Huitzilatzin
Encyclopedia
Huitzilatzin (died in the year Seven Reed
/1499) was the first tlatoani
(ruler) of the pre-Columbian
altepetl
(ethnic state) of Huitzilopochco
(now Churubusco
) in the Valley of Mexico
.
Huitzilatzin was the second son of Huehue Zaca
, who held the title of tlacateccatl
(general) and who was a son of Huitzilihuitl
, the second Aztec
ruler of Tenochtitlan. According to the Crónica mexicáyotl
, Huitzilatzin was "quite sickly" (Nahuatl
"çan cocoxcatzintli").
He was installed as ruler of Huitzilopochco by the Aztec ruler Axayacatl
. Like other towns in the region, it is not recorded exactly when Huitzilopochco came under Aztec control. It is likely that Tenochtitlan inherited them from the defeated Tepanec empire of Azcapotzalco
. The inhabitants of Huitzilopochco are said to have been cannibals
prior to the imposition of Aztec government.
Huitzilatzin had two children in Huitzilopochco: a son, Macuilxochitzin, who succeeded him as tlatoani; and a daughter, whose name is not known but who married Quauhpopocatzin, the ruler of Coyoacán
.
Huitzilatzin was killed in the year Seven Reed
(1499), as he was held responsible for flooding that had occurred in Tenochtitlan due to an aqueduct
which tapped springs
near Huitzilopochco.
Aztec calendar
The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica....
/1499) was the first tlatoani
Tlatoani
Tlatoani is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an altepetl, a pre-Hispanic state. The word literally means "speaker", but may be translated into English as "king". A is a female ruler, or queen regnant....
(ruler) of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
altepetl
Altepetl
The altepetl, in Pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest-era Aztec society, was the local, ethnically based political entity. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl, meaning water, and tepē-tl, meaning mountain....
(ethnic state) of Huitzilopochco
Huitzilopochco
Huitzilopochco was a small pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl in the Valley of Mexico. Huitzilopochco was one of the Nauhtecuhtli , along with Culhuacan, Itztapalapan and Mexicatzinco. The name Huitzilopochco means "place of Huitzilopochtli " in Nahuatl...
(now Churubusco
Churubusco
Churubusco is a neighbourhood of Mexico City. Under the current territorial division of the Mexican Federal District, it is a part of the borough of Coyoacán...
) in the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
.
Huitzilatzin was the second son of Huehue Zaca
Huehue Zaca
Huehue Zaca or Çaca , also Zacatzin , was a 15th century Aztec noble, prince and a warrior who served as tlacateccatl under the ruler Moctezuma I, his brother. The name of Zaca is probably derived from Nahuatl zacatl, meaning "grass"; -tzin is an honorific or reverential suffix...
, who held the title of tlacateccatl
Tlacateccatl
In the Aztec military, tlacateccatl was a title roughly equivalent to general. The tlacateccatl was in charge of the tlacatecco, a military quarter in the center of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. In wartime he was second-in-command to the tlatoani and the tlacochcalcatl...
(general) and who was a son of Huitzilihuitl
Huitzilíhuitl
Huitzilihuitl was the second tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, governing from 1396 to 1417, .- Family and childhood :...
, the second 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...
ruler of Tenochtitlan. According to the Crónica mexicáyotl
Crónica Mexicayotl
The Crónica Mexicayotl is a chronicle of the Aztec empire that was written in the Nahuatl language by Fernando Alvarado Tezozómoc around 1598. Given that its author belonged to the Aztec royal lineage, the manuscript documents the Aztec version of the history of central Mexico. It was written in...
, Huitzilatzin was "quite sickly" (Nahuatl
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
"çan cocoxcatzintli").
He was installed as ruler of Huitzilopochco by the Aztec ruler Axayacatl
Axayacatl
Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....
. Like other towns in the region, it is not recorded exactly when Huitzilopochco came under Aztec control. It is likely that Tenochtitlan inherited them from the defeated Tepanec empire of Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City...
. The inhabitants of Huitzilopochco are said to have been cannibals
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
prior to the imposition of Aztec government.
Huitzilatzin had two children in Huitzilopochco: a son, Macuilxochitzin, who succeeded him as tlatoani; and a daughter, whose name is not known but who married Quauhpopocatzin, the ruler of Coyoacán
Coyoacán
Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore...
.
Huitzilatzin was killed in the year Seven Reed
Aztec calendar
The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica....
(1499), as he was held responsible for flooding that had occurred in Tenochtitlan due to an aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
which tapped springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
near Huitzilopochco.