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Tlahtoani [King / Emperor]

Political legitimacy for the Aztec kings was derived from their genealogical connections with the earlier Toltec dynasty of Tula. The accession in 1372 of the ruler Acamapichtli (Náhuatl: "handful of reeds'), a Toltec prince from Culhuacán, marked the emergence of an Aztec dynasty, numbering eleven rulers in all, which was to last until the Spaniards captured Tecochtitlán in 1521. In Tlatelolco in contrast, the Mexica installed a Tepanec prince as founder of the ruling house.

The creation of this vast empire which, in extent and power, outrivaled that of the Toltecs, was due to the skill, intelligence, executive ability and warlike prowess of a line of tlahtoani [kings] which began with Acamapitzin, Prince of the Reeds (1376-1404), 50 years after the founding of Tenochtitlan. The other Aztec rulers in succession, up to the arrival of Cortes, were Huitzilihuitl, Hummingbird's Feathers (1404-17), Chimalpopoca, Smoking Shield (1417-27), Ixcoatl, Obsidian Knife (1427-40), Moctezuma I, Wrathful Chief (1440-69), Axayacatl, Water Face or "Water Mask" of "Face-in-the-Water" (1469-81), Tizoc, Lame Leg or Wounded Leg, but possibly He Bled People (1481-86), Ahuizotl, Water-rat [a mythical water monster or otter] (1486-1502) and Moctezuma II [xocoyotl is the nose ornament in his glyph and means younger or last child] (1502-20), all of whom worked zealously for the upbuilding of the Aztec empire and the beautifying and extension of their capital.

There are some are problems with name Motecuzoma translated from Nahuatl (the language spoken by mexicas or aztecs). Angry Lord is one translation from tecuhtli = lord + zomalli = angry or He-frowned-like-a-lord; Ilhuicamina - ilhuicatl = sky + mina = piercing arrow (he-pierces-the-sky-with-an arrow). Ilhuicamina may also be " who-shoots-his-arrow heavenward," according to some, - " the scanner of the heavens," or "the star-gazer," according to others. The name of the penultimate emperor, Cuitláhuac, presents something of a problem. His glyph is a curl of excrement or water, which might be literally read as "Excrement Owner" or "dried like excrement". Cuitláhuac's name has more to do with excrement than to the vegetation or gold that other translators have mentioned. Hua is the possessive, describing location, 'where'. Cuitla is excrement, residue, or a growth, and atl may be rendered as water. But cuitlatl, or excrement, was often linked to precious items: Teotl (god/divinity) + Cuitlatl = Teocuitlatl (gold); and Iztac (white) + Cuitlatl = Iztaccuitlatl (silver); Icuitl in metztli, excrement of the moon [lead]. Other renderings suggest that "cuitlahuac" means seaweed, an edible lake-surface scum called "stone dung," which may have been algae fostered by pollution from Tenochtitlán. One suggests "the one in charge (for caring of someone)" while another suggests that Cuitláhuac in Náhuatl should be translated as "protector of the empire". Cuauhtémoc means "Descending eagle", from Nahuatl cuauhtli (eagle) and temoc (descent); by extension it can be interpreted as "setting sun".

In the most reckless manner the Spanish writers employed such terms as "empire," "kingdom," king," "queen," "lord," and "prince," in their attempts to write the history of ancient Mexico. When it comes to identify the sites of these "empires" and "kingdoms," and they not only are completely surrounded by the mountains which enclose the Valley of Mexico, but all border upon the marshy shores of a lake scarcely more than fifteen miles in diameter, it is clear that little reliance is to be placed upon the many accounts given of the occupants of the Mexican Valley prior to the fourteenth century. Destructive as such a course must be of much of the romantic interest attaching to the early history of Mexico, it is much safer to regard the occupants of the Mexican Valley as petty tribes, probably all of Nahuatl stock, settled in pueblos or villages. Their political rulers were doubtless no more than caciques, more probably the heads of families. Although the names of "kings of Azteca" have been furnished by Spanish writers, prior to the year 1375, it is by no means likely that these so-called "kings" were more than great warriors, if indeed they were more than heads of families, or caciques. In the year 1375 first approach to a governmental organization was effected in Tenochtitlan, and that was by means of the election, by popular vote, of a Tlaca-tecuhtli, which means, literally, "chief-of-men." Acamapichtli ("Fist of Reeds"), so far from being a king or an emperor, as he is distinctly named in some histories, or an autocrat or despot, as he has been generally represented, was simply the head war-chief of the Mexican tribe settled in Tenochtitlan. In 1427 Izcohualt or Izcoatzin ("Obsidian-snake"), the son of Acamapichtli, was next elected Tlaca-tecuhtli, and it was under his military leadership that the Mexicans overthrew the power of the Tecpanecas. The temporary alliance between Tenochtitlan and Culhuacan for the purposes of this war became a permanent military confederacy - the Triple Alliance - immediately afterwards, with the Mexicans as the leading power. The Tecpanecas, by the terms of the conquest, were a party to it In the course of 150 years, aided by a succession of dynastic marriages, alliances and numerous wars, the Mexica emerged as the dominant power in the Anáhuac Valley, at the same time extending their hegemony to cover much of present-day Mexico as far south almost as Guatemala. After a little more than a century later, incredible as it may seem, this destitute tribe had been able to assimilate the old cultural traditions and, at the same time, to achieve complete independence. Then they began their career as conquerors, extending their rule from the Gulf coast to the Pacific and as far south as Guatemala - and again they accomplished all this in only one century. Their capital grew rich and powerful, much more powerful than Teotihuacan or Tula had ever been. Its temples, palaces and gardens were so magnificent that the Spanish conquistadors gaped in astonishment.

Under their belligerent rulers, Moctezuma I (Náhuatl: "angry Lord", 1440-68), Axayácatl ("water face", 1468-81) and Ahuizotl ("ghostly water face", 1486-1502) especially, Aztec armies were able to subdue huge areas of what are now the states of México, Hidalgo, Morelos, Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca and Chiapas, forcing the inhabitants to pay them tribute. Tlatelolco had been reckoned, in the military confederacy, as part of Tenochtitlan. But in the year 1473, Moquihuix, the last war-chief of Tlatelolco, attempted to organize a conspiracy .to supplant Tenochtitlan and make Tlatelolco the capital of the confederacy. His wife was a relative of Axayacatl, and divulged his plans to the Tlaca-tecuhtli and sought refuge with him from her husband's wrath. Moquihuix accomplished no more than the destruction of one of the temples of Tenochtitlan, and fell in the battle which ensued. The Tlatelolcans were terribly punished for their leader's temerity. Only the Purépecha (Tarascan) empire in Michoacán and the states of Tlaxcala and Meztitlán proved strong enough to resist conquest and retain their independence. In 1502 Moctezuma II took the throne, the last of the Aztec dynasty to wield absolute power. The subject peoples, vanquished in war and intimidated by threats, faced burdensome taxes imposed on them by Tenochtitlán, mainly in the form of tradable commodities, slaves and military service. Aztec garrisons, permanently stationed at strategic points, special tax collectors, and itinerant merchants ensured contracts were kept and that Náhuatl, then the lingua franca of Meso-America, spread.