Posts Tagged Culhuacan

The Rise of the Aztecs Part II, struggling for independence

5 February 2012
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So, in The Rise of the Aztecs Part I, we left the Tepanecs immersed in the dilemma.

What would they do with their new neighbors known as Mexica-people-from-Aztlan or the Aztecs. The despised would-be-aristocrats got themselves into a trouble all right, pissing off their previous patrons of Culhuacan. To flay a princess, of all things! Azcapotzalco’s Tepanecs shook their heads. Clearly the troublesome newcomers had no finesse. No finesse at all.

But those Aztecs were great warriors; there was no argument about that. So the Tepanec rulers saw their chance. First they had launched series of raids against their neighbors in trouble, to make those understand which nation around Texcoco Lake was the most powerful to be reckoned with. Just in case it wasn’t yet clear.

Then, after thoroughly humbling the most warlike of their neighbors, they promptly took them under Azcapotzalco’s protection, against the wrath of Culhuacan.

The small Aztec nation was safe for now, but there was a price to pay. The Aztecs were to supply their new patrons with an unlimited amount of warriors whenever demanded. And the Tepanecs didn’t make them wait. While the Aztecs were busy founding their new capital upon the muddy island of the great Lake, the demands began trickling in. The Azcapotzalco’s ruler had decided to turn on their historical rival – Culhuacan.

Reinforced by a horde of the warlike new allies, Azcapotzalco’s warriors had pounced on its sister-city, in less than ten summers succeeding in taking over all of their trading routes and dependable towns and villages. The surrounding districts and settlements, which had paid a tribute to Culhuacan up to these days, began sending their yearly payments to Azcapotzalco instead.

The Tepanecs’ empire was expanding.

 

An excerpt from “The Young Jaguar”, Pre-Aztec Series, book #2.

 “… The heavyset man nodded and almost visibly relaxed. He was getting old, thought Tecpatl. Of an old this formidable man would not be readable under any circumstances.

The urge to escape the Palace welled. He thought of the spaciousness of his own gardens, of the feast that was sure to contain every delicious snack he had had ever indicated as his favorite, of the ardent, exuberant welcome-home which was sure to await him. He could see her, dressed in the best of her clothes, bathed and groomed, waiting for him, exalted and impatient. Still beautiful, still desirable, still in love with him, still unruly and not fitting, just like fifteen summers ago, when he had met her for the first time.           

“You are sure the new Emperor will give you all the commands you desire.” The older man made it a statement.

Tecpatl forced his mind to concentrate. “I hope he will trust me as had his father before him.”

“How long will it take to make Culhuacan crumble?”

“Not very long. Their warriors grew soft. They are not worthy enemy anymore.” Relieved to steer from the dangerous ground of politics, he added: “I’ll be happy to finish them off and re-open the war against the Mayans.”

“Not the Aztecs?”

“Oh, the Aztecs make good warriors. But they are barbarians. They are few and unimportant. Culhuacan is the worthy enemy. They are our equals, our peers.”

The face of the elder man remained still but something in the depths of the narrow eyes changed. “You do wise staying away from the palace affairs. You are a warrior and you better keep it that way…”

…

The Rise of the Aztecs Part I, were they always that powerful?

1 November 2011
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Once upon a time, if you would ask the powerful Tepanecs who had dominated the fertile Mexican valley around Lake Texcoco up to the mid 14th century, the Aztecs were no more than pushy newcomers, coming out of the southwest, poor and semi-nomadic, bringing along nothing but trouble. The lands of the Mexican Valley were amazingly rich, dotted by large city-states, with Azcapotzalco, the Tepanec Capital, the most powerful of them all. Of course, there was the aristocratic Toltec Culhuacan , sprawling upon the southern side of the lake, as influential and as strong, even if Azcapotzalco’s Tepanecs refused to admit it.

The densely populated region was well under control. Still, the unabashed newcomers streamed in and managed to find themselves a very favorable piece of land on the western shore of the lake, fertile and abounded with streams. There they began to flourish, while the suspicious mood of their powerful neighbors grew proportionally. Those Aztecs would not be contented with a small role of another city state, could see the elders of Azcapotzalco. And nothing more would be tolerated.

