Tovar Codex, Battle of Azcapotzalco, 1430

Entitled: Guerra de Azcaputzalco. Battle of Azcapotzalco. Two groups of soldiers are shown fighting with war clubs and shields in the foreground of the image. At the far left is a jaguar warrior, one of the elite soldiers of the Aztec, with the glyph of a flowering cactus above him. Next to him is a figure representing AxayCgcatl (1449-1481) the sixth tlatoani of the altepetl of Tenochtitlan and ruler of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Behind the soldiers is a dwelling with three women who make a sign of mercy with their hands. At right an infant is being sacrificed by a priest at a temple while two victims lie dead on the ground. Azcapotzalco, capital city of Tecpanec on Lake Texcoco, was the site of a battle in 1430 between ItzcCuatl, the fourth Aztec emperor and Maxtla. Upon the defeat of Maxtla, the three cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed the new Aztec empire of the Triple Alliance. Illustration taken from a 19th century transcript of Juan de Tovar's Historia de la benida de los yndios apoblar a Mexico (the Codex Tovar)

Picture No

12696085

Media ID

47670054

Size

4275px x 3259px (2.7MB)

Credit

LOC/Jay I. Kislak Collection/Science Source/Mary Evans