Tizocic or Tizocicatzin usually known in English as Tizoc, was the seventh ''tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan. His name means, "He who makes sacrifices" or "He who does penance." Either Tizoc or his successor

Ahuitzotl Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the '' Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that m ...

was the first ''tlatoani'' of Tenochtitlan to assume the title ''Huey Tlatoani'' ("supreme ''tlatoani''") to make their superiority over the other cities in the Triple Alliance (

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexic ...

) clear.

Biography

Family

Tizoc was a son of the princess

Atotoztli II Atotoztli ( nci-IPA, Atotoztli, atoˈtostɬi) or Huitzilxochtzin ( nci-IPA, Huitzilxōchtzin, witsiɬˈʃoːtʃtsin) was a daughter of the Aztec emperor Moctezuma I and Chichimecacihuatzin I, the daughter of Cuauhtototzin, the ruler of Cuauhnahu ...

and her cousin, prince Tezozomoc. He was a grandson of Emperors

Moctezuma I Moctezuma I (–1469), also known as Moteuczomatzin Ilhuicamina (), Huehuemoteuczoma or Montezuma I ( nci, Motēuczōma Ilhuicamīna , nci, Huēhuemotēuczōma ), was the second Aztec emperor and fifth king of Tenochtitlan. During his reign, the ...

and

Itzcoatl Itzcoatl ( nci-IPA, Itzcōhuātl, it͡sˈkoːwaːt͡ɬ, "Obsidian Serpent", ) (1380–1440) was the fourth king of Tenochtitlan, and the founder of the Aztec Empire, ruling from 1427 to 1440. Under Itzcoatl the Mexica of Tenochtitlan threw off t ...

. He was a descendant of the King

Cuauhtototzin Cuauhtototzin () was a king of Cuauhnahuac. Family Cuauhtototzin was a son and successor of King Tezcacohuatzin. His sister was Empress Miahuaxihuitl. He was a father of Empress Chichimecacihuatzin I and uncle of her husband Moctezuma I. Cu ...

. He was successor of his brother

Axayacatl Axayacatl (; nci, āxāyacatl ; es, Axayácatl ; meaning "face of water"; –1481) was the sixth of the of Tenochtitlan and Emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Biography Early life and background Axayacatl was a son of the princess Ato ...

and was succeeded by his other brother,

; his sister was the Queen Chalchiuhnenetzin, married to Moquihuix, tlatoani of Tlatelōlco. He was an uncle of Emperors Cuauhtémoc,

Moctezuma II Moctezuma Xocoyotzin ( – 29 June 1520; oteːkˈsoːmaḁ ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sĩn̥), nci-IPA, Motēuczōmah Xōcoyōtzin, moteːkʷˈsoːma ʃoːkoˈjoːtsin variant spellings include Motewksomah, Motecuhzomatzin, Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecu ...

and Cuitláhuac and grandfather of Diego de San Francisco Tehuetzquititzin.

Reign

Most sources agree that Tizoc took power in 1481 (the Aztec year "2 House"), succeeding his older brother. Although Tizoc's reign was relatively short, he began the rebuilding of the

Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan The (Spanish: Main Temple) was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. Its architectural style belongs to the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. The temple was called ' in ...

(a task completed by his younger brother in 1487), and also put down a rebellion of the Matlatzincan peoples of the

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

Valley. According to the , during Tizoc's reign the of Tonalimoquetzayan, Toxico, Ecatepec, Cillán, Tecaxic, Tolocan, Yancuitlan, Tlappan, Atezcahuacan,

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

, Xochiyetla, Tamapachco, Ecatliquapechco and Miquetlan were conquered. Aztecexpansion

Death

Tizoc died in 1486, though it is still somewhat unclear how. Some sources suggest that he was

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ed, others that he fell to illness.

In popular culture

* The ''Obsidian and Blood'' series by Aliette de Bodard is set in the last year of the reign of

and the first years of the reign of Tizoc, with their youngest brother

appearing as a primary character. The second book, ''Harbinger of the Storm'' is primarily set during the election of Tizoc as tlatoani after the death of Axayacatl.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tizoc Year of birth missing 1486 deaths Tenochca tlatoque 15th-century monarchs in North America 15th-century murdered monarchs 15th century in the Aztec civilization Deaths by poisoning