Formal Name: Itzcoatzin
Life: 1380-1440
Reign: 1425/28-1440
Name: obsidian serpent
Place of Birth: Tenochtitlan
Died: Tenochtitlan, of illness.
Itzcoatl was selected to lead Tenochtitlan following the death of his predecessor, Chimalpopoca, who was allegedly murdered by his uncle Maxtla, the Tepanec leader in Coyoacan. Maxtla felt his father’s loyalty to his Mexica grandson Chimlpopoca was a liability to the economic health of the Tepanecs. And so, it is accepted that Maxtla coordinated the death of the Mexica leader and his son. Additionally, the Tepanec king Tezozomoc was possibly killed later, ending the line completely. The brash assassinations seem to be entirely the work of Maxtla, however one man benefited greatly: Itzcoatl.
Born around 1380, Itzcoatl was likely the son of Tlatoani Huitzilihuitl and his favorite slave girl, her name lost to history. Perhaps this forbidden mother, more alluring to the king than the Tepanec queen, was the root of Itzcoatl’s ferocity.
Following the death of Chimalpopoca, Itzcoatl was selected to be Tlatoani, sometime between 1424 and 1428. Itzcoatl was a new generation of leader in the Mexica world, he wasn’t content to report to another nation. Nor was his brother, the young and powerful Mexica noble, Tlacaelel. His coronation made Maxtla and other Tepanec leaders nervous. Maxtla sent a force that actually overran the Mexica defenses and occupied the city for some time. It was Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco who came to their salvation and drove out the Tepanecs. Nezahualcoyotl, the legendary poet warrior of Texcoco, had a fondness for the Mexica from his time as a willing prisoner under Chimalpopoca’s rule. In a show of loyalty the Texcoco king returned all of Tenochtitlan to Itzcoatl.
A group of leading men from Tenochtitlan thought it best to go to Azcapotzalco and pledge allegiance to Tezozomoc on behalf of Itzcoatl, to minimize any ideas of conflict. Tlacalael, then a young warrior, stood up to these men and urged them not to offer their subjugation so quickly. He managed to convince Itzcoatl to send him to Azcapotzalco to see the king Tezozomoc, to understand why the Tepanec army was surrounding them. Tezozomoc admitted he had lost the faith of his son Maxtla and other leaders and that they now acted on their own. Having presented this information to Itzcoatl, Tlacalael was again sent to Tezozomoc, this time with an ultimatum – war or subjugation.
The threat seems to have worked as Maxtla, Cuecuex and Tezozmoc backed down, pulling their troops. But tempers remained high between Maxtla and the Mexica leaders Itzcoatl and Tlacalael. This moment, the new leadership overruling the elders who were ready to beg forgiveness and subjugation, is the beginning of Tlacalael’s influence that would continue through his mentorship of four tlatoque, past his death until the end of the Empire.
Many of the Mexica nobles were still under the glow of what used to be the protective cloak of Tezozomoc and his love for his grandson, Chimalpopoca. But things had changed and Itzcoatl was intent on making the Mexica a dominant group in the Valley. His nemesis, Maxtla, had similar aspirations having expanded his territory from Coyoacan to Azcapotzalco by overthrowing his half-brother Tayatzin after his father Tezozomoc’s death.
A clear rivalry had been built upon Maxtla’s anger at the favoritism the Mexica had received from his father Tezozomoc. That rift was exploited by Itzcoatl and Tlacalael to force the Mexica out from under Tepanec control. In the midst of this tension a group of Tepanecs assaulted and stole the goods from a group of Mexica women who had traveled to Coyoacan to sell their produce. Itzcoatl ordered that all relations with the Tepanecs in Coyoacan cease, including trade. Pretty quickly this impacted Tepanec supplies and people began to starve in Coyoacan. Maxtla was faced with a choice, a choice that Itzcoatl forced. With control of the lakes, the Mexica thrived. The Cronica tells how those starving in Coyoacan were tormented by the smells of savory cooked meats wafting across the lake.
