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| Nezhualcoyotl |
Texcoco
Texcoco was
situated on the eastern bank of Lake Texcoco[i], on the opposite side of the lake
from Tenochtitlan. The eastern lakeshore was fringed by marshes and brackish
water[ii],
rendering it impossible to use the chinampa system of agriculture practised in Tenochtitlan[iii].
Texcoco pioneered irrigation works, building a system of canals and aqueducts
bringing fresh water from springs in the mountains to the east of the city, a
system much admired by the Conquistadors;
‘Thanks to the greatness and
industry of the ruler of Tetzcoco [Nezahualcoyotl] water was led into canals
from a distance of 2 leagues in order to irrigate the hill. Mountains were
removed and valleys filled up in order that the water might flow by its own
impetus until it reached the top of the hill, where it could then pour
downwards in order to water all trees and plants.’[iv]
Relatively
sophisticated hydraulic engineering was required to build these aqueducts and
in several places great embankments were raised to bridge ravines and saddles
in the hills.
The water
from the mountains irrigated the agricultural terraces around Texcoco. These
feats of engineering overseen by Nezahualcoyotl helped increase food
production. In Texcoco the irrigation works led to a stronger economy and an
increase in population and sustained the position of Texcoco as the second city
of the Triple Alliance.
Having
secured his own water supply, Nezahualcoyotl assisted Tenochtitlan to install
irrigation systems on their side of the lake. These systems included dykes
between the salty and freshwater lakes and required the work of tens of
thousands of labourers supplied under compulsion by the other cities of the
region.
Extending Texcoco’s Influence
Nezahualcoyotl
encouraged the spread of agriculture across Texcoco; the soil around Lake
Texcoco was exceptionally fertile and farmers could expect two crops a year,
the staple crop being maize[v].
The lake provided fish and lake eels whose eggs were a highly prized delicacy.
The lakes, in a region where draught animals were not available, were ideal for
transporting goods, acting as a stimulus to trade and political and social
integration.
Under
Nezahualcoyotl’s rule Texcoco was to gain a reputation for learning, gold-work,
jewellery and fine picture manuscripts. Texcoco was the centre of artistic and
intellectual life under the Triple Alliance. Nezahualcoyotl sent invitations to
more than thirty craft groups from throughout the region suggesting that they
might like to settle in Texcoco. He offered craftsman the most favourable
working conditions, drawing in craftsmen who worked textiles, leather workers,
sculptors along with gold and silversmiths.
The city also
grew rich on the back of its merchants who not only traded their manufactured
goods for raw materials but also sold salt and fish with lowland countries[vi].
Nezahualcoyotl also ensured that Texcoco became the premier scientific centre
in the region; the irrigation systems that fed the lake towns with fresh water
were built with the assistance of skilled artisans from Texcoco.
Legal Matters
New councils were set up to govern Texcoco; a council of war, council of finance and a council of justice which acted as the final authority for all legal matters, receiving appeals from provincial courts.
Nezahualcoyotl created a new legal system, an adaptation of the Mexica system, with eighty severe and standardized laws; correct behaviour was defined with punishment meted out impartially. Trials were to be held in specially designated venues and any judge hearing cases elsewhere[vii] were deemed to have been bribed; their punishment was to be strangled[viii].
Laws were enacted matching every crime with its own punishment including treason, robbery, adultery, homicide, homosexuality, alcohol abuse, misuse of inheritances, and military misconduct as depicted in the Mapa Quinatzin. Other punishments included burning, strangulation or stoning. For the crime of adultery there were different punishments according to the degree of adultery and the status of those involved.
Adulterers were stoned, burned, or hanged if they had committed murder because of their extramarital affair. In cases of military misconduct, for example those soldiers who did not follow orders or killed captives, the condemned were hanged or beheaded. Nobles, too, were not immune to such punishments. Sons who stole from their father’s property were suffocated. Drunkards, incestuous men and women, and homosexuals were hanged as well.
A number of
citizens were allowed to join the nobles and professionals on the councils;
they were only barred from a fourth council, the council of state which advised
the Tlatoani. This council was made up of fourteen chiefs who assisted with
official business.
