I can't be the only one who thinks that the Tlaxcaltecas will accomplish what the Tarascans could not and be the ones to put the Triple Alliance out of its misery.
The Jaguar's Roar - An Aztec Timeline
- Thread starter Vinization
- Start date
Wasn’t expecting Metal Slug to be mentioned in here but I’m all for it
A Metal Slug/Jaguars Roar crossover is the type of things dreams are made of
Considering how Metal Slug had Alien Invasions(2 different types of aliens too!) as well as time travel, having it as a crossover with this TL wouldn't actually be the craziest thing it has done.
Hah, looks like they took a page out of Alvarado's book!
Why am I such a sucker for monarchs making final stands? He's not running, and I respect it.
THE CITY LIVES
THANK THE GODS THE CITY LIVES
I'll be damned if this isn't one of, if not the best chapter of this I've read. A hundred thousad kudoses.
(Whistles) That was an incredible update, every scrap of effort shows, as does the research, you did an incredible job with this piece, managing to make it a grueling and realistic back and forth. I gotta admit I was pulling for the Purépecha, but I can't deny the valor in standing firm like that, I look towards the future with trepidation and intrigue 
I seriously considered having the Purépecha empire be the protagonist of this TL (the POD would have to be a set few decades back, though), given how unique it was. One of the things that dissuaded me was the lack of specific names, artwork and so on compared to all the codices and such about the Mexica.(Whistles) That was an incredible update, every scrap of effort shows, as does the research, you did an incredible job with this piece, managing to make it a grueling and realistic back and forth. I gotta admit I was pulling for the Purépecha, but I can't deny the valor in standing firm like that, I look towards the future with trepidation and intrigue
Ah I see, that is cool to know and definitely a timeline I'd love to see explored, but I can see why you made the call you did here, thanks for sharing!
Lol, the Aztecs are saved by their once most hated enemy! Now that I didn't expect, and is fucking awesome.
Texcoco will be given the Carthage treatment I believe.
Texcoco will be given the Carthage treatment I believe.
I am deeply, deeply grateful to @Tabs and @King of the Uzbeks for nominating this timeline for the Turtledoves. I'm honored for this work to be considered one of the best of its category (Early Modern) in the board.
Here's the poll, in case you guys want to vote for it or a TL better than mine.
Here's the poll, in case you guys want to vote for it or a TL better than mine.
Great Update, it kept me in suspense about who would emerge victorious until the very end. I will admit I was rooting for the Purépecha, but can hardly be disappointed given the valor shown.
Tlacopan remained loyal, but the Triple Alliance remains down a member. The Tlaxcaltecs may have a price...
Tlacopan remained loyal, but the Triple Alliance remains down a member. The Tlaxcaltecs may have a price...
I've started to read the one about Cahokia becoming the seat of an empire (Where the River Flows), and it looks pretty cool.
I'd say - concept wise - it is my favorite of the bunch, I just love the idea of a Super Native America
But hey your TL (maybe) has a French Brazil so it automatically wins in my book
I've come to realize I don't like alternate prehistory timelines, mainly because they involve a lot more original writing, so I might as well just read published alt history novels like The Years of Rice and Salt or Civilizations by Laurent Binet. (Heartily recommend those both by the way, keeping in mind that they're novels and not timelines like on here so their focus is on plot, characters, and themes and readers should not obsess too much over historical details).
Part 18: Dawn
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Part 18: Dawn
Part 18: Dawn
Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan
July 27, 1538
July 27, 1538
Out of all the asssignments Juan Pizarro did in his still young life, this was nowhere near the most intense or dramatic, but it was probably among the most bizarre. Unlike most of the few remaining Spanish mercenaries still in Mexica service, he was less a soldier of fortune and more a refugee: the discovery of gold in Florida by his elder half brother Francisco led to a massive struggle for power among the conquistadors there, one that left him as the only living member of the Pizarro brothers (1). He then enlisted to fight under the Triple Alliance's banner just in time to take part in the Siege of Tenochtitlan, in which he felt like the world was about to end - the scent of blood, powder and metal was still fresh in his nostrils, one and a half years later, as were all the explosions and screams in his ears.
