The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan,
Texcoco, and
Tlacopan would, in the next 100 years, come to dominate and extend its power to both the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Pacific shores. From the beginning of the Triple Alliance, Tenochtitlan was mostly in charge of the military and conquest, whereas the other two cities had other responsibilities. This military dominance of Tenochtitlan gradually led to this city becoming the dominant power in the alliance. When the alliance received tributes 2/5 went to Tenochtitlan, 2/5 to Texcoco, and 1/5 to Tlacopan.
The reign of Itzcoatl 1427–1440 The first Tlatoani of the Triple Alliance was Itzcoatl and he, along with his Texcocan co-ruler
Nezahualcoyotl, began expanding the territory dominated by the alliance towards the south, conquering Nahua-speaking cities like
Cuauhnahuac (now
Cuernavaca), and towards
Huexotla,
Coatlinchan, and
Tepoztlan in the modern-day state of
Morelos which was then dominated by the
Tlahuica. During this period the Nahuan cities immediately on the lakeside, such as
Xochimilco,
Culhuacan and
Mixquic were also subdued.
Moctezuma I and Tlacaelel 1440–1469 Two of the primary architects of the Aztec empire were the half-brothers
Tlacaelel and
Moctezuma I. They were sons of
Huitzilíhuitl, the 3rd
Hueyi Tlatoani, half-brothers to
Chimalpopoca, the 4th
Hueyi Tlatoani, and nephews of
Itzcoatl, the 5th.
Moctezuma I succeeded Itzcoatl as the 6th
Hueyi Tlatoani in 1449. Tlacaelel became the power behind the throne and reformed both the Aztec state and the Aztec religion. Moctezuma I began the expansion in earnest. First, he had to reconquer towns first conquered by Itzcoatl, but had since rebelled. He asked several smaller cities to contribute to the construction of a new Great Temple, and only
Chalco refused, which caused Moctezuma to start a war against them that lasted for several years. He then conquered Huastec territory under the pretext of securing Aztec merchants in that area, and then he went to war against the Mixtecs of Coixtlahuaca. Coixtlahuaca was successfully conquered although the Mixtec ruler Atonal received military assistance from the Nahua states of Tlaxcala and Huexotzinco, by now enemies of the Aztecs. After the defeat of Coixtlahuaca many Mixtec artisans were relocated to the Aztec capital. Later Moctezuma marched upon the Totonacan cities of Vera Cruz and conquered
Xalapa,
Cosamaloapan, Cotaxtla (modern-day Cuetlachtlan), Ahuilizapan (Modern day
Orizaba) and north into Huastec territory conquering
Tuxpan and Xilotepec.
Tlacaelel Tlacaelel was one of the primary architects of the Aztec empire. Rising to prominence during the war against the Tepanec in the late 1420s, Tlacaelel wielded power as something of a
Grand Vizier during the reigns of four
Hueyi Tlatoani, until his death in 1487. Tlacaelel recast or strengthened the concept of the Aztecs as a
chosen people and elevated the tribal god/hero
Huitzilopochtli to the top of the pantheon of gods. In tandem with this, Tlacaelel increased the level and prevalence of human sacrifice, particularly during a period of natural disasters that started in 1446 (according to Durán). During the reign of Moctezuma I, he instigated the
flower wars in which the Aztecs fought
Tlaxcala and other Nahuan city-states. 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. At the start of Tlacaelel's tenure, the Mexica were vassals. By the end, they had become the Aztecs, rulers of a socially stratified and expansionistic empire.
The reigns of Axayacatl 1469–1481 and Tizoc 1481–1486 Moctezuma I's son,
Axayacatl, ascended to the throne in 1469. During his reign, Tenochtitlan absorbed the kingdom of
Tlatelolco. Axayacatl's sister was married to the
tlatoani of Tlatelolco, and, as a pretext for war, Axayacatl declared that she was mistreated. He went on to conquer the
Matlatzinca and
Mazahua cities of
Tollocan,
Ocuillan, and
Malinalco west of the Valley of Mexico. At this point Tenochtitlan experienced a brief "civil war" when the small city of Tlatelolco, considered a part of Tenochtitlan by the Aztecs, rebelled under their Tlatoani
Moquihuix, who sought to ally himself with the longstanding enemies of the Tenochca, the Chalca, Tlaxcalteca, Chololteca and Huexotzinca. The Tlatelolca were defeated and Axayacatl then ordered the execution of all the rulers who had aided him, including the ruler of Xochimilco. Continuing campaigns in the west in 1479, he suffered an unprecedented defeat by the
Purépechas at
Tzintzuntzan. This was the Aztecs' first great defeat; once recovered he had to consolidate control of the
Huasteca region which had already been conquered by his predecessor. In 1481 Axayacatl's brother
Tizoc ruled briefly, but his rule was marred by the humiliation he received in his coronation war: fighting the
Otomies at Metztitlan he brought home only 40 prisoners for sacrifice at his coronation ceremony. After this defeat Tizoc had to fight principally to maintain control of the already conquered territories, and failing to subdue new towns he was replaced, possibly poisoned, by his younger brother
Ahuitzotl.
The reign of Moctezuma II Xocoyotzin At the coronation of the
Moctezuma II in 1502, a
Psilocybe mushroom species known to the Aztecs as
teōnanācatl (agglutinative form of
teōtl (god, sacred) and
nanācatl (mushroom) in
Náhuatl) was reportedly served. Moctezuma II was, although many sources depict him otherwise, a notable warrior who extended the tributary system, and consolidated the conquests made by his predecessors as well as conquering new territories. His campaigns reached as far south as Tapachula in the Soconusco region and the Chontal Maya states of Xicallanco in Tabasco. Only the Aztec archenemies of Tlaxcala, Huexotzinco, and the Purépecha remained undefeated, as well as the Mixtec kingdoms of
Tututepec and Yopitzinco which did not interest the Aztecs. Thus the Aztec Empire had its largest geographical extent when the Spaniards arrived in 1519. Some sources claim that Moctezuma II, and the Aztecs, believed the arriving Spanish to be linked to the supposed return of an exiled god,
Quetzlcoatl, who was supposed to return pale and bearded. ==Fall of the Aztec Empire==