Home | Hall 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |Supplementary Pages | Dictionary

---

Tlatoani

---

Tlatoani. Supreme ruler. Head of government and of the army, supreme high priest. He had the attributes of legal order in trade and tribute. According to the Nahuatl dictionary of Rémi Siméon (originally in French, but published in Spanish by Siglo XXI, Mexico, 1988), the name means "he who speaks well." He was elected by outstanding members of the royal house. The dynasty of Mexica tlatoani were:

1) Acamapichtli (1375-1395); 2) Huitzilihuitl (1396-1417); 3) Chimalpopoca (1417-1427); 4) Itzcoatl (1427-1440); 5) Moctezuma I (1440-1469); 6) Axayacatl (1469-1481); 7) Tizoc (1481-1486); 8) Ahuitzotl (1486-1502), 9) Moctezuma II (1502-1520). Cuitlahuac and Cuauhtemoc were the last two tlatoani who resisted the attack of the Spanish conquerors in 1521 until the very end.

---

Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História, México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc, México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright 1997
Send comment to: Lourdes Cue