Ixtlilxochitl II (c. 1500–c. 1550) was a

Nahua The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

nobleman,

tlatoani ''Tlahtoāni'' ( , "ruler, sovereign"; plural ' ) is a historical title used by the dynastic rulers of (singular ''āltepētl'', often translated into English as "city-state"), autonomous political entities formed by many pre-Columbian Nahuatl- ...

of Texcoco. He allied with

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

during the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

and assisted

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

during the

Siege of Tenochtitlan The fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was an important event in the Spanish conquest of the empire. It occurred in 1521 following extensive negotiations between local factions and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. He ...

. He converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

under the name of Fernando Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl and ruled Texcoco in Spain's name until his death.

Biography

According to his descendant

Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxóchitl, more generally known as Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, born between 1568 and 1580, died in 1648, was a nobleman of partial Aztec noble descent in the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain, modern Mexico; he is k ...

, Ixtlilxochitl was a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

, who being only three years old killed a female servant caught in an infidelity and then justified his act according to Texcocan law. At twelve he led a violent

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...

of courtiers who had advised his father to execute him for the danger he posed, and by fourteen he was already a renowned captain in the wars against

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala, is one of the 32 federal entities that comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tlaxcala, 60 municipalities and t ...

and

Atlixco Atlixco () is a city in the Mexican state of Puebla. It is a regional industrial and commercial center but economically it is much better known for its production of ornamental plants and cut flowers. The city was founded early in the colonial peri ...

. In 1516

Nezahualpilli Nezahualpilli (Nahuatl for "fasting prince"; 1464–1515, ) was king (''tlatoani'') of the Mesoamerican city-state of Texcoco, elected by the city's nobility after the death of his father, Nezahualcoyotl, in 1472. Nezahuapilli's mother was Azca ...

died, and the succession was contested by several of his sons, including

Cacamatzin Cacamatzin (or Cacama) (c. 1483–1520) was the tlatoani (ruler) of Texcoco,Diaz, B., 1963, The Conquest of New Spain, London: Penguin Books, the second most important city of the Aztec Empire. Cacamatzin was a son of the previous king Nezahu ...

and Ixtlilxochitl. The former gained the support of

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin . ( – 29 June 1520), retroactively referred to in European sources as Moctezuma II, and often simply called Montezuma,Other variant spellings include Moctezuma, Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma, Motē ...

, Tlatoani of the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...

. A civil war ensued, and ended in a tripartite division of Tetzcoco, by which one third of the kingdom, with the capital, was awarded to Cacamatzin, the northern part to his brother Ixtlilxochitl, and the third part to another claimant to the throne. Ixtlilxochitl became from that time the enemy of Moctezuma II. On the arrival of the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

, he sent an embassy to

while he was at

, offering him his services and asking his aid in return. A joint army marched on the eastern side of the lake. Cacamatzin fled and was eventually deposed. Ixtlilxochitl eventually took the throne of all of Tetzcoco, but was now allied with Tlaxcala and the Spaniards against Tenochtitlan, its former ally. Ixtlilxochitl led Tetzcocan armies throughout the remaining the Spanish-Aztec Wars. His important services have been commemorated by the historians, who have given him significant credit in the conquest of

Tenochtitlan , also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th annivers ...

. After the defeat of Tenochtitlan, he was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

and took the name of Hernan Cortés, after that of the conquistador, who was his godfather on this occasion. Afterward he took great interest in the propagation of Christianity, and supposedly brought in a bag the first stones to build the church of the convent of San Francisco in the city of Mexico. He accompanied Cortés on his expedition to Honduras in 1525 on which

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

was hanged for an alleged plot against Cortés. Ixtlilxochitl survived the expedition and probably returned overland to Central Mexico. He threatened the people of Texcoco, including his mother Yacotzin, to convert to Christianity or be killed. In the 17th century,

, his great-great-grandson, penned a history of Tetzcoco called the 13th relation of the Historical Compendium of the Kingdom of Texcoco, which defended Ixtlilxochitl and his actions. This history provides one of the most important indigenous views of the

. The source presents Ixtlilxochitl as a central player in the war. In order to gain rights and privileges from the Spanish monarch, whose power had grown much over the previous century, is careful to depict Ixtlilxochitl as one of the first converts to Christianity in the Americas.

References

* Tlatoque Texcoco (altepetl) 1500s births 1550 deaths Year of death uncertain Spanish Indian auxiliaries People from New Spain {{Royal-stub