Tizocic or Tizocicatzin (the honorific form of his name), usually known in English as Tizoc, was the seventh tlatoani of Tenochtitlan.

Biography

He was a son of the princess Atotoztli II and her cousin, prince Tezozomoc

Tezozomoc (son of Itzcoatl)

Tezozomoc was a son of Itzcoatl, the fourth Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan. Although he never became ruler himself, he was married to Atotoztli, daughter of Moctezuma I , and three of his sons — Axayacatl, Tizoc, and Ahuitzotl — would become the sixth, seventh and eighth rulers, respectively...

. He was a grandson of the Emperors Moctezuma I

Moctezuma I

Moctezuma I , also known as Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, Huehuemotecuhzoma or Montezuma I , was the fifth Aztec emperor - king of Tenochtitlan...

 and 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 :...

. He was a descendant of the king Cuauhtototzin

Cuauhtototzin

-Family:He was a son and successor of the King Tezcacohuatzin. His sister was an Empress Miahuaxihuitl.He was a father of Empress Chichimecacihuatzin I and uncle of her husband Moctezuma I....

.

He was a successor of his brother 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....

 and his other brother was Emperor Ahuitzotl and his sister was the Queen Chalchiuhnenetzin. He was an uncle of Emperors Cuauhtémoc

Cuauhtémoc

Cuauhtémoc was the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521...

, 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...

 and Cuitláhuac

Cuitláhuac

Cuitláhuac or Cuitláhuac was the 10th tlatoani of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint ....

 and grandfather of Diego de San Francisco Tehuetzquititzin.

Most sources agree that he took power in 1481 (the Aztec year "2 House"), succeeding his older brother. Although Tízoc's reign was relatively short, he began the rebuilding of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan

Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan

The ' was one of the main temples of the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica...

 (a task completed by his younger brother in 1487), and also put down a rebellion of the Matlatzincan peoples of the Toluca

Toluca

Toluca, formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the...

 Valley.

According to the Codex Mendoza

Codex Mendoza

The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain...

, during Tizoc's reign the altepetl

Altepetl

The altepetl, in Pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest-era Aztec society, was the local, ethnically based political entity. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl, meaning water, and tepē-tl, meaning mountain....

 of Tonalimoquetzayan, Toxico, Ecatepec

Ecatepec

Ecatepec was an Aztec altepetl or city-state in the Valley of Mexico.-Tlatoque:From 1428 to 1539, Ecatepec was ruled by a tlatoani...

, Cillán

Cillán

Cillán is a municipality located in the province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 128 inhabitants....

, Tecaxic, Tolocan, Yancuitlan, Tlappan, Atezcahuacan, Mazatlán

Mazatlán

Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...

, Xochiyetla, Tamapachco, Ecatliquapechco, and Miquetlan were conquered.

Tizoc died in 1486, though it's still somewhat unclear how. Some sources suggest that he was poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

ed, others that he was the victim of "sorcery" or illness. It has been suggested that either 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...

 or other members of the royal family (especially Ahuitzotl) were responsible for the poisoning of Tizoc.

See also

• Stone of Tizoc
  Stone of Tizoc
  The Stone of Tizoc, Tizoc Stone or Sacrificial Stone is a large, round, carved Aztec stone, rediscovered on 17 December 1791. It is thought to have been a quauhxicalli, in which the hearts of sacrifices were placed....