Tlacaelel
Encyclopedia
Tlacaelel I was the principal architect of the Aztec Triple Alliance
and hence the Mexica (Aztec)
empire. He was the son of Emperor Huitzilihuitl
and Queen Cacamacihuatl
, nephew of Emperor Itzcoatl
, and brother of Emperors Chimalpopoca
and Moctezuma I
.
During the reign of his uncle Itzcoatl, Tlacaelel was given the office of Tlacochcalcatl
, but during the war against the Tepanec
s in the late 1420s, he was promoted to first adviser to the ruler, a position called Cihuacoatl in Nahuatl, an office that Tlacaelel held during the reigns of four consecutive Tlatoque, until his death in 1487.
Tlacaelel recast or strengthened the concept of the Aztecs as a chosen people
, elevated the tribal god/hero Huitzilopochtli
to top of the pantheon of gods, and increased militarism. In tandem with this, Tlacaelel is said to have increased the level and prevalence of human sacrifice
, particularly during a period of natural disasters that started in 1446 (according to Durán). Durán also states that it was during the reign of Moctezuma I, as an invention of Tlacaelel that the flower war
s, in which the Aztecs fought Tlaxcala
and other Nahuan city-states, were instigated.
To strengthen the Aztec nobility, he helped create and enforce sumptuary laws, prohibiting commoners from wearing certain adornments such as lip plugs, gold armbands, and cotton cloaks. He also instigated a policy of burning the books
of conquered peoples with the aim of erasing all memories of a pre-Aztec past.
When he dedicated the seventh reconstruction of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan, Tlacaelel had brought his nation to the height of its power. The dedication took place in 1484 and was celebrated with the sacrifice of many war captives. After Tlacaelel's death in 1487, the Mexica Empire continued to expand north into the Gran Chichimeca
and south toward the Maya
lands.
Aztec Triple Alliance
The Aztec Triple Alliance, or Aztec Empire began as an alliance of three Nahua city-states or "altepeme": Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan...
and hence the Mexica (Aztec)
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
empire. He was the son of Emperor Huitzilihuitl
Huitzilíhuitl
Huitzilihuitl was the second tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, governing from 1396 to 1417, .- Family and childhood :...
and Queen Cacamacihuatl
Cacamacihuatl
Cacamacihuatl was a Queen of Tenochtitlan as a wife of the King Huitzilihuitl. She was a mother of Prince Tlacaelel I and grandmother of Cacamatzin and Tlilpotoncatzin....
, nephew of Emperor Itzcoatl
Itzcóatl
Itzcoatl was the fourth emperor of the Aztecs, ruling from 1427 to 1440, the period when the Mexica threw off the domination of the Tepanecs and laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire.- Biography :...
, and brother of Emperors Chimalpopoca
Chimalpopoca
Chimalpopoca was the third king of Tenochtitlan .-Rule:On the day of Chimalpopoca's coronation in 1417 , his brother Tlacaelel I was named high priest...
and Moctezuma I
Moctezuma I
Moctezuma I , also known as Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, Huehuemotecuhzoma or Montezuma I , was the fifth Aztec emperor - king of Tenochtitlan...
.
During the reign of his uncle Itzcoatl, Tlacaelel was given the office of Tlacochcalcatl
Tlacochcalcatl
Tlacochcalcatl was an Aztec military title or rank; roughly equivalent to the modern title of High General. In Aztec warfare the tlacochcalcatl was second in command only to the tlatoani and he usually lead the Aztec army into battle when the ruler was otherwise occupied...
, but during the war against the Tepanec
Tepanec
The Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. The Tepanec were a sister culture of the Aztecs as well as the Acolhua and others—these tribes spoke the Nahuatl language and shared the same general pantheon, with...
s in the late 1420s, he was promoted to first adviser to the ruler, a position called Cihuacoatl in Nahuatl, an office that Tlacaelel held during the reigns of four consecutive Tlatoque, until his death in 1487.
Tlacaelel recast or strengthened the concept of the Aztecs as a chosen people
Chosen people
Throughout history and even today various groups of people have considered themselves as chosen by a deity for some purpose such as to act as the deity's agent on earth. In monotheistic faiths, like Abrahamic religions, references to God are used in constructs such as "God's Chosen People"...
, elevated the tribal god/hero Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
to top of the pantheon of gods, and increased militarism. In tandem with this, Tlacaelel is said to have increased the level and prevalence of human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
, particularly during a period of natural disasters that started in 1446 (according to Durán). Durán also states that it was during the reign of Moctezuma I, as an invention of Tlacaelel that the flower war
Flower war
A flower war or flowery war is the name given to the battles fought between the Aztec Triple Alliance and some of their enemies: most notably the city-states of Tlaxcala, Huejotzingo, Atlixco and Cholula.-Sources:...
s, in which the Aztecs fought Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (Nahua state)
Tlaxcala was a pre-Columbian city state of central Mexico.Tlaxcala was a confederation of four altepetl — Ocotelolco, Quiahuiztlan, Tepeticpac and Tizatlan — which each took turns providing a ruler for Tlaxcala as a whole.-History:Tlaxcala was never conquered by the Aztec empire, but was...
and other Nahuan city-states, were instigated.
To strengthen the Aztec nobility, he helped create and enforce sumptuary laws, prohibiting commoners from wearing certain adornments such as lip plugs, gold armbands, and cotton cloaks. He also instigated a policy of burning the books
Book burning
Book burning, biblioclasm or libricide is the practice of destroying, often ceremoniously, books or other written material and media. In modern times, other forms of media, such as phonograph records, video tapes, and CDs have also been ceremoniously burned, torched, or shredded...
of conquered peoples with the aim of erasing all memories of a pre-Aztec past.
When he dedicated the seventh reconstruction of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan, Tlacaelel had brought his nation to the height of its power. The dedication took place in 1484 and was celebrated with the sacrifice of many war captives. After Tlacaelel's death in 1487, the Mexica Empire continued to expand north into the Gran Chichimeca
Chichimeca
Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian"...
and south toward the Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
lands.
In popular culture
- Tlacaelel is a major character in the 1991 Mexican film, In Necuepaliztli in Aztlan (Retorno a Aztlán), by Juan Mora Catlett.