The Three Princes

Three brothers of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina who fought against the Chalca, 1464

The Mexica conquest of Chalco (1446-1465) was one of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina's most challenging conquests, lasting nearly his whole reign. Although there were some successes, Mexica suffered a significant loss and was unable to land a decisive blow. So Motecuhzoma abandoned his earlier method of a sustained frontal assault in favor of indirect tactics. They increased the pressure by encircling the Chalcas. It was intended to shut them off from their potential allies and depriving them of room to retreat. Although the Chalcas did not immediately succumb, their position was growing increasingly precarious. By the year Eleven Flint (1464), Mexica had subjugated much of Chalcayotl. Motecuhzoma wanted to end this prolonged war once and for all, so he dispatched the large army led by three of his brothers. However, the outcome was not what he expected:

"As soon as they [Mexica] were ready they departed in the direction of Chalco, following the same road they had taken before. They passed through Tepepulla unafraid and soon reached a place called Tlacuilocan near Amequemecan, which at that time was the capital of that province or kingdom.

The men of Chalco, angered by this boldness, came out of the city of Amequemecan in great numbers. Even the boys who could carry a shield and sword joined them; not one was left in the city. And people from all the neighboring towns rushed to their aid. Having surrounded the Mexicas, the Chalcas fell upon them with such violence that the Mexicas regretted having put themselves in this difficult position. But seeing that they were forced to win or die, the soldiers formed a circle, some in an attempt to rout the Chalcas, others simply trying to survive. The battle raged with the greatest confusion, both sides slaying men right and left. A multitude of combatants covered the field. After some time, weary with fighting the entire day, both sides abandoned the battle, taking whatever prisoners they had managed to capture.

The Mexicas withdrew to Itztonpatepec, and at a place called Aculco they counted their losses among the leading officers in the army and found that three of these, brothers of the king, were missing. They went to look for them in the field and there discovered the bodies of these three warriors, covered with deep wounds, surrounded by many dead soldiers, so they took the three away. One of the brothers was named Cuahuaque, another Tlacahuepan, and the third Quetzalcuauh. Their bodies were brought before Motecuhzoma and [Cihuacoatl] Tlacaelel, who had remained in Tlapechhuacan, confident that their valiant countrymen would be victorious. When the king saw the bodies covered with deep gashes, he and Tlacaelel —both of whom were brothers of the deceased, the most courageous warriors in the army— were greatly sorrowed. The king began to moan and lament over the dead men, wailing, “O valorous brothers of mine: happy are you who died proving your great personal courage. Go now in honor, wrapped in the precious stones and rich plumage of your heroic deeds, performed while fighting for your country and the honor of king!”

Turning to Tlacaelel, who was still standing there next to the bodies, he asked, “How does it affect you, Tlacaelel, seeing your brothers lying here dead?”

“O my lord,” responded Tlacaelel, “I do not marvel at such deaths, nor do they fill me with fear. This is how wars are fought! Huitzilihuitl the Elder, our forebear and king, who died in Colhuacan before we were born; behold how he left behind him eternal glory as a valiant man. The Mexica nation needs bold men such as those who lie before you. This is Mexico Tenochtitlan, and men who are even more courageous than these will rise here. How long and how deeply must we mourn the deceased? If we stay here weeping we shall not be able to accomplish more important matters.” - Diego Durán, The History of the Indies of New Spain, Chapter 17

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 I tried to incorporate the format of Nahua pictorial codices into my art style. According to Diego Durán and Alvarado Tezozomoc's chronicles, the Mexica army marched through Tenochtitlan, Contitlan, Ocolco/Acolco, Tepepolan, and Tlacuilocan near Amaquemecan (subdivision of Chalco). Footprints are used in Nahua codices to represent people's movement, thus I used them to depict the marching route.

