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Question for November 2004

Did the Aztecs have kings and queens?? Asked by Woodville Primary School. Chosen and answered by Dr. Elizabeth Baquedano

Yes, the Aztecs had kings and queens. There were nine kings. The king was known as Tlahtoani which means ‘He Who Speaks’ in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs.

The nine kings were:-
ACAMAPICHTLI (meaning”Handful of Reeds”)
HUITZILIHUITL (“Hummingbird Feather”)
CHIMALPOPOCA (“Smoking Shield”)
ITZCOATL (“Obsidian Serpent”)
MOTECUHZOMA (“Angry Lord”)
AXAYACATL (“Face of Water”)
TIZOC (“The Bled One”)
AHUITZOTL (a mythical water opossum)
MOTECUHZOMA XOCOYOTZIN or MOTECUHZOMA THE YOUNGER (he was the ruling king when Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico). After the death of Motecuhzoma the Younger two other people ruled Tenochtitlan but they were not crowned as kings. They were Cuitlahuac and Cuauhtemoc respectively.

Women played major roles in the founding of Tenochtitlan. One of them called Atotoztli (“Water-Bird”) became a queen and Ilancueitl (“Old Woman Skirt”) was the wife of the first Aztec king. Women were very important for the institution of kingship at Tenochtitlan.

Dr. Elizabeth Baquedano has answered 2 questions altogether.

Did the Aztecs have kings and queens?

What was the point of the skull rack?

Comments (7)

Nathan

20th Oct 2023

who was the worst/most disliked Aztec kings

Mexicolore

We think most would agree it was Tizoc. This is what Prof Manuel Aguilar-Moreno wrote about him in his ‘Handbook to Life in the Aztec World’: ‘Tizoc was a very poor military leader and a weak ruler; consequently, he added little new territory to the empire. To compensate for his lack of success, he commissioned the Tizoc stone, a sculpture that depicts him conquering many towns. Most of the towns on that stone were actually conquered by his predecessors, so the monument stands as an object of political propaganda. His term of office was short. It appears that he was assassinated with poison by a military conspiracy.’

Noel Gabriel

22nd Oct 2022

Hola! I’m new to the site. I had a question about this, I heard that the concepts of king and queen were colonizer concepts and that the Mexica rulers were not really kings and queens. Nor did they have any princesses or Prince. What would your explanation be?

Mexicolore

Well we tend to agree with you on this. Because it wasn’t automatic that the next Mexica ruler would be the son of the previous incumbent - each new tlatoani had to prove himself worthy before being chosen - they weren’t strictly ‘kings’ and ‘queens’ in the European sense. But then there surely isn’t a lot wrong with using these terms for sheer convenience? Thanks for writing in, though - you’ve raised a very interesting point...

howard lorey

7th Mar 2019

why do the aztec not celebrate the tiger?

Mexicolore

‘Cos they didn’t have tigers!

Amy

7th Jun 2018

I know this may sound very much so like I’m a nut case, but there is good reason for it but how would I be able to find out if there is a way if I am the Aztec queen Aztotzli (may have spelled that wrong) but yeah!!!

Mexicolore

Go for it! Call yourself Queen Atotoztli, if it makes you feel good! If you are, your son became the first Aztec emperor!

laila

21st Jan 2015

what about their lives

Mexicolore

Big question. What about their lives? What would you like to know...?!

Zoe

9th Mar 2012

tIzoc means chalk leg not the bled one.

Mexicolore

Whilst his name does have ‘chalk’ at its root, some interpret his name glyph as a scarred leg - ie ‘He who does penance’. See, for instance, the Moctezuma exhibition catalogue at the British Museum.

Nancy Drew

5th Feb 2012

This answer was really helpful!