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'Moctezuma I' (c.1398 – 1469), also known as 'Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina', 'Huehuemotecuhzoma' or 'Montezuma I', was the fifth Aztec emperor. During his reign the Aztec Empire was consolidated, major expansion was undertaken and Tenochtitlan started becoming the dominant partner of the Aztec Triple Alliance. His brother Tlacaelel held the position of ''Cihuacoatl'' "First councillor" during his reign and some sources ascribe a lot of the succes of Moctezuma to Tlacaelel, but this may be a postconquest invention (Gillespie 1989:132).

Contents

Name

Family

Reign

Notes

References

Name

His first name, originally pronounced in Classical Nahuatl, means "he frowns like a lord". It is also written ''Montezuma'', ''Motecuhzoma'', as well as several other spellings. ''Ilhuicamina'', pronounced , means "he shoots an arrow into the sky". In Aztec writing, he can be indicated by either a diadem represent "lord", or an arrow piercing a stylized representation of the sky.
''Huehemotecuhzoma'' means "old man Moctezuma" or "Moctezuma the Elder", to distinguish him from Moctezuma II.
Ethnohistorian Susan D. Gillespie (1989)has suggested that his actual name while alive was not Moctezuma but only Ilhuicamina, and that he was later renamed Moctezuma by the postconquest chroniclers in order to describe him as a parallel to the later Moctezuma. The nahua view of history was cyclic and it was seen as fitting that the first and the last rulers of a dynasty would live parallel histories. The assumption of a posthumous namechange is supported by the sources some of which state that his original name was Ilhuicamina but that it was changed by his father. Pictographic sources also support the notion since the Tlatoanis name glyph only reads Ilhuicamina and never Moctezuma.

Family

Moctezuma was the son of Huitzilihuitl, the second Aztec emperor, and Miahuaxihuitl, the daughter of Tezcacohuatzin (also called Ozomatzin or Ozomatzinteuctli in some sources), the tlatoani of Cuauhnahuac who was also a sorcerer. According to legend, after Huitzilihuitl's request for Miahuaxihuitl was refused by Tezcacohuatzin, he fired a hollow arrow containing jewels into Miahuaxihuitl's palace, and Miahuaxihuitl miraculously became pregnant with Moctezuma after swallowing a jewel. This may be the origin of the name ''Ilhuicamina''. Moctezuma would later wed Chichimecacihuatzin, his mother's niece.

Reign

Moctezuma took power in 1448, after the death of his uncle Itzcoatl. As ''tlatoani'', Moctezuma solidified the alliance with two neighboring peoples, Tlacopan (a small sovereign kingdom) and Texcoco. In this skillfully crafted Triple Alliance, 4/5ths of a newly conquered territory would be divided between Texcoco and the Aztecs, with the remaining 1/5th given to Tlacopan.
Among the Aztecs' greatest achievements, Moctezuma I and Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco organized the construction and completion of a double aqueduct pipe system, supplying the city of Tenochtitlan with fresh water.
Moctezuma extended the boundaries of the Aztec empire beyond the Valley of México to the Gulf Coast, subjugating the Huastec people and Totonac peoples and thereby gaining access to exotic goods such as cocoa, rubber, cotton, fruits, feathers, and seashells.
About 1458, Moctezuma lead an expedition into Mixtec territory against the city-state of Coixtlahuaca, the pretext being the mistreatment of Aztec merchants. Despite the support of contingents of Tlaxcala and Huexotzingo warriors, traditional enemies of the Aztecs, the Mixtecs were defeated. While most of the defeated chieftains were allowed to retain their positions, the Mixtec ruler Atonal was ritually strangled and his family was taken as slaves. The Codex Mendoza records that the tribute owed by Coixtlahuaca consisted of 2000 blankets (of 5 types), 2 military outfits with headresses and shields, green gemstone beads, 800 bunches of green feathers, 40 bags of cochineal dye, and 20 bowls of gold dust.
Similar campaigns were conducted against Cosamaloapan, Ahuilizapan (Orizaba), and Cuetlachtlan (Cotaxtla).

Notes

1. Map based on Hassig (1988)

References

★ The Aztec Kings: The construction of rulership in Mexica history, , Susan D., Gillespie, University of Arizona Press, 1989, ISBN 0-8165-1339-2

★ Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control, , Ross, Hassig, University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, ISBN 0-8061-2121-1

★ The Aztecs, , Richard F., Townsend, Thames and Hudson, 2000, ISBN 0-500-28132-7

★ The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archaeology of Mesoamerica, , Muriel Porter, Weaver, Academic Press, 1993, ISBN 0-01-263999-0