Tlaxcala (Nahua state)

Tlaxcala (Classical Nahuatl: Tlaxcallān, 'place of maize tortillas'; Otomian languages: Mãhmê, "place of tortillas") was a pre-Columbian city and state in central Mexico.

Tlaxcala was completely surrounded by Aztec lands, leading to intermittent armed conflict between the two powers as the latter attempted to absorb the former into its empire. In the reign of Motecuhzoma I, the Aztec Triple Alliance instituted a policy of instead fighting so-called "Flower(y) Wars" against Tlaxcala (as well as other city-states; namely, Huexotzinco and Cholula)—purportedly in order to obtain prisoners-of-war for ritual sacrifice—and imposed a trade embargo upon Tlaxcala specifically, in an apparent effort to weaken or punish the recalcitrant polity.

This long history of conflict between the Aztecs and the Tlaxcalteca played a role in the course of events during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire: the Tlaxcalteca—seizing the chance to strike back against their hated Aztec enemies—allied with the Spanish Empire, supplying a large contingent for the multi-ethnic, Spanish-led army that eventually destroyed the Empire.