacan, and Tecomic, attempted to regain her independence of Chichimec imperial authority. The revolt was, however, promptly repressed by the emperor and his allies after a campaign of two months. Tezozomoc had now succeeded to the throne of Azcapuzalco, and with his Tepanec forces, took a very prominent part in this war against Xaltocan and the northern provinces. The Mexicans also sent an army to this war, and received some territory as a result, the rest of the provinces being joined to the domains of Tezcuco and Azcapuzalco.[573 - Xaltocan is spoken of by Ixtlilxochitl and Veytia as having been at this time subjected for the first time to the emperor. Its inhabitants were Otomís, and the refugees are said to have built, or rebuilt, the city of Otompan. Tezozomoc is represented as having borne the principal part in the war, while the emperor Techotl joined in it more to watch and restrain the allies than for anything else. Another war in Tlascala, in which forces sent by Techotl, are said by Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 265-8, to have participated, was, perhaps, the same already mentioned in connection with the king of Culhuacan.] Techotl's tastes and ambitions were similar to those of his father, and his fifty-two years of peaceful and prosperous reign enabled him to successfully carry out his projects. To him, as emperor, belonged the allegiance of the kings of Culhuacan, Azcapuzalco, and Mexico in the latter part of his rule, when the latter power had risen to some prominence; but no tribute was paid by these kings, and their allegiance was probably only nominal.[574 - Azcapuzalco, Mexico, Coatlichan, Huexotla, Coatepec, and four or five others are mentioned by Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 355, as paying no tribute; but some of these, according to other authorities, were actually joined to the kingdom of Acolhuacan, and had not even the honor of a tributary lord.] Over the provinces that belonged to Tezcuco, or rather the kingdom of Acolhuacan, Techotl ruled in precisely the same manner as the other kings over their respective territories. The lord of each province acknowledged his allegiance to his king, paid tribute according to the wealth of his people, and was bound to aid his sovereign, if so requested, in time of war; in other respects he was perfectly independent, and governed his dominion with almost absolute sway. The long list of vassal provinces and lords given by the records[575 - The list of those lords present at the funeral of Quinantzin and the coronation of Techotl, is as follows: Tezozomoc, king of Azcapuzalco; Paintzin, king of Xaltocan, lord of the Otomís; Mocomatzin, Moteuhzomatzin, or Montezuma, king of Coatlichan; Acamapichtli, king of Culhuacan and Mexico (this could not be, as Mexico was not yet founded; Coxcoxtli was king of Culhuacan, but Acamapichtli was, in one sense, chief of the Mexicans, and heir to the throne of Culhuacan); Mixcohuatl, or Mixcohuatzin, king of Tlatelulco (the Aztec Tlatelulco was not yet founded; Brasseur believes this to refer to an ancient city of this name); Quetzalteuhtli, or Quetzalatecuhtli, lord of Xochimilco; Izmatletlopac, lord of Cuitlahuac; Chiquauhtli, lord of Mizquic (Chalco Atenco, according to Brasseur); Pochotl, lord of Chalco Atenco (Ixtlilxochitl); Omaca, or Omeacatl, lord of Tlalmanalco; Cacamaca, lord of Chalco; Temacatzin, lord of Huexotzinco, (or as Brasseur has it, of Quauhquechollan); Tematzin, prince of Huexotzinco (Brasseur); Cocaztzin, lord of Quauhquelchula (Ixtlilxochitl); Teocuitlapopocatzin, lord of Cuetlaxcohuapan, or Cuetlachcoapan; Chichimecatlalpayatzin, high-priest of Cholula; Chichitzin, lord of Tepeaca; Mitl, prince of Tlascala; Xihuilpopoca, lord of Zacatlan; Quauhquetzal, lord of Tenamitec; Chichihuatzin, lord of Tulancingo; Tlaltecatzin, lord of Quauhchinanco; Tecpatl, lord of Atotonilco; Iztaquauhtzin, lord of the Mazahuas; Chalchiuhtlanetzin, lord of Coyuhuacan; Yohuatl Chichimecatzin, lord of Coatepec; Quiyauhtzin, lord of Huexotla; Tecuhtlacuiloltzin, lord of Acolman. Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 353; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., p. 428. Ixtlilxochitl says that these were not all, but merely the leading vassals, all related to the emperor. A list of 46 is given in Ixtlilxochitl, p. 355, and Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 214-15. 73 are said to have attended one assembly, 66 another, and 30 another.] show that the authority of the Chichimec emperor extended far beyond Anáhuac, but do not enable us to fix definitely its limits; it probably was but little less extensive than that of the emperor at Culhuacan, in Toltec times, and was very similar to the Toltec rule in its nature.[576 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 182-3, and Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., p. 427, state that the distant provinces of Quauhtemalan (Guatemala), Tecolotlan (Vera Paz), Centizonac, Teoquantepec (Tehuantepec), and Jalisco, were represented in the crowd that gathered at Techotl's coronation, offering their homage and allegiance; but Ixtlilxochitl, p. 353, says that these provinces would not recognize the emperor. There is very little probability that the Chichimec power ever reached so far, but not unlikely that communication took place between Mexico and Central America at this period.] Techotl's efforts seem to have been directed to the complete re-establishment of Toltec culture; to the building-up and embellishment of his capital; to the enacting of just laws and their strict enforcement by the appointment of the necessary courts and officials; to the work of attracting new settlers into his kingdom and capital, by kind treatment of all new-comers, and a toleration of all their religious beliefs and rites; and above all, to the centralization of his imperial power, and the gradual lessening of the prerogatives of his vassal lords. The refugees from different nations were given separate wards of Tezcuco for a residence, and were permitted to erect temples, and to perform all their various rites. Human sacrifice and religious strife were alone prohibited. The different creeds and ceremonials of Toltec times became almost universal in his kingdom,[577 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 195-6, implies that the new rites and ideas came rather from Mexican than Toltec influence.] although the emperor himself is said to have ridiculed all these creeds and sacrifices, contenting himself with the worship of one god, of whom he deemed the sun a symbol. He is credited with having entertained sentiments on religious topics several centuries in advance of his time.