Compared to that, his current mission, to help guard the various priests, nobles and other representatives who had gathered in Teotihuacan to discuss how the empire would function from then on, was a walk in the park. It was the place chosen to hold such a massive and important assembly that puzzled him: Teotihuacan was a dead city, had been for almost a thousand years, its various temples and pyramids visited only by the occasional pilgrims, squatters and looters. So why in the world did Cuauhtémoc and his court decide to spend so much money to prepare it for this occasion, clearing streets, revitalizing relevant buildings and setting up luxurious tents, rather than just choose Tenochtitlan or Cholula as the place to hold it instead? Surely it would make more sense.
Whatever. It wasn't his place to think about such things, at least not yet - perhaps in the future, if he was lucky enough to earn the favor of one of his superiors or a noble.
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As cataclysmic as it was, the aftermath of the Siege of Tenochtitlan ensured that the latest war between the Mexica and the Purépecha would end not with a clear victory for either side, but a stalemate that, together with the cocoliztli epidemics that would ravage Mesoamerica in the years to come, left both empires so exhausted neither would be able to launch military operations on a similar scale for the rest of the 16th century. Tens if not hundreds of thousands were dead, from combat, starvation or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like the peasants in the valleys of Anahuac and Tollocan, who were unfortunate enough to live in the middle of the path the armies marched on and were thus at risk of having their homes and farms plundered by the troops of both sides.
The only people who gained anything were those who either threw their hat on the ring at the last minute, like Xicotencatl II, or did not participate in the fighting directly but still took advantage of it, like Cocijopij and espeically Blasco Núñez Vela. The former took advantage of his overlord's dire straits to finally rebel against his authority, laying siege to the Mexica garrison in Zaachila and eventually slaughtering it down to the last man. These events inspired other cities in the Zapotec highlands to revolt as well, and by the end of 1536 the last Mexica holdout at Guiengola (or Tehuantepec in Nahuatl) was conquered. Cocijopij had gone from a vassal to an independent king, one whose voice was heard not only in his home city but in practically all lands inhabited by the Zapotecs.
But it would take time for him to fully cement his authority, since the Zapotecs were politically fragmented for most of their history, and during this time his new state would be vulnerable to the machinations of enemies from within and without. Cuauhtémoc would surely make an example of his rebellious nephew when the first opportunity revealed itself, and the Spanish were all too aware of the riches Zaachila possessed. Thankfully, his years of scheming earned him many allies in Cuba and Veracruz, allies who would spring into action as soon one fateful decision: renege on his old religion, and be baptised as a Christian.
Which he did on November 4 1536, taking on the name of José from that day onward. While Christian missionaries were tolerated by various local lords for many reasons, none had ever taken the extra step - Cocijopij was the first to do so. It was, above all else, a decision born out of political calculations, since joining Christianity was, at the time, synonymous with becoming a vassal of Spain, a far more distant overlord than Tenochtitlan. Still, he'd need to be careful to not be overthrown by an overambitious group of Spaniards (2), a noble who could earn their favor or even someone who stayed faithful to the old ways, of which there were many.
The Catholic Church had made its first major inroad into Mesoamerica, and it wouldn't be the last.
An 18th century depiction of Cocijopij's baptism.
The Spanish themselves were hardly idle either. Cuban governor Blasco Núñez Vela, still simmering from the aftermath of his diplomatic dispute with the still existing Triple Alliance just before its invasion of the Iréchikwa Tzintzuntzani, promptly began to assemble an army as soon as he heard of the Battle of Guayangareo. With 4.000 men led by Núñez Vela in person, this was by far the largest force sent by the Spanish colonial authorities into the American continent until that moment, and it left Veracruz in late October 1536, right when Xicotencatl's troops left Tlaxcala to relieve Tenochtitlan, leaving the western border of the Mexica empire almost defenseless.
The Spanish marched north, taking Cempoala (now a shell of its former self) before turning west and capturing Xallapan without difficulty. The path to the Plateau of Anahuac was open, and the Tlaxcaltecs were too busy chasing the Purépecha out of Tollocan to counter the Europeans' advance. With his own army exhausted, Cuauhtémoc had no choice but to discuss terms before Núñez Vela invaded Tlaxcala or worse. The negotiations that ensued led to the Treaty of Xallapan, in which the Mexica not only handed over of not only the city in question, but the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and were forced to pay an indemnity in gold and silver for five years as compensation for their treatment of Spanish merchants in the diplomatic crisis. Now it was Núñez Vela's turn to score a victory without a single battle, one that ensured Spanish dominance over Mesoamerica for decades to come.