The tension grew and, toward the end of the 13th century, Azcapotzalco rulers had expelled their troublesome new neighbors. But for the rulers of Culhuacan, it could have been the end of it. For reasons unknown, Culhuacan had decided to allocate the expelled Aztecs a little land at the empty barrens of Tizaapan. Maybe they wanted to keep an eye on those fierce groups of foreigners, to make sure they would not grow too strong. Azcapotzalco’s people were doubtful, united in their suspicions. The further those troublesome newcomers would be drove off, the better. Yet they did nothing, as the rivalry between the two powerful cities went back generations. If one decided to expel a nation, the other would support it, even if halfheartedly. So they watched carefully as the Aztecs seemed to be assimilating into the Culhuacan’s way of life.

Then the unspeakable happened! A few decades later a scandal washed the Texcoco Lake’s shores. The new ruler of Culhuacan had given his daughter to the Aztec’s ruler to marry. Or so he thought. The Aztecs promised to make her a goddess – a fate great enough even for the haughty Culhuacan princess. Well, the cultural differences showed when the princess was sacrificed in order to assist her reaching the promised status by joining the other deities. It said that the priest, wearing her flayed skin as a part of the ritual, appeared at the very festival dinner her father had honored by his presence. The Culhuacan ruler and his nobles were not amused. The roaring declaration of war could be heard in the distant southwestern realm of dwindling Anasazi, it was said.

Azcapotzalco’s Tepanecs shook their heads. Had the Culhuacan Toltecs really thought they could tame the wild beast? But now they had their own dilemmas. Should they side with Culhuacan, or would they better stay neutral? Or maybe, just to spite their old rivals, they should actually assist the despised troublemakers, as those faced a certain defeat and banishment? The warriors argued in favor of destroying the Aztecs once and for all, even if it would result in helping Culhuacan. The rulers, on the other hand, found it difficult to miss the opportunity to sneer at the old insult, when just a few decades ago, Culhuacan had sided with Aztecs against Azcapotzalco’s better judgment. Why not let them eat the meal they’ve been serving their old neighbors?

What will the Tepanec Empire do?

An excerpt from “At Road’s End”, Pre-Aztec Series, book #1.

She shook her head with amusement. “Why are those Cul-hu-a-can people so arrogant, if they are living in your city? Are they warriors also?”

“Like us, some of them are warriors. The rest do their trade or work the land, do crafts or worship the gods. They have their own city. Culhuacan is situated on the northern side of our lake. They are arrogant bastards with no common sense. They always have to make all the mistakes. There were those pushy newcomers, from your regions by the way, but definitely not your people. Very fierce warriors. Azcapotzalco expelled them in the summer I was born. But Culhuacan? Oh no, they had to find them a piece of land, to spite us of course. And now, twenty summers later, those newcomers Mexica-Aztecs with no finesse, sacrificed a Culhuacan princess. So it means war, and it only took them twenty summers to understand what we saw in the very beginning. Stupid, isn’t it?”

“They had sacrificed a princess? You mean they killed her?”

“Oh yes. The priest showed up wearing her flayed skin in the middle of the celebratory feast. The Culhuacan ruler, her father, and the rest of their nobility did not take it well.”

Sakuna gasped. “Wearing what?”

He turned to watch her, amused. “Insane, isn’t it? They promised to make her a goddess, but Culhuacan nobles didn’t think they meant literally to introduce her to the realm of the gods.”

“And to such a place you were offering to take me?”

“No, of course not. Those were the wild Aztec barbarians. Azcapotzalco priests are not flaying their sacrificial offerings, and they would never touch a princess or any irrelevant person. Our gods receive nothing but the captured enemy warriors who answers all the criteria. We are completely civilized.”

She seemed as if shrinking as he talked. “You kill captured warriors? Why? And what if you get captured?”

He banished the unwelcome memories. “A good warrior doesn’t get captured. But should it happen, to be sacrificed would be the only way to redeem one’s honor. By dying honorably, offered to a mighty god, the warrior restores his good name. The more difficult the death, the more the honor. People worship such man and name their children after him.”

“Can’t you just try to escape?” she asked in a small voice.

He straightened up, startled, wincing at the sharp pain in his leg. “You are not asking this seriously, aren’t you?” She seemed as if shrinking against the warm stones. “To escape, to run away, would be beyond any contempt. No warrior would do this, however cowardly he might be inside. Such a man would never be accepted, never! Such a man would place himself beyond the law of human beings, he would be hunted and killed, and his name would be spat upon.”

He exhaled loudly. What a horrible thought! How could she even think about something like that, let alone say it aloud? She was a peasant all right. A beautiful, reliable and very courageous, but a farming girl nevertheless. It has something to do with the upbringing, he thought. You have to be brought up in the right class to understand a proper behavior.