In his efforts for the centralization of the Chichimec power, he first summoned the chief lords of his provinces, some twenty-six in number, to Tezcuco, and practically compelled them to live there, although heaping upon them honors and titles which made it impossible for them to refuse obedience to his wishes. All together constituted a royal council, consulted on matters of national import; and from them were selected sub-councils, to whose management were entrusted the superintendence of various branches, such as the administration of justice, military regulations, art and science, agriculture, etc. Five of the leading lords were entrusted with the most important and honorable positions, and placed at the head of the chief councils.[578 - The general Council of State, composed of all the highest lords, men of learning, ability, and character, was presided over by the emperor himself. Of the five special councils the first was that of war, under a lord who received the title of Tetlahto, and composed, according to Brasseur, of lords of the Acolhua nation. The second was the Council of the Exchequer, under a superintendent of finance, with the title Tlami, or Calpixcontli, having charge of the collection of tribute, and composed of men well acquainted with the resources of every part of the country, chiefly as is said Chichimecs, Otomís, and lords of Meztitlan. The third was the Diplomatic Council, whose president had the title of Yolqui, and was a kind of Grand Master of Ceremonies, whose duty it was to receive, present, entertain and dispatch ambassadors. Many of this council were Culhuas. The fourth was the council of the royal household, under the Amechichi, or High Chamberlain. This council was composed largely of Tepanecs. A fifth official, with the title of Cohuatl, superintended the work of the royal gold and silver smiths and feather-workers at Ocolco, a suburb of Tezcuco. The Spanish writers state that the president of each of the councils must be a relation of the emperor, or at least a Tezcucan nobleman. Torquemada, tom. i., p. 88; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 181; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 182-5; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 430-1.] As an offset to the favors granted these lords at the capital and in the general government, their prerogatives at home were greatly diminished. The twenty-six provinces were subdivided into sixty-five departments; the lords retained their original titles and the absolute command of twenty-six of the departments, but over the other thirty-nine governors were placed who were supposed to be wholly devoted to the interests of the emperor. Techotl is even said to have gone so far as to transfer the inhabitants belonging to different tribes from one province to another, so that the subjects of each chief, although the same in number as before, were of different tribes, and, as the emperor craftily imagined, much less easily incited to revolt in the interests of ambitious chieftains, who were ever ready to take advantage of favorable circumstances to declare their independence. If the Chichimec nobles objected to these extraordinary measures, their opposition is not recorded.

REIGN OF TECHOTL

At one of the grand assemblies of kings and lords, held at Tezcuco, to deliberate on the general interests of the empire, in 1342, Techotl announced his intention to leave his crown to his eldest son, Ixtlilxochitl, and caused that prince to be formally acknowledged as heir apparent to the imperial throne. It does not appear that any opposition to his succession was made at the time,[579 - There seems to have been some trouble between Ixtlilxochitl and the Tepanec king Tezozomoc, even before Techotl's death. Ixtlilxochitl was unmarried, although by his concubines he had many children; and, as Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 217-18, has it, he took Tezozomoc's daughter as a wife at his father's request, but sent her back before consummating the marriage; or, according to Ixtlilxochitl, p. 218, he refused to take Tezozomoc's daughter, who had already been repudiated by some one, except as a concubine. The same author, p. 356, says this occurred after his father's death. He finally married a Mexican princess. Tezozomoc was very much offended.] although as we shall see, his right was not undisputed at the death of his father. At one of these assemblies, as all the authorities agree, it was ordered that the Nahua language should be employed exclusively at court, in the tribunals, and in the transaction of all public affairs. It has been inferred from this, by many writers, that the language of the Chichimec nations was different from that of the Toltecs;[580 - The emperor is said to have learned the Nahua language from his Culhua nurse Papaloxochitl, and to have become so convinced of its superiority that he ordered its adoption. Ixtlilxochitl, p. 217; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 194-5.] but such a supposition would be inconsistent with the whole tenor of the aboriginal annals, and cannot be admitted. Among the new tribes that occupied Anáhuac after the Toltecs, there were doubtless some that spoke another tongue; the enforced use of the Nahua at court was aimed at the chiefs of such tribes, and was a part of the emperor's general policy. Of course it is just possible that one of the tribes of foreign tongue had become powerful and constituted a large part of the population of Tezcuco, but such a state of affairs is not probable, and the statement of some writers that the many learned Culhuas and Mexicans gathered at the Chichimec capital during this period, came as teachers of the Nahua language at the court of Techotl, cannot be accepted. Brasseur's idea, as implied throughout this period of aboriginal history, that the Chichimecs were barbarians, gradually civilized by the few Toltecs that remained in the country, and forced by their kings to adopt Nahua language and institutions, I regard as wholly imaginary. The struggles of Quinantzin and his successors were directed, not to the introduction of Toltec usages, but to the preservation of their culture, threatened by the spirit of anarchy and independence that followed the downfall of the Toltec empire.

DEATH OF TECHOTL

Feeling, at last, that his end was drawing near, and that the work to which he had devoted his energies must be committed to other hands, the aged monarch is reported to have held a long interview with his son and heir, Ixtlilxochitl. Most earnestly he instructed his son concerning his future duties, and warned him against dangers whose occurrence he already foresaw. He feared, above all, the projects of Tezozomoc, the Tepanec king, who had already, although nominally loyal to Techotl, shown tokens of far-reaching ambition and the possession of great executive ability, and who evidently remembered that Acolnahuacatl, his predecessor, had once been emperor. Special advice was given to Ixtlilxochitl, who was probably a very young man, although there is some disagreement about the date of his birth,[581 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 217-8, says he was over sixty years old; Ixtlilxochitl gives 1338 as the date of his birth, which would make him less than twenty. The method of arriving at his age seems to be by fixing the date of his son's birth, noting that his father's wife was eight years old at her marriage, and taking into consideration the reported Chichimec custom which required the husband to wait until his wife was forty before consummating the marriage. Ixtlilxochitl was endowed, at birth, with thirteen towns or provinces; his mother is said to have been the sister of Coxcoxtli, king of Culhuacan.] as to the best policy to be followed with the king of Azcapuzalco, and after jealously striving to imbue his successor with the spirit that had made his own reign so glorious, the emperor died, as has been stated, in 8 Calli, 1357.[582 - 1353, or 1357, Ixtlilxochitl; 1409, Veytia. On Techotl's reign see: Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 217-18, 353-6, 400-1, 453, 462; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 178-231; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 87-9, 108; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 180-1, 184; Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 276; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 16-17, 24; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 425-32, 457-61, 472-3.]

AZTECS AT MEXICO TENOCHTITLAN

Having traced the glorious, though peaceful career of the emperor Techotl, I have to close this chapter by narrating the events of Culhua and Mexican history during a corresponding period; a period most fatal to Culhuacan, the metropolis of Anáhuac in Toltec times, and the only Toltec city that had retained its prominence through the dark days of Chichimec invasion. We have seen the Mexicans expelled from Culhuacan at the triumph of Achitometl over his brother Acamapichtli; and, after a series of wanderings about the lake, founding their city of Mexico Tenochtitlan in 1325. One year before the city was founded, however, Acamapichtli seems to have regained his power, and this time, his father Coxcoxtli having died, he assumed the title of king. His rule was probably very advantageous to the Mexicans, his friends, during their first years in their new city, while they were strengthening their position; but in 1336 he died, murdered, as some of the records imply, and was succeeded by his brother Achitometl II., the avowed enemy of the Mexicans and their religious rites. His accession drove many of the rival sect to Mexico, and he thus aided, involuntarily, in building up the new power. The infant son of the dead king, also named Acamapichtli, was saved either by his mother, or, as others say, by the princess Ilancueitl.[583 - Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 302; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., p. 451. Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 127-30, agrees, except in dates, so far as the succession of Acamapichtli is concerned, and his friendship for the Mexicans. He, however, says nothing of Achitometl II., dates Acamapichtli's death in 1303, and states that he was succeeded by his eldest son Xiuhtemoc. The Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 42, implies that Acamapichtli transferred his court in 1370 to Mexico, giving, as Motolinia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 6, says, the lordship of Culhuacan to one of his sons. See also Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 218, 343, 349. Much of the confusion in the Culhua succession is caused by the fact that there were two Acamapichtlis, one, king of Culhuacan and in a certain sense the leader of the Mexicans, and the other, king of Mexico at a later date.] During the troubles between the rival sects headed by Acamapichtli and Achitometl, large numbers of Culhuas had left their city and either taken refuge in Tezcuco, or had joined kindred tribes in different localities. On the final accession of Achitometl this depopulating movement was continued to a greater extent than ever before. According to Brasseur's documents, a war with Chalco in 1339, fomented by Tezozomoc, who had succeeded to the Tepanec throne eight years before, gave the finishing blow to the power of Culhuacan, which was practically abandoned by king and people about 1347, her weaker tributary provinces being in part appropriated by the stronger, which now became independent of all save imperial power, although a large portion fell into the hands of the kings of Azcapuzalco and Acolhuacan. The larger part of the Culhuas proper were divided between Quauhtitlan, – which soon became practically a Culhua, or Toltec, city, under Iztactototl, grandson of Coxcoxtli, who succeeded in 1348, – and Mexico.[584 - Gomara and Brasseur as above; also Brasseur, p. 465.]

