Tlacochcalcatl was an Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

 military title or rank; roughly equivalent to the modern title of High General. In Aztec warfare the tlacochcalcatl was second in command only to the 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....

and he usually lead the Aztec army into battle when the ruler was otherwise occupied. Together with the tlacateccatl

Tlacateccatl

In the Aztec military, tlacateccatl was a title roughly equivalent to general. The tlacateccatl was in charge of the tlacatecco, a military quarter in the center of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. In wartime he was second-in-command to the tlatoani and the tlacochcalcatl...

(general), he was in charge of the Aztec army

Aztec army

Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions, forces, weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations of Mesoamerica, including particularly the military history of the Aztec Triple Alliance involving the city-states of ...

 and undertook all military decisions and planning once the tlatoani had decided to undertake a campaign.

The tlacochcalcatl was also in charge of the tlacochcalcos. Tlacochcalco ("in the house of darts") was the name of four armories

Armory (military)

An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...

 placed at the four entries to the ceremonial precinct of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. These mains armories were stocked with new weapons every year (during the festival of Quecholli), and one account by the Spanish

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

 conquistador

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

Andrés de Tapia estimates the number of weapons found in each of the four armories to be 500 cartloads.

The tlacochcalcatl was always a member of the military order of the cuachicqueh "the shorn ones".

The office of tlacochcalcatl was often the last step towards becoming the next tlatoani.

The first tlacochcalcatl was instated under the rule of Huitzilihuitl

Huitzilíhuitl

Huitzilihuitl was the second tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, governing from 1396 to 1417, .- Family and childhood :...

 who appointed his brother Itzcoatl

Itzcóatl

Itzcoatl was the fourth emperor of the Aztecs, ruling from 1427 to 1440, the period when the Mexica threw off the domination of the Tepanecs and laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire.- Biography :...

 who probably also served during the rule of Chimalpopoca

Chimalpopoca

Chimalpopoca was the third king of Tenochtitlan .-Rule:On the day of Chimalpopoca's coronation in 1417 , his brother Tlacaelel I was named high priest...

. When Itzcoatl became tlatoani he appointed Tlacaelel

Tlacaelel

Tlacaelel I was the principal architect of the Aztec Triple Alliance and hence the Mexica empire. He was the son of Emperor Huitzilihuitl and Queen Cacamacihuatl, nephew of Emperor Itzcoatl, and brother of Emperors Chimalpopoca and Moctezuma I.During the reign of his uncle Itzcoatl, Tlacaelel was...

 as tlacochcalcatl and Moctezuma Ilhuicamina as tlacateccatl

Tlacateccatl

In the Aztec military, tlacateccatl was a title roughly equivalent to general. The tlacateccatl was in charge of the tlacatecco, a military quarter in the center of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. In wartime he was second-in-command to the tlatoani and the tlacochcalcatl...

; when Tlacaelel was appointed cihuacoatl

Cihuacoatl (position)

The cihuacoatl was a supreme leader or advisor within the Aztec system of government....

, Moctezuma Ilhuicamina was promoted to tlacochcalcatl. It is not known who was tlacochcalcatl under the rule of Moctezuma I; possibly Tlacaelel held a dual office in this period. Under the rule of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina's son and successor Axayacatl

Axayacatl

Axayacatl was the sixth Aztec Emperor, a ruler of the Postclassic Mesoamerican Aztec Empire and city of Tenochtitlan, who reigned from 1469 to 1481.He is chiefly remembered for subjugating Tlatelolco, Tenochtitlan's sister city, in 1473....

, the tlacochcalcatl was Tizoc

Tízoc

Tizocic or Tizocicatzin , usually known in English as Tizoc, was the seventh tlatoani of Tenochtitlan.-Biography:...

, who in turn became ruler at Axayacatl's death. Tizoc who was seen as a weak ruler; he was disposed of and his tlacochcalcatl Ahuitzotl became ruler. Ahuitzotl's tlacochcalcatl was the next ruler: Moctezuma II

Moctezuma II

Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...

 (Xocoyotzin). The tlacochcalcatl of Moctezuma II at the arrival of the Spaniards was Quappiatl.