30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreHow the Mexica declared war
Mexica (Aztec) constables, Codex Mendoza fol. 65r (detail). One of their duties was that of declaring war
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - José Palma: Estoy haciendo una pequeña tesis de master y me gustaría saber si podrían otorgarme información con respecto al proceso de la declaración de guerra azteca. Gracias de antemano. (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
Thanks for writing to us. We think one of the best sources on this subject is the work of Ross Hassig, a well respected, prolific and much quoted world expert on Mexica warfare. We quote salient points here from his classic book Aztec Warfare (1988):-
• ‘In theory, not all provocations were serious enough to prompt an Aztec declaration of war. The king might call for a war for minor offences (such as the killing of an emissary), but the basic decision rested with his councillors and the people, who required a just cause if they were to accept going to war.’
• ‘The ideal was to announce the declaration of war both to the Aztec people and to the new enemies, but this was not always done. The Aztecs rarely initiated war against a major opponent without cause (from their perspective), but they rarely provided formal advance warning, although targets usually knew the Aztecs were coming.’
• ‘The achcacauhtin were warriors in charge of declaring war or subduing rebelling provinces. The achcauhtli position was usually held by a valiant warrior, but rather than being warriors per se the achcacauhtin were a type of judicial officer...’
• ‘A high official announced the decision to wage war to the people. During the reign of Moteuczomah Ilhuicamina the cihuacoatl [prime minister] performed this act, notifying all the wards (calpolli) and the telpochcalli schools, where many warriors were trained. At other times war leaders alerted the people and told them to begin preparing supplies. And at still other times the four main war leaders - the tlacateccatl, the tlacochcalcatl, the cuauhnochteuctli, and the tlillancalqui [see main picture above, of these four Constables, depicted in the Codex Mendoza; their main duties involved carrying out public executions...] - told the captains and valiant warriors of the decision. The declaration of war was announced in the plaza, usually for five days.’
• ‘After the Aztecs decided to go to war, ambassadors were sent to the city in question to announce that it had wronged the Aztecs and to ask for satisfaction. Three different embassies were sent, the first to the rulers, the second to the nobles, and the third to the people. If the enemy city still failed to provide redress, war followed.’
• Incidentally, Hassig suggests, referencing several Spanish chroniclers (Durán, Mendieta, Acosta, Clavigero) that early in Aztec history, the Mexica ruler would send ‘a declaration [of war] in the form of shields and mantles’ to the enemy leader, in order to provoke a response.
Info source:-
• Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control by Ross Hassig, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1988
Picture sources:-
• Main pic: image from the Codex Mendoza (original in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) scanned from our own copy of the 1938 James Cooper Clark facsimile edition, London, Waterlow & Sons
• Colour illustration by Adam Hook, scanned from Aztec Warrior AD 1325-1521 by John Pohl, Osprey Publishing, 2001.
Comments (0)
Mexica (Aztec) constables, Codex Mendoza fol. 65r (detail). One of their duties was that of declaring war
More Ask Us Entries
- The colours of maizeDid the Aztecs and Maya believe in predestination?What did the Europeans make of the Aztecs brought to Spain?Is the Templo Mayor the only double shrine?How were disputes settled?Why no backgrounds?What was the Maya moon symbol?Why didn’t most Aztec warriors wear helmets?Why did the Aztecs sculpt goddesses?Why did Aztec priests practice asceticism?Was the Toltec calendar similar to the Mexica?What about cougars?Is Xoaltecuhtli a real Aztec god?Was another layer planned for the Templo Mayor?Did women sing and dance in rituals?Did the Aztecs have organised schools of thought?What about Aztec toilets and bathing together?Did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics?Questions about Aztec warriorsDid Aztec warriors have their own warrior code?Did the Aztecs know about peccaries?Did the Aztecs know soap?A symbol for welcomeAre Toci and Tlazolteotl the same?Aztec fortressesAhuitzotl’s childrenDid the Aztecs have ritual specialists?Tell us more about OpochtliDid the Aztecs use canoes for war?The town of MixtlanWas tobacco a harvest offering?Who was Huemac?Diadem versus feather headdressWhat did the Aztecs think of Venus?Did the Aztecs perform mummification?Did the Toltecs paint codices?What is the origin of the Aztec spirit bird?What were battle formations like?Calendar signs on a chess setAztec stone toolsWhat is the object in Xochipilli’s hand?Did the massacre of Toxcatl affect the Mexica army?Did Tezcatlipoca have four wives?What did noble houses look like?Is this a Nezahualcoyotl poem?What do we know about Teotitlan?The art of magicWhat did heron feathers represent?How did the bridges in the causeways work?How did Spaniards describe Aztec warriors?How bad was it to be under the control of the Mexica?How did the Aztecs write distances?What connects Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?Itzpapalotl and her Chichimec originsDid spiders have any symbolism?What’s with Ixtlilton?Please describe Aztec sling projectilesWere other animals associated with the moon?What do Quetzalcoatl’s earplugs really look like?The ‘Rise Talokan!’ hand gestureHow did Aztec warriors train?Were fish symbolic to the Aztecs?Did sharks or swordfish symbolise anything?Did crows mean anything to the Aztecs?Did they scar children going to religious school?What rituals accompanied Aztec deaths?Did the Aztecs have anything like the 7 deadly sins in Christianity?What was the average age of an Aztec emperor?What would be the Aztec term for empress?Did the Aztecs refer to Tenochtitlan and Mexico?Did merchants stay at inns?Could priests and priestesses marry?Did codices advise on being a good ruler?Did commoners have access to codices?Did they have a preferred hand for wielding weapons?How did warriors carry weapons?Did Mictecacihuatl have her own temple?What was the symbol for the Mexica themselves?Did the Aztecs use wood saws?Why did Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca dominate creation?The Mexica war cryA name for the north American continentDeclaring warDid the Aztecs use perfume?How do I choose an Aztec name?Did the Mexica say prayers before hunting?Who created Mictlantecuhtli?Were there initiation rites for new warriors?Did they use cooking fat and earth ovens?What animals were associated with the sun?Were albinos special in ancient Mexico?Is there an Aztec symbol for family?Is sobador (massage) culture prehispanic?What type of war paint did they have?Did the Aztecs practice martial arts?Is any of Cortes’s treasure left today?Everything for sale in the great marketDid Aztec men grow beards?Did all festivals include human sacrifices?What happened to the Culhuas?When does a day ‘start’ in the tonalpohualli?Towns linked by causeways to TenochtitlanThe Aztecs and mental illnessWere all Mexica great astronomers?How did they light their homes?Did the Aztecs hug?The Aztecs and the seaWhat about giants in Aztec mythology?The colour bands on Tezcatlipoca’s faceSacrifice of a Colhua princessAxolotls in Mexica(n)/Aztec mythologyWhat’s the meaning of this statue?Xochipilli and XochiquetzalCommon features of Aztec/Mesoamerican religionWhat was the hairstyle of (seasoned) Aztec warriors?How did commoners address the emperor?Resources on Mexica writingOther examples of Aztec templesIs this tattoo an Aztec eagle?Did the Aztecs convert conquered peoples?What’s painted red on the face of Tenoch?Why no bears in Aztec mythology?Red paint on Aztec stone sculpturesGod figures made of corn stalk pasteComing-of-age ritualsCan you identify this poster?What does Temaxcalapa mean?What evidence is there of human sacrifice?Did the Aztecs have a term for religion?How did the Aztecs get their stones for building?Did the Aztecs use metal spears?What does this Nahuatl saying mean?How did the Aztecs use stars?What happened to the nobility?What did the Aztecs call the Spanish?How did Aztec culture influence their housing?Why did Alvarado massacre the Aztecs?What surgery did the Aztecs practice?What did royal women wear?Were all gods male and female?The feast for XilonenCould you get divorced?What would Cuauhtémoc have looked like?Is Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?Keeping the Aztec army supplied and treating woundsThe Aztecs and dwarfsCan you identify this object?Was Xochiquetzal a female Aztec warrior?Is this the urn with Ahuitzotl’s ashes?Dogs as guides for soulsWar chantsThe clothing of Aztec priests and royalsWhat’s going on in this image from the Florentine Codex?Which feast was dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue?Royal court musiciansHow did they make colourful costumes?Did the Aztecs use a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?The symbolism of the four directionsWere women stargazers?Turquoise mosaic discMesoamerican tradeWhat happened to the rest of the sacrificed person’s body?Who exactly were the Chichimec people?Is there a name for the Aztec speech glyph?Did the Aztecs paint their canoes?The symbol for turquoiseHow do we know Tenochtitlan had a zoo?Did the Spanish eliminate Aztec song and dance?The tongue hanging out in Aztec artThe 13 heavens and 9 underworldsWhat exactly was a ‘calpulli’?Aztec children’s clothesGood source books on Mexica musicWhere are the codices today?Deerskin strap masks‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’How much gold did the Conquistadores get?Can you translate this poem?The origin of ‘pulque’The eagle and the snake...Many partners or one?Volcano mythsMapsWere war banners sacred or utilitarian?Did war shield symbols represent cities?Symbol for war‘A typical battle’TonantzinThe monkey’s earringDouble-headed serpentWho was Prime Minister at the Conquest?The ‘crying boy’ whistling jugThe wind god’s fanThe symbol for goldAztec gardensMysterious rectangular motifAztec/Mexica clothingCuauhtémoc’s emblemThe ruler’s white dressFood storesThe name Moctezuma todayWho are these 2 gods?Aztec shieldsHow should I start teaching a topic on the Aztecs?How did the Aztecs make molcajetes?Aztec God of Good Health?Why wear headdresses?How big was the Aztec Calendar (Stone)?An image of Citlalicue?Aztec pyramidsPictures of what the Aztecs ateTezcatlipoca or Tezcatilpoca?Sacred birds, flowers and Day LordsAztec symbol for protectorTraditional Náhuatl greetingsChild-friendly sources on the ConquestWere the Aztecs barbaric?What does (my) name Cuitlahuac mean?Ce Acatl Topiltzin QuetzalcoatlWomen and the ConquestMoctezuma’s deathAztec earringsThe Aztec ArmyWhat about Tlatelolco?