The territory on which Mexico Tenochtitlan was built seems to have belonged to the domain of Azcapuzalco, and the Mexicans were obliged to pay to the Tepanec king a certain amount of tribute in fish and other productions of the lake. Their prosperity, the improvements they were constantly making in their city, and their strong position in the lake, taken in connection with their well-known valor and ambition, excited much jealousy among the surrounding nations. Possibly this jealousy is alluded to in the fable of a fatal epidemic which prevailed at this time, ascribed in the popular tradition to the fumes of fried fish and other delicacies, wafted from the island town, which created so violent a longing as to occasion illness.[585 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 93; Duran, MS. tom. i., cap. x.] The Tepanecs were the only people that had the power to oppress the Aztecs, which they are said to have done, not only by the exaction of the regular tribute due them, but by imposing special taxes, to be paid in articles of no value to the receivers, but which could be obtained by the Mexicans only with great difficulty or danger.[586 - Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. vi.; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 9-10; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xii; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 471-3; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 99-101; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 176; Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., pp. 22-3.] Brasseur says that Tezozomoc even went so far as to send his son Tlacotin to rule in Mexico after Tenuch's death, and he dying after a short time, another son, Teuhtlehuac, became governor.[587 - Hist., tom. ii., p. 454.] I find nothing in the Spanish writers respecting Tepanec governors in Mexico, although none of them give any very definite idea how the city was governed in the early period of its existence. Some authors mention Tenuch as one of the chiefs that directed the original Aztec migration; others, as we have seen, make him the chief of an Aztec band at Iztacalco, just before the founding of the city, and imply that he was the leader under the priesthood at the time of its foundation, and for some time after; while still other writers state that he was elected chief three years after the foundation.[588 - Veytia, tom. ii., p. 159, writes the name Tenuhctzin, and dates his election 1330. In the Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 40, it is stated that the other chiefs still continued to govern their clans. See also, Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 173-4; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 289-91; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 148.]

At this period took place the division of the Aztecs into Mexicans and Tlatelulcas, although Veytia dates it back before the foundation of the city, and before many of the events already related. It was caused by a quarrel between the priests and nobles, and was a secession of the latter when unable to check the growing power of the former. Torquemada attributes the separation merely to the overcrowded state of the city; and the fable of the two bundles which originated the dissension in early times has already been related.[589 - See pp. 325-6 (#Page_324), of this volume.] Brasseur sees in this division the inevitable Nahua tendency to struggle bravely and unitedly against misfortune, but at the first dawn of prosperity to indulge in internal strife. The priesthood used their influence to excite the lower classes against the nobility, and particularly against their Tepanec governor, whom they denounced as a tyrant. They finally succeeded in raising such a storm that Teuhtlehuac was driven out, and his party, including most of the nobility, determined to seek a new home. The connection of a Tepanec governor with the matter, removes some of the difficulties involved in other versions, but it is not easy to understand why Tezozomoc permitted his son to be driven from Tenochtitlan. Whatever the circumstances which led to the secession, the location of the new establishment was miraculously pointed out. The nobles were attracted by a whirlwind to a sandy spot among the reeds of the lake, about two miles from Tenochtitlan, and found there the shield, arrow, and coiled serpent, which they deemed a most happy augury. They obtained a title of the land from the Tepanec king, on condition of a yearly tribute,[590 - Veytia says they first applied to Quinantzin, placing this event in the reign of Alconahuacatl, as emperor.] and called their new home Xaltelulco, afterwards, Tlatelulco.[591 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 135, 138, 140-1; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 93, 99, 291. Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. v., names four chiefs who were at the head of the secessionists. Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 398, mentions two chiefs with their adherents. Others speak of eight. Acosta, p. 468, writes Tlatelulco, 'place of terraces.' Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 113, defines the name 'islet.' Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 22, derives it from tlatelli, 'booth,' because the market was located here. Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 467-8, says the original name was Xalliyacac, 'point of land,' which was in the territory belonging to Tlatelulco, at the time a small village, but in the Toltec period a flourishing city. See also, Clavigero, tom. i., p. 170.]

GROWTH OF MEXICO AND TLATELULCO

Both cities grew rapidly, and acquired much prosperity and power, notwithstanding the separation, by reason of the large immigration that they received, and of the rivalry that sprang up between the two divisions. The additions to the population in Tenochtitlan were chiefly Culhuas, who came in so large numbers as to outnumber, perhaps, the original Mexicans; while Tlatelulco received a corresponding influx of Tepanecs, and many from other neighboring nations. We have no further details of their history down to the death of the emperor Techotl, at Tezcuco, except that the establishment of a monarchy in each of the two cities. The Mexicans were at first ruled by the priests, with certain chiefs not definitely named; although by some Tenuch is still spoken of as alive and ruling down to 1357. It was finally decided, in an assembly of priests and wise men of the nation, to choose a king, and the choice fell upon Acamapichtli II., son of Acamapichtli of Culhuacan. The large Culhua element in Tenochtitlan doubtless had a great influence in this choice; and other motives were the friendship of the candidate's father for the Mexicans in past times, the possibility of reconquering the old Culhua possessions and joining them to the Aztec domain, and possibly the extreme youth of Acamapichtli, which offered to the priesthood a prospect of easily controlling his actions. The young candidate was summoned from Tezcuco, where he had taken refuge, together with the princess Ilancueitl, who had rescued him, who seems to have been regent during his minority, and who is even said to have become his wife. 1350 was the date of the accession of Acamapichtli II., the first king of Mexico Tenochtitlan.[592 - There is great diversity among the authorities respecting the parentage of Acamapichtli II., some of which may probably be attributed to the confounding of two of the same name. Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 186-8, 161, dates his accession 1361, says a political contest of four years preceded his election, and calls him the son of Huitzilihuitl by Atotoztli, daughter of Acamapichtli. Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 173-4, Acosta, pp. 469-71, and Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. v-vi., represent the new king as son of Opochtli, an Aztec chief, by Atotoztli, a Culhua princess. Clavigero makes the date 1352; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 94-97, refers to him as a noble Aztec, son of Cohuatzontli by the daughter of a Culhua chieftain. Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 344, 348-9, 456, gives as usual two or three versions of the matter, saying in one place that the new king was the third son of the king of Azcapuzalco. Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 302, brings him from Coatlichan, whither he had escaped with his mother after the death of her husband the Culhua king. 'Acamapichtli, king of Culhuacan, father of the second Acamapichtli spoken of here, was a grandson of Acxoquauhtli, son of Achitometl I., by Azcaxochitl, daughter of the Mexican Huitzilatl. Acamapichtli I. had also married Ixxochitl, daughter of Teotlehuac, who was a brother of Azcaxochitl and son of the same Huitzilatl, and had had by her Acamapichtli II.' Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 469-70. See also: Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 22; Motolinia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 6; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xii.; Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. iv., pp. 1005-6. The question of the new king's marriage is even more deeply involved. See same authorities.] Soon after, probably the following year, 1351, the Tlatelulcas also determined to establish a monarchical form of government. They also sent abroad for a king, and received a son of the Tepanec king, Tezozomoc, named Quaquauhpitzahuac.[593 - Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 94-5; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 174-5; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., p. 471. Date according to Clavigero, 1353. Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 213, 348-9, 398, 453, and Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 141, say that the king's name was Mixcohuatl, or Epcoatzin, or Cohuatlecatl. See also Vetancvrt, Teatro, pt ii., p. 22; Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 273; Granados y Galvez, Tardes Amer., pp. 174-5; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 49; and Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 317-9, with portrait.]

