Tlacopan

Glyph

19°27′32″N 99°11′16″W / 19.458765°N 99.187755°W

The Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest, showing Tlacopan in relation to Tenochtitlan and other cities in the Valley of Mexico.

Tlacopan (meaning "florid plant on flat ground"), also called Tacuba, was a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city-state situated on the western shore of Lake Texcoco on the site of today's neighborhood of Tacuba in Mexico City. Nearby was the city of Tiliuhcan.

History

Founded by Tlacomatzin, Tlacopan was a Tepanec kingdom subordinate to nearby Azcapotzalco.

Tlacopan sided with Tenochtitlan and Texcoco in their conquest of Azcapotzalco, becoming a member of the Triple Alliance which formed the nucleus of the Aztec Empire.^[1]:xxxviii The ruler of Tlacopan, Totoquihuaztli, then took the title Tepaneca tecuhtli, "Lord of the Tepanecs" (probably taken from the rulers of Azcapotzalco). Tlacopan was to remain a junior partner in the alliance, receiving only a fifth of the tribute gained from joint campaigns with its more powerful allies.

The Triple Alliance ended with the Spanish conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés and native allies in 1521. Over the centuries, Mexico City expanded to include the former site of Tlacopan, today's neighborhood of Tacuba in the Mexico City borough of Miguel Hidalgo.

References

1. León-Portilla, M. 1992, 'The Broken Spears: The Aztec Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico. Boston: Beacon Press, ISBN 978-0807055014

• Townsend, Richard F. (2000). The Aztecs (revised ed.). London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28132-7.