Tizatlan, in pre-Columbian Mexico, was one of the four independent altepemeh (polities, sing. altepetl) that constituted the confederation of

Tlaxcallan Tlaxcala ( 'place of maize tortillas') was a pre-Columbian city and state in central Mexico. During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Tlaxcala allied with the Spanish Empire against the Aztecs, supplying a large contingent for and somet ...

. Today Tizatlan is a part of the modern city of

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

, and the

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

city is visible as a small archaeological site. The site is in the state of

in central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

History

Tizatlan was the third of the four altepemeh to be founded, but at the time of the

Spanish conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

it was, along with

Ocotelolco Ocotelolco (sometimes spelled Ocotelulco), in pre-Columbian Mexico, was one of the four independent altepetl (polities) that constituted the confederation of Tlaxcallan. The site is in the present day state of Tlaxcala in central Mexico. History ...

, 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 or Xicotencatl the Elder (c. 11 House (1425) – c. 4 Rabbit (1522)) was a long-lived ''tlatoani'' (king) of Tizatlan, a Nahua ''altepetl'' within the pre-Columbian confederacy of Tlaxcala, in what is now Mexico. Etymology H ...

"the Elder" aided by his son the military leader

Xicotencatl II Xicotencatl II Axayacatl, also known as Xicotencatl the Younger (died 1521), 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 the Aztec Emp ...

"the Younger". Through a series of political events Ocotelolco finally achieved dominance over Tizatlan at the end of the conquest.

References

*Hassig, Ross (2001
"Xicotencatl: rethinking an indigenous Mexican hero"
Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl, UNAM (Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl). *Muñoz Camargo, Diego (1892 (1585)

published and annotated by Alfredo Chavero, Mexico. *Fargher, Lane F. (2007
In the Shadow of Popocatepetl: Archaeological Survey and Mapping at Tlaxcala, México.
FAMSI.

External links

Altepetl Archaeological sites in Tlaxcala Mesoamerican sites {{mesoamerica-stub