CHAPTER VII.

THE CHICHIMEC PERIOD. – CONCLUDED

Aztec History – Reigns of Acamapichtli II. and Quaquauhpitzahuac – Rebuilding of Culhuacan – Huitzilihuitl II., King of Mexico – Tlacateotzin, King of Tlatelulco – Chimalpopoca Succeeds in Mexico – Funeral of Techotl – Ixtlilxochitl, Emperor of the Chichimecs – Symptoms of Discontent – Plans of Tezozomoc, the Tepanec King – Secret council of Rebels – Religious Toleration in Tezcuco – Conquest of Xaltocan and Cuitlahuac – Birth of Nezahualcoyotl – War between Tezcuco and Azcapuzalco – Victories of Ixtlilxochitl – Siege and Fall of Azcapuzalco – Treachery of Tezozomoc – Fall of Tezcuco – Flight and Death of Ixtlilxochitl – Tezozomoc proclaimed Emperor – Reorganization of the Empire – Adventures of Nezahualcoyotl – Death of Tezozomoc – Maxtla usurps the Imperial Throne – Murder of the Mexican Kings – Nezahualcoyotl's Victory – Itzcoatl, King of Mexico – Acolhua and Aztec Alliance – Fall of Azcapuzalco – The Tri-partite Alliance, or the New Empire.

The next and final chapter of the Chichimec annals covers a period of three quarters of a century, extending from the death of the emperor Techotl in 1357, to the formation of the tri-partite alliance between the Acolhuas, Aztecs, and Tepanecs, in 1431. It embraces the reigns of three emperors, Ixtlilxochitl, Tezozomoc, and Maxtla; and is a record of continued struggles for the imperial power between the Acolhuas and Tepanecs, resulting in the humiliation of the latter and the triumph of the former, through the aid of a third power, which is admitted as an equal to the victor in the final reconstruction of the empire. The rôle of the other nations of Anáhuac during this period, is that of allies to one or the other of the powers mentioned, or, occasionally, of rebels who take advantage of the dissensions of the ruling powers to declare their independence, enjoyed as a rule only until such time as the masters may have an opportunity to reduce them to their old allegiance. We find the aboriginal record more and more complete as we approach the epoch of the conquest, with much less confusion in chronology, so far as leading events are concerned, although perfect agreement among the authorities is yet far from being attained in the minor details with which the narrative is crowded. A new source of disagreement is, moreover, reached as we approach the final century of the native annals – national prejudices on the part of the native historians through whom those annals have been handed down, and a constant tendency among such writers as Ixtlilxochitl, Tezozomoc, Chimalpain, and Camargo, to exhibit in their highest colors the actions of the nations from which they have descended, while ever disposed to cloud the fame of rival powers. Fortunately, one authority serves, generally, as an efficient check upon another in such cases.