As the fateful year of 1536 came to an end, it was clear to Cuauhtémoc that, while he kept his throne and life, the great empire he once governed had ceased to exist. Tenochtitlan itself took a big hit in the siege, weakening its hold ove its neighboring cities, and drastic reforms were needed before its decline became terminal. The first such reform, the abolition of all privileges (and any form of autonomy) Texcoco once held as a member of the Triple Alliance, was made almost immediately after the siege was relieved, for obvious reasons. Most of its temples and palaces were torn down, the stone and wood used to build them being sent to Tenochtitlan and other cities in the Valley of Anahuac to help with their reconstruction. It wouldn't be until the 17th century that the home of Nezahualcoyotl would recover some of its former greatness.
But although it was easy to destroy Texcoco in all levels other than physical, it would be far more difficult to rebuild the Mexica state with the meager resources available. Xicotencatl and the Tlaxcaltecs wanted a reward for the role they played in saving its capital, and the priesthood was terrified by Cocijopij's conversion, fearing that it could spark a wave of Christianization. Something had to be done to assuage their concerns, and that something consumed Cuauhtémoc and the court's agenda as soon as the Purépecha were driven back to their original border. The solution they came up with, a huge assembly of nobles, priests and anyone with a sliver of political relevance in the long dead city of Teotihuacan, is remembered today as both the birth of modern Anahuac and a huge waste of money at a time it was needed more than ever.
The Spanish marched north, taking Cempoala (now a shell of its former self) before turning west and capturing Xallapan without difficulty. The path to the Plateau of Anahuac was open, and the Tlaxcaltecs were too busy chasing the Purépecha out of Tollocan to counter the Europeans' advance. With his own army exhausted, Cuauhtémoc had no choice but to discuss terms before Núñez Vela invaded Tlaxcala or worse. The negotiations that ensued led to the Treaty of Xallapan, in which the Mexica not only handed over of not only the city in question, but the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and were forced to pay an indemnity in gold and silver for five years as compensation for their treatment of Spanish merchants in the diplomatic crisis. Now it was Núñez Vela's turn to score a victory without a single battle, one that ensured Spanish dominance over Mesoamerica for decades to come.
As the fateful year of 1536 came to an end, it was clear to Cuauhtémoc that, while he kept his throne and life, the great empire he once governed had ceased to exist. Tenochtitlan itself took a big hit in the siege, weakening its hold ove its neighboring cities, and drastic reforms were needed before its decline became terminal. The first such reform, the abolition of all privileges (and any form of autonomy) Texcoco once held as a member of the Triple Alliance, was made almost immediately after the siege was relieved, for obvious reasons. Most of its temples and palaces were torn down, the stone and wood used to build them being sent to Tenochtitlan and other cities in the Valley of Anahuac to help with their reconstruction. It wouldn't be until the 17th century that the home of Nezahualcoyotl would recover some of its former greatness.
But although it was easy to destroy Texcoco in all levels other than physical, it would be far more difficult to rebuild the Mexica state with the meager resources available. Xicotencatl and the Tlaxcaltecs wanted a reward for the role they played in saving its capital, and the priesthood was terrified by Cocijopij's conversion, fearing that it could spark a wave of Christianization. Something had to be done to assuage their concerns, and that something consumed Cuauhtémoc and the court's agenda as soon as the Purépecha were driven back to their original border. The solution they came up with, a huge assembly of nobles, priests and anyone with a sliver of political relevance in the long dead city of Teotihuacan, is remembered today as both the birth of modern Anahuac and a huge waste of money at a time it was needed more than ever.
What Teotihuacan might've looked like in its heyday.
Here's the source of this particular painting.
In spite of the massive costs it incurred thanks to the need to restore the ruins back to something worth visiting and the time it took for preparations to be completed, the tlatoani and his allies had a good reason to host their assembly (which European sources would eventually compare to the Council of Trent, despite it not being purely religious in nature) there. According to the Nahua religion, Teotihuacan is the place where the gods who make up its current pantheon were born, and thus it was the perfect spot to mark the rebirth of the Triple Alliance in a political and religious level. Unfortunately, this also turned the city into an archaeologist's worst nightmare, since many old buildings were demolished, statues featuring gods no longer worshipped (3) discarded or used as building material, and paintings erased and replaced with new ones.
