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AhuitzotlAncientHistoryEncyclopedia

Ahuitzotl

byMarkCartwright
publishedon12July2016

Ahuitzotl(Auitzotl)wasanAztecrulerwhoreignedbetween1486and1502CE.Hewasoneof
thegreatestgeneralsoftheancientAmericasandhelefttohisnephew,Montezuma,anenlarged
andconsolidatedempirewhichhadbeenruthlesslyterrorisedintosubmissiveacceptanceofAztec
rule.Withhugebuildingprojectsandvictoriescelebratedbymasssacrificesofcapturedenemiesto
honourthegods,thereignofAhuitzotlwastheAztecGoldenAge.

ACCESSION
Ahuitzotl(pron.A-weet-zot)wasthethirdsonofAzteckingMotecuhzomaIIlhuicamina(r.14401469CE).Hisname,appropriatelyenoughasitwouldturnout,wasassociatedwithamythical
hyper-aggressiveotterthatlivedatthebottomofalakeandruthlesslypreyedonanycreature
whichapproachedthelakesbanks.Thecreature,oftendepictedwithahumanhandattheendof
itstail,wasusedasthenameglyphforthekinginAzteccommemorativesculpture.
AhuitzotltookoverastheAztectlatoani(speaker)orsupremerulerfromhishalf-brotherTizoc(r.
1481-1486CE)whowaspoisoned.Tizochadnotbeenparticularlysuccessfulintheroleafterbeing
forcedtoquashvariousrebellionsandfamouslylosingabattletotheTarascans.LordAhuitzotlwas
the8thAztecrulerandheisdescribedinAztectextsasyouthful,strong,energetic,andaudacious.
AccordingtotheversionofhisaccessionrecountedbytheSpanishchroniclerFrayDiegoDuran,
Ahuitzotlwasamereyouthwhenhetookpowerin1486CEandhadtobebroughtfromschoolon
thedeathofTizocbuthealreadydisplayedagreatmaturitybeyondhisyears.Wearealso
informedthatthenewtlatoaniwashelpedinhisearlyyearsbythetraditionalkingsadvisor,the
Tlacaellel.
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AHUITZOTLUSEDTHESPECTACLEOFHUMANSACRIFICE
TOTERRIFYVISITINGRULERSOFNEWLYCONQUERED
TERRITORIES&ENSURETHEIRPASSIVECOMPLIANCETO
AZTECRULE.
TheaccessionofAhuitzotliscommemoratedinagreendioriteslabwiththeyear8Reeddate
glyph.OnitarebothTizocandAhuitzotlwhilebetweenthemisaballofcactusfibrewithcactus
needlesstuckinit.Thetworulersareusingneedlestoletbloodfromtheirearlobesinofferingto
thegods.ThebloodflowsdownfromthetwofiguresintothegapingjawsofastylisedearthcrocodilecreaturerepresentingtheearthgoddessTlaltecuhtli.TheslabnowresidesintheNational
MuseumofAnthropologyinMexicoCity.

EXPANDINGTHEEMPIRE
Ahuitzotlquicklyestablishedhisreputationasagiftedmilitaryleaderbywinninghisfirstbattlein
thetraditionalCoronationWarbelovedofAztecrulers.Leadinghisarmyinpersonandfighting
alongsidehiswarriorsashewouldalwaysdo,theTolucaValleyrebellionswerequashed,booty
taken,andsacrificialvictimsprocured.Thevictorywascelebratedwiththelargestfeastandround
ofgift-givingtheAztecpeoplehadeverwitnessed.
AhuitzotlthenproceededtobringtheGulfCoastterritoriesintolineaftertheirstubbornrefusalto
paytribute.Thiswasanothervictory,andAhuitzotlwouldgoontowinmanymore.Conqueringthe
centralvalleysofOaxacac.1494CEtheAztecsmovedasfarsouthastheGuatemalanborder,or
evenbeyond,inordertoencompasslucrativecacao-producingregions.Theyalsocampaignedas
farwestasthePacificcoast,perhapsinalong-termstrategytooutflanktheTarascanfortsbeing
establishedbythathostilenation.TheresultofthisexpansionwasthatAhuitzotlcreatedthelargest
areayetbroughtunderAzteccontrol.