REIGN OF ACAMAPICHTLI II

THE CHICHIMEC PERIOD

Before relating the general history of Anáhuac during the successive reigns of the emperors Ixtlilxochitl and Tezozomoc, in which history the Mexicans took a prominent part as allies of the latter, it will be well to glance, briefly – for there is little to say on the subject – at the course of events in the new cities on the lake marshes. We left Tenochtitlan under the rule of its Culhua king, Acamapichtli II., or rather under the regency of his queen, Ilancueitl; while Quaquauhpitzahuac, son of the Tepanec king Tezozomoc, was on the throne of Tlatelulco, both kingdoms being tributary to that of Azcapuzalco. One of the last acts of the queen was the re-settlement of Culhuacan in 1378, by means of a colony sent from Mexico under Nauhyotl, the fourth of that name who had ruled in the Culhua city. This was done partly from motives of pride in restoring the capital of her own and her husband's ancestors, and partly to serve as a check on the encroachments of the Chalcas in the south.[594 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 99. In the explanation of the Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 148, vol. vi., p. 134, it is stated that king Acamapichtli burned the temple of Culhuacan in 1399, probably referring to the quarrels of Acamapichtli I. with Coxcoxtli, or Achitometl, at an earlier period.] In 1383 the queen died. Ixtlilxochitl states that she bore her husband three sons, one of whom was Huitzilihuitl; Clavigero tells us she was barren, but took charge of the education of two of her husband's sons, Huitzilihuitl and Chimalpopoca, by another wife; Torquemada confounds the two Acamapichtlis, and is, consequently, greatly puzzled about Ilancueitl's children; and finally, Brasseur shows that she was espoused at an advanced age by the king solely for political motives, and that she lived harmoniously with his other two wives, one of whom bore him Huitzilihuitl, and the other Chimalpopoca.[595 - Ixtlilxochitl, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., p. 213; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 176-7; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 95-8; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 100; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 302; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xii.; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 470-3; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. xiii; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., pp. 148-9; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 43.] The reign of Acamapichtli II. dates, in a certain sense, from the death of his queen, who for many years had, at least, ruled jointly with him. The beginning of the wars between the Mexicans and Chalcas, which were waged so bitterly for many years, is attributed to Acamapichtli's reign, as are the conquests of Quauhnahuac, Mizquic, and Xochimilco; but it must be understood that it was only as the allies of the Tepanec king that the Mexicans engaged in these wars. Torquemada and Acosta assert that Acamapichtli's reign was a very peaceful one.[596 - Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 92; Mendieta, Torquemada, Acosta, Brasseur, and Clavigero, as in preceding note.] It was after the conquest of Quauhnahuac, later Cuernavaca, that the first gold-workers came to ply their art in Tenochtitlan.[597 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 111.] After having ruled wisely and justly, greatly enlarging and improving his capital, he died in 1403, leaving the choice of a successor wholly to his nobles and priests.[598 - Date, 1404, Duran; 1402, after reigning 41 years, Veytia; 1405, Boturini; 1389, 37 years, Clavigero; 1406, 7 years, Codex Tell. Rem.; 1396, Mendieta; reigned 21 years, Torquemada, Sahagun, Codex Mendoza; 1271, 51 years, Ixtlilxochitl; 46 years, Gomara and Motolinia; 40 years, Acosta and Herrera; 1403, 53 or 21 years, Brasseur.] There is great disagreement among the authorities respecting the length of his reign, some dating it from his first call to the throne, and others from the death of the queen. Immediately after the funeral of Acamapichtli, an assembly of the wise men of the nation was held to deliberate on the choice of a successor. The priests made an effort to acquire the control by discontinuing the monarchy. They wished the temporal affairs of the state to be managed by a senate or council, with a military chieftain to lead their armies in war; but the majority believed that their only hope of national safety and future power was in a monarchy, and Huitzilihuitl II., the eldest son of the late king was called to the throne during the same or the following year. The speeches by which the old men convinced the assembly that their yet precarious condition, considering their isolated position and the powerful nations surrounding them, made it necessary to call to their throne a wise, prudent, and powerful king, are recorded by Duran, Tezozomoc, and Torquemada; as are the addresses of advice to the new king at his coronation, in which he was reminded that his position was no sinecure, but that on him depended the future greatness of the Mexicans foretold by the gods. The choice of the people was ratified by king Tezozomoc of Azcapuzalco; and at the same time it is reported that Itzcoatl, a natural son of the late king, by a woman of rank, was appointed commander of the Mexican armies. One of the means by which the Aztecs struggled to attain to their predestined greatness, was by contracting foreign matrimonial alliances with powerful nations; and as Huitzilihuitl had yet no wife, an embassy was sent to Tezozomoc with a most humble and flattering petition, begging that all-powerful sovereign to favor his most obedient vassal by sending one of his daughters, "one of his pearls, emeralds, or precious feathers," as Torquemada expresses it, to share with the new king his poor home in the marshes. The petition was granted, the princess Ayauhcihuatl was given to Huitzilihuitl, and the following year his brother Chimalpopoca won the hand of the beautiful princess Miahuaxochitl, daughter of the lord of Quauhnahuac, who became the mother of Montezuma.[599 - Acosta and Herrera write the name of Huitzilihuitl's wife Ayauchigual. Veytia says her name was Miahuaxochitl, and that she was the daughter of Tezozomoc. Torquemada, Clavigero, and Gomara make him marry, first, Ayauhcihuatl, daughter of Tezozomoc, and afterwards, Miahuaxochitl, princess of Quauhnahuac, the latter of whom bore Montezuma I. Ixtlilxochitl says the king married his niece, Tetzihuatzin, grand-daughter of Tezozomoc, one of whose children was Chimalpopoca. Brasseur, relying on the Codex Chimalp. and Mem. de Culhuacan, gives the account I have presented in the text. The Codex Tell. Rem. says Huitzilihuitl married a daughter of the princess of Coatlichan, and a grand-daughter of Acamapichtli, having by her no sons. Tezozomoc and Duran name Chimalpopoca as Huitzilihuitl's first son; Veytia says it was Montezuma I., and Torquemada, Clavigero, and Brasseur name the first son Acolnahuacatl.] By the alliance with Quauhnahuac, the city of Tenochtitlan received a large accession of artists and skilled workmen; while from Tezozomoc, who is said by Veytia to have personally visited the city at the birth of his grandson, the Mexicans obtained the removal of the tribute which they had so long been obliged to pay, or, at least, its reduction to a merely nominal amount, including a few wild fowl and fishes for the royal table. From this time the Mexicans are said to have felt more at their ease, to have paid more attention to the arts and sciences, and to have abandoned their coarse garments of nequen for more sumptuous apparel.[600 - On the death of Acamapichtli II., and the succession and marriage of Huitzilihuitl II., see Duran, MS. tom. i., cap. vi, vii; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 176-80; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 98-106; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 268; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 218, 353, 456-7; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 219-26; Tezozomoc, in Kingsborough, vol. ix., pp. 10-11; Codex Tell. Rem., in Id., vol. v., pp. 148-9; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 302; Motolinia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 6; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xii.; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 473-5; Sigüenza, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. i., p. 50; Boturini, in Id., p. 239; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 149; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 110-17.]

AZTEC ALLIANCES

REIGN OF HUITZILIHUITL II

Very soon after Huitzilihuitl's accession to the throne, the Tlatetulcan king Quaquauhpitzahuac died, and was succeeded by his son Tlacateotzin, according to Brasseur's authorities; although Veytia places at about this date the succession and marriage of Quaquauhpitzahuac, soon followed by Tlacateotzin's birth, the latter becoming king only in 1414. This subject of the Tlatetulcan succession is inextricably confused, since some authors make Mixcohuatl precede Quaquauhpitzahuac as first king; and Ixtlilxochitl, in one of his relations, even puts another king, Amatzin, between the two. The matter is not one of great importance, since it is certain that Tlacateotzin reigned after 1414 during a most exciting period, being one of the chief military leaders in Tezozomoc's army.[601 - According to Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 216-7, 246, 249-51, Mixcohuatl reigned 75 years, was succeeded by Quaquauhpitzahuac in 1400, and he by Tlacateotzin in 1414. Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 213, 218, 353, 356, 453, 462, says Mixcohuatl died in 1271, reigned 51 years, and was succeeded by his son Quaquauhpitzahuac; or that he died in Techotl's reign and was followed by Tlacateotzin; or that Quaquauhpitzahuac died in 1353; or was succeeded by Amatzin; or again, that Tlacateotzin succeeded his father; and that he married a daughter of Tezozomoc. Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 273, ignores Mixcohuatl, as do Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 94-5, 99, 127-8, and Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 175, 184. Both the latter authors make the first king a son of Tezozomoc. Clavigero places his accession in 1353, and that of Tlacateotzin, his successor, in 1399. Torquemada says the first king reigned 35 years, and was followed by Tlacateotzin in the tenth year of Huitzilihuitl's rule. Both Mexicans and Tlatelulcas seem to have claimed the honor of having had the first king. See also Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 123.] The two cities had by this time been extended greatly beyond their original limits, and were separated only by a narrow tract of marsh, which was dry at low water. Notwithstanding the fair promises made by the Tepanec king to his vassals and allies on the lake, some of his tyrannical acts seem to have been directed at them even at this early time, if we may credit the statement that Nauhyotl IV., in command of the Aztec-Culhua colony at Culhuacan for the past thirty-five years, was murdered by Tezozomoc's orders in 1413.[602 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 120.] Tlatelulco was yet in its buildings and some other respects superior to its rival, perhaps by reason of being less under priestly control, or through the greater favor shown its people by the Tepanecs. But Huitzilihuitl had done much to build up and embellish Tenochtitlan, and particularly to promote her commercial industries, by digging canals, multiplying the number of chinampas, and by a wise system of trade regulations. He is also accredited with a new code of laws, and with the introduction of war canoes and the training of his soldiers in their skillful management.[603 - Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. vii.; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 106; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 226-8, 246; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 127-8.] Mendieta states that this king conquered Tultitlan, Quauhtitlan, Chalco, Tulancingo, Xaltocan, Otompan, Tezcuco, and Acolman, during his reign, but the reference is of course to the wars of the Tepanec king by the aid of his Mexican allies; and Sahagun says he fought against Culhuacan, referring doubtless to a former ruler of the same name.[604 - Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 149; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 43; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 268.] Huitzilihuitl II. died in 1417,[605 - Date 1414, Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 246-7; Boturini, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. iv., p. 239; Codex Tell. Rem., in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 149; 1353, Ixtlilxochitl, in Id., vol. ix., pp. 218, 356, 457; 1409, Clavigero, tom. i., p. 186; 1417, Codex Chimalp. in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 129, and Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 43.] and his half brother, Chimalpopoca, was immediately chosen to succeed him, in the absence of any legitimate son. We have seen that there is much disagreement respecting Huitzilihuitl's marriage and his children; some authors even state that Chimalpopoca was his son, but the majority of the best authorities agree that the new king was the son of Acamapichtli II., and a brother of Huitzilihuitl. The latter's only legitimate son, Acolnahuacatl, was killed, in childhood, by Maxtla, son of Tezozomoc, in 1399, through fear that he might inherit the crown of Azcapuzalco, as Clavigero states. Acosta, confounding this tradition with the fact that king Chimalpopoca was long after killed by Maxtla's orders, tells us Chimalpopoca was killed in childhood. Torquemada adds to the fact of the young Acolnahuacatl's murder, another motive for the crime, in a tale to the effect that Tezozomoc had given Maxtla's wife to the Mexicans for a queen, hence the wrath and vengeance of the Tepanec prince. The choice of the Mexicans is said to have been approved both by the emperor Ixtlilxochitl and by Tezozomoc. Chimalpopoca's marriage has already been noted, and the birth of his son Montezuma Ilhuicamina; Veytia states that his wife, by whom he had seven children, was the princess Matlalatzin, a daughter of the king of Tlatelulco. I shall have occasion to speak again of this king.[606 - On death of Huitzilihuitl II. and succession of Chimalpopoca, see Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 246-9; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 105-7; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 182-7; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 218, 355-6, 457; Acosta, Hist. de las Ynd., pp. 475-8; Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 268; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. vii, viii; Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 149; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 129-31; Codex Mendoza, in Kingsborough, vol. v., p. 43; Codex Tell. Rem., in Id., p. 149.]

