Knowra Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl Nezahualcoyotl (1402–1472) was a ruler of Texcoco, a poet, and a lawgiver who helped establish the Aztec Triple Alliance and shaped the city’s government and public works.
Itzcoatl : The Mexica ruler of Tenochtitlan from 1427 to 1440, associated with the formation of the Aztec Triple Alliance. His partnership with Nezahualcoyotl helped defeat Azcapotzalco and establish the alliance.
Acolhua : A Nahua people whose principal political center was Texcoco. Nezahualcoyotl ruled as an Acolhua king, not as a Mexica ruler.
Nezahualcoyotl's poetry : A corpus of Nahuatl poems traditionally attributed to the Texcocan ruler Nezahualcoyotl. The poems present themes of mortality, transience, and the limits of human life.
Tepanec War : A conflict in the early fifteenth century in which Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan defeated Azcapotzalco. The war enabled Nezahualcoyotl to recover Texcoco and reshape its regional position.
Totoquihuaztli : A ruler of Tlacopan who joined Tenochtitlan and Texcoco in the Aztec Triple Alliance. He represented the third allied city in the political order Nezahualcoyotl helped create.
Texcoco : A pre-Columbian city-state on the eastern shore of Lake Texcoco and a leading Acolhua center. It was Nezahualcoyotl’s capital and the base of his political authority.
Nahuatl poetry : Poetry composed in Nahuatl, the language of many central Mexican peoples. Nezahualcoyotl’s attributed verses belong to a broad oral and written tradition.
Azcapotzalco : A Tepanec city-state that dominated much of the Valley of Mexico before its defeat in the 1420s. Its rulers displaced Nezahualcoyotl before the alliance overturned their power.
Maxtla : A Tepanec ruler of Azcapotzalco whose expansionist rule ended with his defeat by the alliance led by Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. His seizure of Texcoco drove Nezahualcoyotl into exile and set up his return.
Aztec Triple Alliance : A political and military alliance among Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan, formed in the fifteenth century. Nezahualcoyotl helped forge the coalition that expanded Texcoco’s influence.
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