Culhuacan
Encyclopedia
Culhuacan or Colhuacan was one of the Nahuatl
-speaking pre-Columbian
city-states of the Valley of Mexico
. According to tradition, Culhuacan was founded by the Toltecs under Mixcoatl and was the first Toltec city. The Nahuatl speakers agreed that Culhuacan was the first city to give its rulers the title of "speaker" (tlatoani
).
and maintained its prestige until the mid-14th century. According to the Cronica Mexicayotl, transcribed in 1609, in 1299, Culhuacan's tlatoani, Coxcoxtli
, helped the Tepanec
s of Azcapotzalco
, the Xochimilca and other cities expel the Mexica from Chapultepec
. Coxcoxtli then gave the Mexica permission to settle in the barren land of Tizapan, southwest of Chapultepec, and they became vassals of Culhuacan. The Mexica subsequently assimilated into Culhuacan's culture and their soldiers provided mercenaries for its wars.
In the early 14th century, the vassal Mexica asked for Achitometl's daughter, in order to make her the goddess Yaocihuatl
. Unbeknownst to Achitometl, the Mexica actually planned to sacrifice her. As the story goes, during a festival dinner, a priest came out wearing her flayed skin as part of the ritual. Upon seeing this, the king and the people of Culhuacan were horrified and expelled the Mexica. The Mexica found their way onto a small island in Lake Texcoco
, where they founded their capital, Tenochtitlan.
The Tenochtitlan tlatoani Acamapichtli
was a grandson of Coxcoxtli. Nevertheless, in 1377 Azcapotzalco
subdued Culhuacan in large part with Mexica troops. In 1428, the Mexican Speaker Itzcóatl helped to overthrow Azcapotzalco's hegemony, and accepted the title "Ruler of the Culhua".
Nahuatl
Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
-speaking pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
city-states of the Valley of Mexico
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations, including...
. According to tradition, Culhuacan was founded by the Toltecs under Mixcoatl and was the first Toltec city. The Nahuatl speakers agreed that Culhuacan was the first city to give its rulers the title of "speaker" (tlatoani
Tlatoani
Tlatoani is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an altepetl, a pre-Hispanic state. The word literally means "speaker", but may be translated into English as "king". A is a female ruler, or queen regnant....
).
History
Culhuacan survived the fall of TollanTollan
Tollan, Tolan, or Tolán is a name used for the capital cities of two empires of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; first for Teotihuacan, and later for the Toltec capital, Tula-Hidalgo, both in Mexico...
and maintained its prestige until the mid-14th century. According to the Cronica Mexicayotl, transcribed in 1609, in 1299, Culhuacan's tlatoani, Coxcoxtli
Coxcoxtli
Coxcoxtli was a king of city-state Culhuacan. He had two children - a son called Huehue Acamapichtli and a daughter Atotoztli I, who married Opochtli Iztahuatzin and bore him Acamapichtli, the first ruler of Tenochtitlan. He was thus an ancestor of Aztec emperors....
, helped the Tepanec
Tepanec
The Tepanecs or Tepaneca are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. The Tepanec were a sister culture of the Aztecs as well as the Acolhua and others—these tribes spoke the Nahuatl language and shared the same general pantheon, with...
s of Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 delegaciones into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City...
, the Xochimilca and other cities expel the Mexica from Chapultepec
Chapultepec
Chapultepec Park, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" in Mexico City, is the largest city park in Latin America, measuring in total just over 686 hectares. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space in the vast...
. Coxcoxtli then gave the Mexica permission to settle in the barren land of Tizapan, southwest of Chapultepec, and they became vassals of Culhuacan. The Mexica subsequently assimilated into Culhuacan's culture and their soldiers provided mercenaries for its wars.
In the early 14th century, the vassal Mexica asked for Achitometl's daughter, in order to make her the goddess Yaocihuatl
Yaocihuatl
Yaocihuatl is a Nahuatl word that's used for women that are warriors. It literally translates to "woman warrior" in Spanish ....
. Unbeknownst to Achitometl, the Mexica actually planned to sacrifice her. As the story goes, during a festival dinner, a priest came out wearing her flayed skin as part of the ritual. Upon seeing this, the king and the people of Culhuacan were horrified and expelled the Mexica. The Mexica found their way onto a small island in Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco
Lake Texcoco was a natural lake formation within the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan on an island in the lake. The Spaniards built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan...
, where they founded their capital, Tenochtitlan.
The Tenochtitlan tlatoani Acamapichtli
Acamapichtli
Acamapichtli was the first tlatoani, or ruler, of the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan, and founder of the Aztec imperial dynasty. He became ruler in 1375 and reigned for 19 years.- Family and early life :...
was a grandson of Coxcoxtli. Nevertheless, in 1377 Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco (altepetl)
Azcapotzalco was a pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl , capital of the Tepanec empire, in the Valley of Mexico, on the western shore of Lake Texcoco.The name Azcapotzalco means "at the anthill" in Nahuatl...
subdued Culhuacan in large part with Mexica troops. In 1428, the Mexican Speaker Itzcóatl helped to overthrow Azcapotzalco's hegemony, and accepted the title "Ruler of the Culhua".