SUCCESSION OF IXTLILXOCHITL

To return to the general history of the Chichimec empire, the kings and lords were assembled at Tezcuco to perform the last honors to the dead emperor Techotl, and to celebrate the accession of his son and chosen heir Ixtlilxochitl. We have seen that Techotl had by his great ability and by a series of most extraordinary political measures checked the independent spirit of his vassal lords, avoided all internal strife, centralized the imperial power, and made himself almost absolute master of Anáhuac. Another Techotl might perhaps have retained the mastery; but we have seen that many of his acts were calculated to excite the opposition of the Chichimec lords, that on his death-bed he expressed his misgivings respecting future events, and that his son had already made of the Tepanec king an enemy. It is quite possible that the last years of Techotl's reign were marked with troubles which have not been recorded, and that there were causes of enmity towards Ixtlilxochitl which are unknown to us. Brasseur attributes the misfortunes that ensued to Ixtlilxochitl's vacillating spirit and love of ease; but his acts as recorded by the Spanish writers indicate rather a peaceful and forgiving disposition, joined to marked and brilliant abilities as a warrior. However this may be, trouble ahead was indicated at the very funeral of his mighty and popular father. Many lords invited to participate in the ceremonies were not present. Veytia, and Ixtlilxochitl in one of his relations, say that only four lords attended the obsequies; but the latter author elsewhere, and also Boturini, make the number present over sixty, which is much more probable. The absentees sent in various pretexts for not attending; if they had come they would have been obliged to swear allegiance to the new emperor or to openly rebel, an act for which they were not yet ready. Torquemada and Clavigero tell us that Tezozomoc was present at the funeral, but departed immediately after without giving his adhesion to the new emperor. Ixtlilxochitl, however, was crowned king of Acolhuacan by the princes present at Tezcuco, and in all probability assumed at that time the title of Chichimecatl Tecuhtli, or emperor, that was his due, although no author states this directly, and both Ixtlilxochitl and Veytia state expressly that he was not crowned as emperor for many years. Ixtlilxochitl says, however, in one place that he was proclaimed 'lord paramount' by the assembled princes, and there was no apparent motive for delay in this respect.[607 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 231-3, 236, 245; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 108-9; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 185; Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 218-19, 356, 358-9, 401; Boturini, Idea, p. 142; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 87-92.] Ixtlilxochitl was at first disposed to resort to force and to avenge the insult offered him. Putting his army in order and stationing his forces in and about the capital, he sent a summons to Azcapuzalco, ordering the Tepanec king to appear forthwith at court to pay allegiance to his emperor. Tezozomoc, not yet ready for open revolt, pleaded illness, assured Ixtlilxochitl of his good intentions and loyalty, and promised to come as soon as his health would permit. The emperor understood that this was but a pretext, but he was unwilling to resort to harsh measures if they could be avoided, and was induced by his counselors, many of them perhaps in full sympathy with Tezozomoc, to await the better health of his opponent.[608 - Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 234-7; Ixtlilxochitl, p. 356.]

PLOTS OF TEZOZOMOC

In the meantime Tezozomoc called a secret meeting of the disaffected lords, with many of whom he may be supposed to have been already in communication. The kings of Mexico and Tlatelulco were among the allies on whom he counted most, and to whom he made the most flattering promises in case of future success. In a long speech before the assembly he expatiated upon the acts of the late emperor which had been most calculated to offend the lords before him. He spoke of their rights as independent Chichimec rulers, of which they had been deprived and only repaid by empty honors at the imperial court; urged upon them the necessity of making an effort to shake off the tyranny that oppressed them while they retained the power to act; reminded them of Ixtlilxochitl's youth and general unfitness to direct the affairs of a mighty empire. He boasted of having himself already shown his independence by absenting himself from the new emperor's coronation. According to most authorities, he disclaimed any ambitious aims of his own, or any intention to despoil Ixtlilxochitl of his domains as king of Acolhuacan, his only avowed design being to restore to all Chichimec lords their ancient independence; but others state that he openly expressed his intention to wear the imperial crown. At any rate, the assembled princes signified their approval of his views, and looked to him for directions; pledged to secrecy for the present, they were dismissed, and Tezozomoc began his preparations for the coming struggle. But he proceeded slowly, for he knew that Ixtlilxochitl was not a foe to be easily overcome.[609 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 219, 356-7; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 108-9; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 185; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 93-5.] Ixtlilxochitl probably knew of the meeting, but still took no active steps against the Tepanec king, although, as the Spanish writers say, he was constantly arming and disciplining his forces. It is said that immediately upon his accession he removed all restrictions upon religious rites among the many nationalities and sects which composed the population of Tezcuco, even permitting human sacrifice, so strictly prohibited by his ancestors. He thus laid the foundation for troubles analogous to those that had destroyed Tollan and Culhuacan.[610 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 95-6.]