The "Council" of Teotihuacan lasted from June 21 1538 to April 17 1541, and had dozens of sessions, each dedicated to the debate of matters ranging from taxation and what kind of clothes commoners were allowed to wear to the modification or perhaps even abolition of religious practices, human sacrifice chief among them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of arguing so fierce that sometimes the opposing sides in whatever subject to almost come to blows (the only thing stopping them being the presence of armed guards in all their meetings), the Council elaborated a document that is sometimes labeled as the first written constitution, though whether it can be even classified as such is, predictably, still a subject of fierce academic debate.
Whatever its true nature as a document, the completion of the Code of Teotihuacan was a watershed moment in the history of Mesoamerica, and perhaps the entire continent in general. It included, among hundreds of hundreds of other articles:
The "Council" of Teotihuacan lasted from June 21 1538 to April 17 1541, and had dozens of sessions, each dedicated to the debate of matters ranging from taxation and what kind of clothes commoners were allowed to wear to the modification or perhaps even abolition of religious practices, human sacrifice chief among them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of arguing so fierce that sometimes the opposing sides in whatever subject to almost come to blows (the only thing stopping them being the presence of armed guards in all their meetings), the Council elaborated a document that is sometimes labeled as the first written constitution, though whether it can be even classified as such is, predictably, still a subject of fierce academic debate.
Whatever its true nature as a document, the completion of the Code of Teotihuacan was a watershed moment in the history of Mesoamerica, and perhaps the entire continent in general. It included, among hundreds of hundreds of other articles:
- The repeal of multiple sumptuary laws, allowing commoners to wear garments previously exclusive to the nobility;
- The elevation of Tlaxcala (or, more accurately, Tizatlan) to the position once held by Texoco, recreating the Triple Alliance;
- The replacement of Huitzilopochtli as patron god of the Mexica in favor of Quatzalcoatl, whose worship did not require human sacrifice (4);
- The strict regulation in the number of sacrifices practiced in rituals dedicated to other gods, a step towards their abolition in the future;
- A call for the eventual standardization of religious practices, as well as an unifed text for them, in a clear attempt to stem the advance of Catholicism among the Triple Alliance's subjects. Naturally, this would be the hardest measure to implement, given the variety of local cults and the rise of syncretism, putting a spanner in the high priesthood's plans to keep their religion "pure".
The old Triple Alliance was now dead and buried for good, since the Code repealed nearly all of the laws and principles established by Tlacaelel. In its place was a new entity, one who, despite being far less powerful than its predecessor for now, already had its mettle tested at the very moment of its birth. And it would continue to be tested in the coming decades, whether it liked it or not.
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Notes:
(1) Pizarro had a violent death IOTL, so I might as well tie up a loose end.
(2) This was what happened to Tangaxuan and the Purépecha empire IOTL: they became Spanish vassals but were conquered anyway.
(3) Many of the gods who became iconic figures in the Mesoamerican pantheon, such as Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc, were worshipped at Teotihuacan long before the Mexica and other peoples rose to prominence. Others, such as the Great Goddess, were forgotten.
(4) Fun fact, Quetzalcoatl was mostly human in Aztec mythology, rather than the feathered serpent it is better known as today.
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Notes:
(1) Pizarro had a violent death IOTL, so I might as well tie up a loose end.
(2) This was what happened to Tangaxuan and the Purépecha empire IOTL: they became Spanish vassals but were conquered anyway.
(3) Many of the gods who became iconic figures in the Mesoamerican pantheon, such as Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc, were worshipped at Teotihuacan long before the Mexica and other peoples rose to prominence. Others, such as the Great Goddess, were forgotten.
(4) Fun fact, Quetzalcoatl was mostly human in Aztec mythology, rather than the feathered serpent it is better known as today.
Attachments
It was not to be, sadly.
Had the number stayed, I would've declared myself the winner by default. 😆
I get what you mean, which is why I decided against writing a TL about some of the American megafauna surviving when I thought about it. Mammoths, Mexican llamas, glyptodonts and American lions are cool as hell, but the scope would have to be so wide it'd be impossible to give any detail to one civilization without neglecting another. And that's without putting stuff like names and languages into account.
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