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ExpansionoftheAztecEmpire

AlthoughtheAztecarmiesconcentratedonenemycitiesandtheirempirewouldonlyeverbea
loosecollectionoftribute-payingsubjectstates,Ahuitzotldidattempttoestablishamore
permanentAztecpresencebybuildingAztecmonumentsinsuchconqueredcitiesasTepoztlan,
Malinalco,andCalixtlahuaca.SomelocalgodswerealsoincorporatedintotheAztecpantheonin
anefforttofurtherbindthediverseculturesofMesoamerica.Tradewasencouragedinsomeareas,
especiallybythepochecawarrior-traderswhoweregiventheprivilegedrighttowearjewelleryand
feathersbyAhuitzotl,suchwastheirimportanceinhisstrategytoopenupnewterritoriesby
whatevermeanssuitedthesituation.Atthesametimemoretroublesomepeoples(e.g.the
OztomanandAlahuistan)wereruthlesslyandsystematicallywipedoutduringthereignofAhuitzotl.
AhuitzotlalsogreatlyincreasedthenumberofhumansacrificescarriedoutinthevariousAztec
religiousceremoniesdesignedtoappeasetheirgodsandcelebratemilitaryvictories.Duran
famouslyrecountshow80,400warcaptivesweresacrificedoverfourdaysatoptheTemploMayor
pyramidtempleatTenochtitlan.Mosthistoriansdiscountthisnumberasimpossiblyhighand
impractical,settlingonafigurenearer20,000butstillquiteenoughtofulfiltheapocalyptic
descriptionsbyeye-witnessesoftemples,plazas,andstreetsstreamingriversofblood.Thesceneof
thismasssacrificeisdepictedintheCodexTellerianoRemensis.Notonlydidsacrificeshelpto
appeasethegodsandensureacontinuationoftheAztecworldbutAhuitzotlusedthespectacleto
terrifythevisitingrulersofnewlyconqueredterritoriesandensuretheirpassivecomplianceto
Aztecrule.

BUILDINGPROJECTS
Ahuitzotl,besidesimperialexpansion,alsooccupiedhimselfwithgrandbuildingprojectsinorderto
beautifytheAzteccapitalofTenochtitlanand,intypicalAztecfashion,establishearlyonthathis
reignwouldbringgreatprosperitytohispeople.Themostsignificantsuchprojectwasthe
expansionoftheTemploMayor.Thenewtemplewascompletedin1487CE,anditwasto
inauguratethisgiantmonumenttotheraingodTlalocandwargodHuitzilopochtlithatthe
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infamous80,000pluscaptivesweresacrificed.

TempleMayor,Tenochtitlan

AnothergiantprojectofAhuitzotlwastheconstructionofalargecanaltobringfreshwaterfrom
CoyoacantoTenochtitlan.However,inaversionrecountedbyDuran,theprojectgotofftoabad
startwhenitbroughtsomuchwaterthatitfloodedthecity.Thepriestsblamedthedisasteronthe
factthatAhuitzotlhadrashlykilledarulerofCoyoacan,andsothiswasrevengefrom
Chalchiuhtlicue,thewatergoddess.

DEATH&SUCCESSORS
Ahuitzotlsreigncametoamysteriousendwhenhecontractedastrangeandfataldisease,dyingin
theyear10Rabbit.Inanotherversionofeventsthekingdiedfromablowtotheheadwhilehewas
tryingtoescapethefloodatTenochtitlan.Deathbyawastingdiseasesuggeststhathemaywell
havebeenpoisoned,likehispredecessor,suchwasthecompetitionbetweenmembersoftheruling
familytopossessthetitlewhichpermittedtheholdersemi-divinestatus.Inalavishceremony,
AhuitzotlwascrematedonafuneralpyreatoptheTemploMayorandhisashesburiedbeneaththe
nearbysacredprecinct.
AhuitzotlwouldpassonaprosperousempiretothenextandtragicallylasttrueAztecruler,his
nephewMotecuhzomaXocoyotzin(Montezuma)whofacedandwasmurderedbythevisitorsfrom
theOldWorldin1520CE.DuringthechaosoftheSpanishconquest,AhuitzotlssonCuauhtemoc
seizedpowerandresistedtheinvadersuntil1525CE.Evenafterhisdeath,thelegendofAhuitzotl
thegreatwarriorheldstrongforhissondressedoneofhismenintheregalclothesofhisfather,
whichinspiredtheAztecarmytoarare,ifonlytemporary,victoryduringthelongsiegeof
Tenochtitlan.
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ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
MARKCARTWRIGHT
MarkholdsanM.A.inGreekphilosophyandhisspecialinterestsincludethe
Minoans,theancientAmericas,andworldmythology.Helovesvisitingand
readingabouthistoricsitesandtransformingthatexperienceintofreearticles
accessibletoall.

HELPUSWRITEMORE
We'reasmallnon-profitorganisationrunbyahandfulofvolunteers.Eacharticlecosts
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
AlmereRead,K.,MesoamericanMythology(OxfordUniversityPress,2002).
Coe,M.D.,Mexico(Thames&Hudson,2008).
Kubler,G.,TheArtandArchitectureofAncientAmerica,ThirdEdition(YaleUniversityPress,1984).
McEwan,C.,Moctezuma(BritishMuseumPress,2009).
Miller,M.E.,TheArtofMesoamerica(Thames&Hudson,2012).
Nichols,D.L.etal,TheOxfordHandbookofMesoamericanArchaeology(OxfordUniversityPress,USA).
Phillips,C.,TheIllustratedEncyclopediaoftheAztec&Maya&CentralAmerica-IncludingTheAztec...(LorenzBooks,
2007).
Soustelle,J.,DailyLifeoftheAztecs(PenguinBooksLtd,1971).
Townsend,R.F.,TheAztecs(Thames&Hudson,2009).
CITETHISWORK

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WrittenbyMarkCartwright,publishedon12July2016underthefollowinglicense:CreativeCommons:
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