Tlaxcala (altepetl)

Confederacy of Tlaxcala
Tlahtōlōyān Tlaxcallan
1348–1520
Glyph
Tlaxcala during the conquest
Capital		Tlaxcala
Languages		Official language: Nahuatl
Religion		Aztec religion
Government		Confederation
Tlatoani of Tlaxcala
•	1348	Culhuatecuhtli
Historical era		Post Classic /Early Modern
•	The Tlaxcalla People Migrate to Central Mexico	1348
•	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire	1520
Population
•	1348 est.	?
•	early 15th century est.	650,000
•	1519 est.	300,000
Currency		Quachtli, Cacao
Preceded by Succeeded by Tepeticpac Ocotelolco Tizatlan Quiahuiztlan New Spain
Today part of		Mexico

Tlaxcala (Classical Nahuatl: Tlaxcallān [tɬaʃ.ˈká.lːaːn̥] "place of maize tortillas") was a pre-Columbian city and state in central Mexico.

During the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Tlaxcala allied with the Spaniards against the Aztecs, supplying a large contingent for – and at times the majority of – the Spanish-led army that eventually destroyed the Aztec empire.

The Tlaxcalans arrived in Central Mexico during the Late Postclassic. They first settled near Texcoco in the valley of Mexico, between the settlement of Cohuatlinchan and the shore of Lake Texcoco. After some years the Tlaxcallans were driven out of the valley of Mexico and moved to the east, splitting into three groups along the way. While one group continued north towards the modern state of Hidalgo and another remained in the vicinity of Texcoco, a third group arrived to the modern valley of Tlaxcala, where they established the city of Tepetícpac Texcallan under the leadership of Culhuatecuhtli Quanex.

Over the subsequent years, the Tlaxcallan state expanded with the foundations of Ocotelulco and Tizatlán. The fourth major settlement, Quiahuiztlan, was founded by members of the Tlaxcallan group that had initially remained in the valley of Mexico.

Ancient Tlaxcala was a republic ruled by a council of between 50 and 200 chief political officials (teuctli [sg.], teteuctin [pl.]) (Fargher et al. 2010). These officials gained their positions through service to the state, usually in warfare, and as a result came from both the noble (pilli) and commoner (macehualli) classes.