The Palace[ix]
The three
Tlatoani of the Triple Alliance arranged the marriages of their lesser lords
and children and required their attendance at court. Nezahualcoyotl used his
numerous children to bond his nobles and their families to him.
In the
cities of the Triple Alliance the Tlatoani was expected to house and feed
members of the nobility in his palace to emphasise the closeness between the
Tlatoani and his nobles and to underline their dependence upon him. The Spanish
estimated the annual consumption figures at Nezahualcoyotl’s palace as;
’31,600 fanegas[x] of
maize, 243 loads of cocoa, 8,000 chickens, 5,000 fanegas of chili, 2,000
measures of salt; and for the clothing of the ruler and the rest of the
nobility in his house….547,010[xi]
are registered all made of the finest materials and of great value.’[xii]
After
victories the nobility and warriors would be treated to huge feasts at which
gifts were distributed to all and sundry to underline the relationship between
ruler and ruled.
 |
| Bath of the kings |
Nezahualcoyotl
built his three hundred room palace, which covered amount a square mile, and
was surrounded by high adobe walls around two large courtyards. The first
courtyard was used as a market place and the second was surrounded by the
council chamber, in which stood a throne of gold encrusted with turquoise, and the
halls of justice with apartments providing accommodation for foreign
ambassadors, nobles and men of learning. The public archives were kept here too,
along with barracks for the royal guard and the counting houses where Texcoco’s
tribute was stored.
The
Tlatoani’s apartments adjoined this second court and included a harem. The
walls were encrusted with alabaster and stucco work, or hung with tapestries
adorned with feathers. Accommodation was provided nearby for Nezahualcoyotl’s
one hundred and ten children[xiii]
by his wife and numerous concubines.
The ruler’s
apartments let out into the gardens created by Nezahualcoyotl with baths, ponds
filled with exotic fish, and fountains all connected by waterways and fed by
the watercourses from the mountains. Amidst the terraced gardens which had
plants from all over central America were aviaries and a zoo. Birds and animals
that could not be obtained for the zoo were represented by models made in gold
or silver.
Bibliography
The Ancient
Kingdoms of Mexico – Nigel Davies, Penguin 1985
The New
World – Nicholas Hordern, Aldus Books/Jupiter Books 1971
The Ancient
American Civilisations – Friedrich Katz, Phoenix Press 2000
The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Aztecs and Maya – Charles Phillips, Hermes
House 2010
The Conquest
of Mexico – WH Prescott, JM Dent and Sons Ltd 1978
The Aztecs –
Richard F Townsend, Thames & Hudson Ltd 2010
www.wkipedia.en
[i]
Later drained by the Spaniards in an effort to control flooding; mostly covered
now by Mexico City
[ii]
This salty water lake had a lower level than the other lakes, but in times of
flood could burst its banks and overflow into the sweet water lakes and cause
large amounts of damage to crops. In order to prevent this, dams were built
between the salty and fresh water lakes.
[iv]
The Ancient American Civilisations - Katz
[v]
The Aztecs had two versions of the myth of the creation of maize; in one Quetzalcoatl
turned himself into an ant and brought back maize from the ‘food mountain’. The
other claimed that when the original human couple lost their only son Centeotl,
the gods caused his body to produce foods and plants. Maize came from his
fingernails, sweet potatoes from his fingers and cotton from his hair. Other
plants sprung forth from other parts of his body. Centeotl is one of the Aztec
maize gods.
[vi]
Tlacopan also had an expanding merchant class that was absent in Tenochtitlan,
whose sister-city Tlatelolco
had a ruling class of merchants rather than warriors.
[vii]
Such as in their own homes; cases against judges were made on a case by case
basis with precedents taken into account, rather than the prescribed
punishments for many crimes
[viii]
A similar system was incorporated in Tenochtitlan and Tlacopan
[ix]
The Mapa Quinatzin shows the
layout of the palace
[x]
A Spanish measurement equal to about 55.5 litres
[xi]
It is believed that the chronicler made a mistake and put an additional zero on
this figure
[xii]
The Ancient American Civilisations - Katz
[xiii]
Nezahualcoyotl had four of his sons executed for having sexual relations with
his concubines
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