Tezozomoc carefully prepared his way to future power by establishing Tepanec colonies in different localities. One of them was at Tultitlan, near Quauhtitlan. We have seen the latter city pass under Culhua control at the fall of Culhuacan; but after the reigns of king Iztactototl and queen Ehuatlycue, the Chichimecs had regained control in 1372. In 1395 an army, composed chiefly of Tepanecs and Mexicans, under Xaltemoc, lord of Quauhtitlan, conquered and burned the Otomí city of Xaltocan, and a large extent of territory between that city and Tollan, of which Tezozomoc took for himself the larger share, giving also portions to his allies for their services. In 1392 the Cuitlahuacs had been conquered by the Mexicans and entrusted to a governor devoted to the interests of Tezozomoc, who embraced every opportunity to place his sons or his friends in positions where they might be of use to him in the future.[611 - Id., pp. 97-106.] Ixtlilxochitl watched the aggressive movements without interfering, from cowardice or weakness as one would think were it not for subsequent events, and at last Tezozomoc proceeded to test his adversary's feelings towards him, by sending, for three years successively, a quantity of cotton to Tezcuco, at first with the request, but finally with the order, that it should be woven into fine fabrics and returned to Azcapuzalco. Twice the request was granted and the cloths sent back with a polite message, still, as is said, at the advice of the Acolhua counselors; and the Tepanec king evidently began to think he had overrated his emperor's courage. He was disposed to begin hostilities at once, but was induced by his allied counselors rather to increase year by year the quantity of cotton sent to Tezcuco, and thus to gradually accustom the Acolhua king to a payment of tribute, while he was also constantly winning over to his side lords that yet wavered. On the third year a very large amount of cotton was sent, without any formal request, but with a mere message directing that the staple be forthwith woven into the finest cloths, and to ensure dispatch that it be divided among the Acolhua lords.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR

Ixtlilxochitl was at last fully aroused, refused to be controlled by his advisers, and returned to Tezozomoc's message a reply substantially as follows: "I have received the cotton kindly furnished by you, and thank you for it. It will serve to make quilted garments to be worn by my soldiers who go to chastise a pack of rebels who not only refuse allegiance to their emperor, but relying on my forbearance, have the impudence to ask for tribute. If you have more cotton send it also; my soldiers do not need armor to fight against such foes, but these quilted garments will give my armies a finer appearance in their triumphal march." With this reply, or soon after, according to Brasseur, a formal challenge was sent to Tezozomoc, whose gray hairs and near relationship, as Ixtlilxochitl said, could no longer protect him. The other authorities speak of no formal challenge, but of long preparation on both sides for the approaching conflict. The Tepanec king summoned his allies, chief among whom were the Mexicans and Tlatelulcas, promised to divide the conquered domain of Acolhuacan among them, and prepared to march on Tezcuco. Ixtlilxochitl also called upon his vassal lords, including those of Coatlichan, Huexotla, Coatepec, Iztapalocan, Tepepulco, Chalco, and others, explained to them the ambitious plans of Tezozomoc, recalled to them the favors they had received from his ancestors, and ordered them to aid him immediately with all their resources. Many of the authors state that he wished at this time to be crowned as emperor, but postponed the ceremonies at the wish of his lords, until after the defeat of his enemy, when they might be performed with fitting pomp. All the lords promised their assistance, although some of them are supposed to have been in sympathy with Tezozomoc. The Spanish writers represent these events as having occurred from 1410 to 1412, but it is evident from what follows that they are to be attributed to the last years of the fourteenth century.[612 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 219, 357, 401-2; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 108-9; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 185-6; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 234-45; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 106-8.]

Brasseur, relying on a chapter of Torquemada's work,[613 - Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 108-9.] states that in the challenge mentioned above, the region of Quauhtitlan was mentioned as a battle-ground, and that it was followed by a three years' war, in which Ixtlilxochitl succeeded, at least, in holding his ground, and thereby greatly increased his strength by inspiring confidence in the minds of his wavering vassals. Other authorities, however, state that open hostilities were not engaged in for a long time after the affair of the cotton, although preparations were made on both sides; and this was probably the case, since I find nothing in Torquemada's account to indicate that he intended to make this war distinct from that which, according to all the authorities, took place some years later.

Ixtlilxochitl had married a sister of prince Chimalpopoca of Mexico – half-sister to king Huitzilihuitl II. – by whom he had two children, the princess Atototzin and prince Nezahualcoyotl, 'the fasting coyote.'[614 - The former also called Tozquentzin and Atotoztli; and the latter, Acolmiztli and Yoyontzin.] All the authorities agree on 1402 as the date of his birth, although disagreeing somewhat respecting the month, day, and hour, these variations being, perhaps, not worth discussion from a historical point of view. The predictions of the astrologers at his birth were most flattering for his future career, and he was entrusted for education and training to a Toltec gentleman of high culture.[615 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 218, 359, 401, 405, 453; Duran, MS., tom. i., cap. vi.; Torquemada, tom. i., p. 110; Leon y Gama, Dos Piedras, pt ii., pp. 41-2; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 109-10; Camargo, in Nouvelles Annales, tom. xcviii., p. 146.] Xaltemoc of Quauhtitlan, who in 1395 had commanded the allied forces in the conquest of Xaltocan, had, it seems, gained the good-will of both the Chichimec and Culhua branches of the population of that city, the power of which had been greatly increased; but this ruler, not lending himself readily to the plans of Tezozomoc, is reported to have been assassinated by the latter's orders in 1408, and his domain to have been divided and put under sons or friends of the Tepanec tyrant, as governors.[616 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 117-18.]

WAR BETWEEN ACOLHUAS AND TEPANECS

The first act of open hostility took place in 1415, when Tezozomoc sent an army in several divisions round the lake southward to devastate the country, destroy the minor towns belonging to the emperor, to join forces at Aztahuacan, take and fortify Iztapalocan, an important city near by, and from that place to march on Tezcuco and capture the emperor. The plan succeeded at first and many towns were pillaged. A traitor led them by the best routes and gave them instructions as to manner of assaulting, or, as Brasseur says, admitted them into the city of Iztapalocan; but the inhabitants under the brave governor, Quauhxilotzin, succeed in repulsing the Tepanec forces although not without considerable loss of prisoners, to which misfortune was joined the death of the brave governor, murdered by the hands of the same traitor mentioned above. Ixtlilxochitl, hearing of the march of his enemy, came to Iztapalocan from Tezcuco soon after the battle, with a small army hastily gathered; but the Tepanecs finding that their plan had failed in its main object, had retreated to Azcapuzalco, and the emperor's force was too small to attack Tezozomoc in his intrenchments.[617 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 219, 358-9, 402. Dates according to this author, April 15, 1359; Dec. 30, 1363; 1415. Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 255-6; date, Aug. 6, 1415. Torquemada, tom. i., p. 109; Clavigero, tom. i., pp. 185-6; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 120-1.]

