Tlacopan

The name comes from Classical Nahuatl tlacōtl, "stem" or "rod" and -pan, "place in or on" and roughly translates to "place on the rods"),^[2]

Tlacopan was a Tepanec city-state, originally subordinate to nearby Azcapotzalco.

In 1428, after its successful conquest of Azcapotzalco, Tlacopan allied with the neighbouring city-states of Tenochtitlan and Texcoco, thus becoming a member of the Aztec Triple Alliance and resulting in the subsequent birth of the Aztec Empire.^{[3]: xxxviii}

Aculnahuacatl Tzaqualcatl, the son of the Tepanec ruler, Tezozomoc, was installed as tlatoani of Tlacopan until his death in c.1430. Throughout its existence, Tlacopan was to remain a minor polity within the Triple Alliance. It received only a fifth of tribute earned from joint campaigns with its more powerful allies.

In 1521, the Aztec Empire collapsed as a result of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, led by Hernán Cortés and his native Tlaxcallan allies. Over the next few centuries, Tlacopan has been assimilated into the sprawling mega-metropolis of Mexico City. The archæological site of Tlacopan is located in Tacuba, within the present-day municipality of Miguel Hidalgo.

According to Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, six languages were spoken in Tlacopan: Nahuatl ("though corrupt by virtue of being spoken in the mountains"), Otomi, "Guata" (likely a corruption of quata, an old designation for Matlatzinca^[4]), Mazahua, "Chuchumé" (likely a Popolocan language), and Chichimec (likely either Pame or Chichimeca Jonaz).^[5][6]

• Aculnahuacatl Tzaqualcatl (c. 1427)^[7]
• Totoquihuaztli I (c. 1428), often considered the first tlatoani of Tlacopan; co-founder of the Aztec Triple Alliance.^[8]
• Chimalpopoca (?–?)^[7]
• Totoquihuatzin (?–1519)^[7]
• Tetlepanquetzal (1519–1525),^[9][10] son of Totoquihuatzin.^[10]

Tlacopan was mostly leaderless from 1526 to 1550; the de facto ruler was Isabel Moctezuma since the city was part of her encomienda.^[11] Business in the city were handled by various appointed governors and nobles unrelated to the previous dynasty.^[10]

• Don Antonio Cortés Totoquihuaztli the Elder (c. 1550–1574), descendant of the pre-colonial tlatoani. Made tlatoani after Isabel Moctezuma's death.^[11]

• The other leaders of the Triple Alliance:
  • List of tlatoque of Tenochtitlan
  • List of tlatoque of Tetzcoco
• History of the Aztecs
• Other rulers to the south:
  • Maya monarchs
  • Mixtec monarchs