If possible, I directly used the glyphs of personal names and place names from codices (Tenochtitlan, Contitlan, Tepepolan, Chalco, Ezhuahuacatl, Tlacahuepan). If the glyphs are not attested in the existing codices (Ocolco, Tlacuilocan, Chahuacue, Quetzalcuauh), I hypothesized the glyphs based on our knowledge of Nahuatl glyphs. For example, the name 'Quetzalcuauh' is made up of two words: 'quetzal (quetzal bird/precious feather)' and 'cuauh (eagle),' hence the glyph would consist of these two elements. The elements of each glyph are shown in the second image.

Sources state nothing about the three brothers' attire at the time. So I drew them after the attire worn by the highest-ranking generals in the Mexica army, who were usually the emperor's closest kin.

◉ Ezhuahuacatl Tlacahuepan

From the three brothers, only Tlacahuepan is speficied with his official title, Ezhuahuacatl. Durán portrays Ezhuahuacatl as a different person from Tlacahuepan (he claims that Ezhuahuacatl was Motecuhzoma’s cousin, not brother); Tezozomoc, who uses the same source [‘Chronicle X’] as Duran and follows to it more closely, claims that they were the same person. I chose the latter. Ezhuahuacatl had both civic and military functions, as one of the chief judges and executioners, highest advisors to the emperor, and the high-ranking general.

The civic attire of Ezhuahuacatl is depicted in Codex Mendoza. He wore a cream-colored tilmatli (cloak) with a red-and-white border and a maxtlatl (loincloth). To indicate his rank, I drew him wearing a cloak on top of the armor.

The military attire of Ezhuahuacatl is unattested in the sources. So I chose the attire that the highest-ranking princes would have worn. He wears a quetzalpatzactli helmet with a green quetzal-feather crest. He is armed with an ichcahuipilli (quilted cotton armor) and ehuatl (feather tunic). With his left hand, he holds an atlatl dart and a cuexyo chimalli shield. On his right hand, he holds a small golden banner that, according to the Florentine Codex, was used to signal orders on the battlefield. A little drum worn on the side was also used as a signal during the battle. He is depicted with a speech-scroll glyph, which indicates him giving orders.

◉ Quetzalcuauh

Quetzalcuauh wears a cuezalpatzactli helmet with a red macaw-feather crest. He is wearing a red tilmatli. He is armed with an ichcahuipilli and a cuirass of tiny golden plates. Tezozomoc mentions this armor as worn by Tlacaelel, who is also a brother of Motecuhzoma. He is holding a tepoztopilli (spear) and xapochimalli shield with a circular design.

◉ Chahuacue

Chahuacue is clad as an eagle warrior (cuauhtli), complete with an eagle helmet and battle suit. It is thought that the eagle warrior was more prestigious and exclusive than the jaguar warrior, and its attire was often worn by rulers and nobles. His weapon is the macuahuitl, and his shield is the teocuitlateteyo chimalli. He is wearing a pamitl (banner) on his back.

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Sources

• Codex Boturini, 152~40s

• Codex Mendoza, 1542

• Bernardino de Sahagun, Codex Florentine, 1569

• Diego Durán, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme, 1581

• Codex Ixtlilxochitl, 1582

• Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc, Cronica Mexicana, 1598

• Alfredo Chavero, Lithograph of Lienzo de Tlaxcala, 1892

• Ross Hassig, Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control, University of Oklahoma Press, 1988

• Frances F. Berdan, Patricia Rieff Anawalt, The Essential Codex Mendoza, University of California Press, 1997

• Sylvie Peperstraete, La « Chronique X » Reconstitution et analyse d’une source perdue fondamentale sur la civilisation Aztèque, d’après l’Historia de las Indias de Nueva España de D. Durán (1581) et la Crónica Mexicana de F. A. Tezozomoc (ca. 1598), BAR International Series 1630, 2007

• Justyna Olko, Insignia of rank in the Nahua world : from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, University Press of Colorado, 2014

• Gordon Whittaker, Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs : A Guide to Nahuatl Writing, University of California Press, 2021