Tizatlan
Encyclopedia
Tizatlan, in precolumbian Mexico, was one of the four independent polities
that constituted the confederation of Tlaxcallan
. It was the third of the four altepetl to be founded, but at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico
it was, along with Ocotelolco, the most powerful of the four allied communities. Where Ocotelolco held the economical power, having the main market in the region, Tizatlan had the military power and commanded the Tlaxcallan armies. When the spanish arrived in Mexico Tizatlan was ruled by the aging Xicotencatl I
"the Elder" aided by his son the military leader Xicotencatl II
"the Younger". Through a series of political events Ocotelolco finally achieved dominance over Tizatlan at the end of the conquest. Today Tizatlan is a part of the modern city of Tlaxcala
and the precolumbian city is visible as a small archaeological site.
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....
that constituted the confederation of Tlaxcallan
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...
. It was the third of the four altepetl to be founded, but at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico
Spanish conquest of Mexico
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The invasion began in February 1519 and was acclaimed victorious on August 13, 1521, by a coalition army of Spanish conquistadors and Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés...
it was, along with Ocotelolco, the most powerful of the four allied communities. Where Ocotelolco held the economical power, having the main market in the region, Tizatlan had the military power and commanded the Tlaxcallan armies. When the spanish arrived in Mexico Tizatlan was ruled by the aging Xicotencatl I
Xicotencatl I
Xicotencatl I or Xicotencatl the Elder was a long-lived tlatoani of Tizatlan, a Nahua altepetl within the pre-Columbian confederacy of Tlaxcala, in what is now Mexico. His Nahuatl name, pronounced , is sometimes spelled Xicohtencatl. In 1519 he was baptized as Lorenzo Xicotencatl...
"the Elder" aided by his son the military leader Xicotencatl II
Xicotencatl II
Xicotencatl II Axayacatl, also known as Xicotencatl the Younger , was a prince and warleader, probably with the title of Tlacochcalcatl, of the pre-Columbian state of Tlaxcallan at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico...
"the Younger". Through a series of political events Ocotelolco finally achieved dominance over Tizatlan at the end of the conquest. Today Tizatlan is a part of the modern city of Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala
The city of Tlaxcala is the capital and chief center of population of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. The city is located at in the south-central portion of the state. In the census of 2005 the city had a population of 15,777 inhabitants and was by far the smallest state capital in Mexico. It is...
and the precolumbian city is visible as a small archaeological site.