Aztec Flower Wars Formalized

1424

Under Itzcoatl and his powerful nephew Moctezuma I, the Triple Alliance institutionalized ritualized warfare with Tlaxcala and other unconquered neighboring enemies. These xochiyaoyotl, or flower wars, served as training grounds for young warriors and produced a steady supply of sacrificial captives for the temples of Tenochtitlan. The practice would prove catastrophically fatal when Tlaxcala, nursing decades of accumulated humiliation, eagerly allied with Hernan Cortes a century later.