According to several narratives, Itzcoatl’s brother and loyal advisor Tlacalael, was sent to Coyoacan to deliver a message to Maxtla. Tlacalael went and talked his way into the city and to the royal palace where he was presented to Maxtla. Tlacalael, familiar with all the courtly etiquette, came for an answer, would it be peace or would there be war? Maxtla vowed no Tepanec would ever be ruled by the Mexica. According to the Cronica Mexicayotl, Maxtla dressed the Mexica emissaries in women’s clothing and sent them back to Tenochtitlan. Itzcoatl took this as the answer that Maxtla had chosen war.
Itzcoatl sent guards to the border of Tepanec lands where a small group of Maxtla’s men were, according to the Cronica. The men ran but offered plenty of insults on their way out. From here the Mexica guards spotted smoke in the lagoon and traced it to three Tepanec fishermen. The men were given weapons and a running lead then were pursued to Coyoacan where the Mexica, along with Nezahualcoyotl’s forces, destroyed the temple and looted the city. According to the Cronica, the Tepanecs of Coyoacan were sent fleeing into the hills. It is said Nezahualcoyotl personally sacrificed Maxtla.
Tlacaelel reported the outcome of the Tepanec-Mexica war to Itzcoatl, a sound victory over Maxtla’s forces. The Tepanec leaders’ requests to other towns for reinforcements had all been denied and alone they fell to the aggressive Mexica allies and their generals Tlacalael, Nezahualcoyotl and another young warrior named Moctezuma Ilhuicamina.
With the destruction of Maxtla, Tepanec power landed on Totoquihuatzli the 1st, who either was an ally or realized it was best to become one. This set the stage for establishment of the Triple Alliance, or what is casually referred to as the Aztec Empire. The king of Texcoco and ruler of the Acolhua people, Nezahualcoyotl became the third power. The three rulers, Itzcoatl, Nezahuacoyotl and Totoquihuatzli, formed the Triple Alliance that would rule the Valley of Mexico until 1521.
After cementing the Tepanec alliance and control of the central Valley and lakes, Itzcoatl moved south into the lake cities of Xochimilco and Chalco. But first he took down the altepetl of Culhuacan, the traditional superpower and the city from which the Mexica borrowed the noble blood to establish their own monarchy. Then they moved on to the southern chinampa towns of Xochimilco, Cuitlauhuac, Mixquic and others. Lands from all these victories were distributed to the royal court, the generals and all the valiant warriors who had distinguished themselves in war.
With the entire Valley in their control, the lords of the Triple Alliance began to establish their titles and districts. Initially Itzcoatl felt Nezahualcoyotl and his title of Lord of the Empire was too powerful and they negotiated a more humble title of Lord of the Aculhua people with their capital in Texcoco. Itzcoatl took the title of Lord of the Culhua, Totoquihuatzli of Tlacopan took on the Tepanec lands and people. With their power consolidated the Triple Alliance sent the armies toward the people of Cuahnahuac, now called Cuernavaca.
Itzcoatl died after a short illness in 1440. Before his death he assigned ranks to the other two Triple Alliance powers, Tenochtitlan would be the dominant power with Texcoco second and the Tepanecs in Tlacopan third. After his death he was succeeded by his nephew Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, who had served as a general in Itzcoatl’s campaigns in Coyoacan, and the southern lake towns.
Itzcoatl’s legacy would be sealed through his marriage to Huacaltzintli, a princess of Tlatelolco. Her brother, Tlacateotl, was king of Tlatelolco, and she would be grandmother to three kings of Tenochtitlan. Itzcoatl and his faction, including his generals Tlacalael and Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, had made the Mexica a powerful force in mesoamerica, and his successors would continue in this aggressive style of violent expansion.
Chimalpopoca <<- Itzcoatl ->> Moctezuma I
