(14497-1481) poet, ruler
Axayacatl of Tenochtitlan was the son of Prince Tezozomoctzin and Huitzilxochitzin, a woman from Tlacopan. While his father did not rule in Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City), Axayacatl and two of his brothers became huey tlatoanai (supreme ruler) of the Aztec Empire. Axayacatl was elected ruler in 1468 at the insistence of Tla-caelel, a powerful Mexican counselor, despite being only 19 years old.
Axayacatl showed great bravery in combat as the ruler of Tenochtitlan. He led three great battles against the Tlatexica nation, the Matlatzinca of Toluca, and the Purepecha of Michoacan, though the last of these was a severe defeat for Axayacatl and his men. During this time, Axayacatl also supervised the carving of the Sun Stone, which combined Aztec mythology, religion, and the science of the calendar. Shortly after the unveiling of the Sun Stone, Axayacatl fell ill and never recovered.
The battle with the Purepecha served as the inspiration for one of the two great poems attributed to Axayacatl, “Huehueh Cuicatl,” or “Song of the Elders.” The poem expresses the weariness felt by the poet after the defeat, and honors the soldiers who died in battle. Axayacatl’s other poem, “Ycuic Axayacatzin, Mexico Tlatohuani,” or “Song of Ax-ayacatl, Lord of Mexico,” recalls his famous ancestors and the glories of the Aztec Empire. Unfortunately, one of Axayacatl’s own sons, Montezuma II, would see the end of Aztec glory in 1520. Though Axayacatl’s reign lasted only 13 years and his poetic output was limited, he is remembered as one of the great poets and rulers of the Aztec Empire.
English Versions of Works by Axayacatl of Tenochtitlan
Flower and Song: Poems of the Aztec Peoples. Translated by Edward Kissam and Michael Schmidt. Ypsilanti, Mich.: Bilingual Press, 1983.
Leon-Portilla, Miguel. Fifteen Poets of the Aztec World. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
Works about Axayacatl of Tenochtitlan
Leon-Portilla, Miguel. Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind. Translated by Jack Emory Davis. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
Meyer, Michael C., and William H. Beezley, eds. The Oxford History of Mexico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