Before beginning a campaign against Tezozomoc, Ixtlilxochitl called a meeting of such vassal lords as were accessible, and had his son Nezahualcoyotl proclaimed, with all the pomp of the old Toltec rites, as his successor on the imperial throne. The high-priests of Huexotla and Cholula assisted at the ceremonies, and the only lords present were those of Huexotla,[618 - Sahagun, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. 277-8, gives a list of the succession of lords at Huexotla from the earliest Chichimec times.] Coatlichan, and Iztapalocan; others who were faithful were busy preparing their forces for war. The authorities do not agree whether this meeting took place in Tezcuco or Huexotla, and some imply that Ixtlilxochitl was crowned at the same time.[619 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 219-20, 359, 402. He states that in this meeting, or another held about the same time, there were many other lords present, including those of Acolman and Tepechpan, who, although pretending to be faithful, kept Tezozomoc posted as to the course events were taking. See also Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 257-8; Torquemada, tom. i., p. 110; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 121-2.]

Tezozomoc, too old to lead his armies in person, gave his son Maxtla and the kings of Mexico and Tlatelulco, the highest places in command, making the latter, Tlacateotzin, commander-in-chief. He also took especial care in strengthening his fortifications on the frontier. Ixtlilxochitl divided his forces in three divisions; the first, commanded by Tochintzin, grandson of the lord of Coatlichan, was stationed in towns just north of the capital; the second, under Ixcontzin, lord of Iztapalocan, was to protect the southern provinces; while the third, under the emperor himself, remained near Tezcuco, ready to render aid to his officers where it should be most needed. They were ordered to remain within their intrenchments and await the enemy's movements. The Tepanecs and their allies crossed the lake in canoes, landed in the region of Huexotla, carried some small settlements on the lake shores, and assaulted the Acolhuas in their intrenched positions. Day after day they repeated the assault, and were driven back each time with heavy loss, both sides in the meantime receiving strong reinforcements. Finally Tochintzin feigned a retreat towards Chiuhnauhtlan, drew the Tepanecs in pursuit, faced about suddenly and utterly routed the forces of Tlacateotzin. The lake shore was covered with the dead, and the defeated army retired in confusion to Azcapuzalco. The good-natured emperor gave orders to discontinue offensive operations, and sent an embassy proffering peace on condition of submission to him as emperor, and offering to forget the past. Tezozomoc haughtily declined the overtures, claimed a right, as the nearest relative of the great Xolotl, to the title of Chichimecatl Tecuhtli, and announced his intention to enforce his claims, naming a day when his armies would again meet the Acolhuas on the field of Chiuhnauhtlan. This may be the challenge already referred to as recorded by Torquemada. At any rate, it was accepted, a large army was concentrated at the point indicated, and another at Huexotla, which place, as was ascertained, Tezozomoc really intended treacherously to attack, and which he expected to find comparatively undefended. Tlacateotzin crossed the lake as before in canoes with an immense army, but as before was defeated in a succession of battles, and after some days forced to retreat to the Tepanec capital, branches of the Acolhua army in the meantime sacking several towns in the enemy's domain, and punishing several lords who had deserted the emperor to join Tezozomoc.[620 - Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 359-60, 402-3; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 257-68; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 108-9; Clavigero, tom. i., p. 186; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 122-5.]

IXTLILXOCHITL'S VICTORIES

Ixtlilxochitl's star was now in the ascendant; his valor and success in war inspired new confidence; and many lords who had hitherto held aloof, now declared their allegiance to the emperor. As usual, the Tezcucan monarch was disposed to suspend his military operations, and receive the allegiance which he supposed Tezozomoc would now be ready to offer; but he soon learned that his adversary, far from abandoning his projects, had succeeded, by new promises of a future division of territory and spoils, in gaining over to his side the lords of two powerful provinces, one of which was Chalco, adjoining the Acolhuan domain on the north and south. Exasperated at his foe's persistence, and having a larger army than ever before at his command, Ixtlilxochitl determined to punish Tezozomoc and his allies in their own territory. Leaving at and about Iztapalocan, and under the lord of that city, a sufficient army to keep the Chalcas in check, he marched at the head of a large army northward and round the lakes, taking in his course Otompan and Tollan with many towns of minor importance. Now without opposition, now after a bloody combat, town after town fell before the advancing conqueror, whose fury was directed against Tepanec soldiers and treacherous vassals, women and children being in all cases spared. In the province of Tepotzotlan he was met by the regular Tepanec army of 200,000 men under the Tlatelulcan king Tlacateotzin, who attempted to stay the tide of invasion, but after a desperate conflict, was forced back to Quauhtitlan, and then to Tepatec, where a second great battle was fought. Defeated at every step, the allied rebels were at last forced to retreat within the fortifications of Temalpalco, which defended Tezozomoc's capital, Azcapuzalco. For four months, as some authorities state, the siege of the city was prolonged, Ixtlilxochitl endeavoring rather to harass the pent-up enemy, and gradually reduce their number, than to bring about a general engagement. Finally, when he could hold out no longer, Tezozomoc sent an embassy to the emperor, throwing himself entirely upon his mercy, but pleading most humbly for pardon, reminding Ixtlilxochitl of their near relationship, pledging the submission of all his allies, and promising to come personally to Tezcuco, on an appointed day, to swear the allegiance he had so long and unjustly withheld. The too lenient emperor, tired of war and bloodshed, granted the petition, raised the siege against the advice of all his lords, returned to Tezcuco, and disbanded his armies. Brasseur makes this campaign end in 1416; others in 1417. Ixtlilxochitl states that the campaign lasted four years, and that Tezozomoc had under his command 500,000 men.[621 - Clavigero, tom. i., p. 186, states that Ixtlilxochitl granted this peace, not because he had any faith in Tezozomoc or was disposed to be lenient to his allies, but because his army was equally exhausted with that of the enemy, and he was unable to continue hostilities. This is hardly probable, although he had doubtless suffered more than the records indicate. See also Ixtlilxochitl, pp. 220, 360-2, 403, 453; Veytia, tom. ii., pp. 268-76; Torquemada, tom. i., pp. 108-10; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 122-7.]

TREACHERY OF TEZOZOMOC

By this act Ixtlilxochitl sealed his fate. Some of his truest allies who had fought for glory and loyalty, understanding Tezozomoc's hypocrisy and deeming their labors thrown away, were disgusted at their emperor's ill-timed clemency and withdrew their support. Many more lords had undertaken the war with the expectation, in case of victory, of sharing among themselves the Tepanec dominions. The rank and file, with the lesser chieftains, had borne the toil and danger of a long campaign, and now that it was ended, were denied the spoils that belonged to them as victors. The discontent was loud and wide-spread, and Ixtlilxochitl's prestige outside of Tezcuco and one or two adjoining cities, was lost forever. The Tepanec king, without the slightest idea of fulfilling his pledges, fomented the spirit of mutiny by promising the lords as a reward of rebellion, what they had failed to obtain in loyal combat, new domains from the Tezcucan possessions, together with independence of imperial power. Another motive of hatred on the part of Tezozomoc toward Ixtlilxochitl is mentioned by Brasseur's documents as having come to the knowledge of the former king about this time. His son's wife, a near relative of the Tezcucan king, who had left her husband and Azcapuzalco for good reasons, was now found to be living in or near Tezcuco as the mistress of an Acolhua chief, thus degrading the honor of the Tepanec royal family.[622 - Codex Chimalp., in Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 129-30.]