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Description
In 1469, a year Yei Calli (3 House), following the passing of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (Moctezuma the elder), who ruled Tenochtitlán - the capital of the Mexica, and, by then, the most powerful altepetl (city-state) of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (the Triple Alliance between Tenochtitlán, Texcoco and Tlacopan, a.k.a the Aztec empire, which ruled most of central Mexico since 1428) for 26 years, Axayacatl became the next Huey Tlatoani, and would continue the military expansion of the alliance.

Some of his earliest victories include the defeat of a neighbor, Moquihuix, ruler of the Mexica altepetl of Tlatelolco, who was replaced with an ally of Tenochtitlán, in 1473; and the defeat of several Pjiekak'joo (Matlatzinca, as they were known by the Nahua - group which the Mexica are part of) polities in the Toluca valley, adding more tribute gathering spots for the growing alliance, while also forcing the migration of the Matlatzincas fleeing the war and moving west.

In the west, however, the forces of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan met another growing state: the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani (the kingdom of the Purépecha, then based in the polity of Tzintzuntzan, on the banks of Lake Pátzcuaro, nowadays Michoacán State, Mexico), which would enter in conflict with the Triple Alliance in the first years of Axayacatl's rule.

The Purépecha is an ancient culture from Mesoamerica which has traditionally been centered in the northwestern region of today's Michoacán State, Mexico. Very distinct from other Mesoamerican cultures in certain aspects such as speaking a language isolate (today spoken by approximately 140,000 people. Their language mysteriously displays certain similarities to the unrelated Runa Simi / Kichwa language of the far-off Andes) and using copper weapons (while metallurgy is common among some Mesoamerican cultures, most weapons have been traditionally made of wood with blades of the obsidian stone), the territory of the Purépecha became known by the Nahua as Michoacán ("place of the fishermen" in Nahuatl. The Purepécha were called Michhuaqueh by the Nahua), which names the state in modern Mexico.

At the time, the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani was ruled by Tzitzipandáquare - the rulers of the Purépecha were called Irecha or Cazonci - who saw an opportunity in the migration of the Matlatzincas, and later, that of the hñahñù (known by the Nahuas from central Mexico as Otontin, later as Otomíes), another group from the Toluca valley involved in conflicts against the expansion of the Triple Alliance during Axayacatl's rule. The Purépecha would start to grant some of them benefits in their lands if they were to push down the expansionist efforts of Axayacatl, as if allowing them to live and work in their lands on the condition of fighting beside the Purépecha. This strategy would only partially be replicated by the Triple Alliance, as formerly independent altepeme (city-states) were forced to pick one or another side if they were to survive. Thus, different peoples were caught in the wake of two expanding political forces, which would occasionally meet each other in the battlefield.

Ouesehuarape (nowadays Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacán State, Mexico), that for a long time used to be a city of the Hñahñù / Otomíes, was known by the Purépecha as Taximaroa, and eventually became part of the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani, then its immediate border with the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (who called it Tlaximaloyan) controlled territory. Around the 1470s, a large battle was fought there, ending in a victory of the Purépecha and their allies, who planned to advance more into the territory of the Triple Alliance, targeting altepeme (city-states) such as Xicocotitlán, Temascaltepec, Ixtlahuaca and Tollocan (Toluca), as well building a garrison in Apatzingani (known by the Nahua as Cutzamala; in nowadays Guerrero State), while also expanding into what's today's state of Guanajuato. Apatzingani's garrison rivaled with that of Oztoman (Oztuma, today in the Guerrero State), of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan, that practically became the borders of both empires for a long time.

In that battle, the Triple Alliance employed their elite warriors, the Cuachicqueh (plural form of Cuachic "shorn one") as did the Purépecha employed their elite warriors, the Kuangariécha

By the end of that decade, in 1479, Tzitzipándaquare's passing would result in his succession to Zuanga, that would resume the conflict against the In Excan Tlahtoloyan, in the rule of Tlatoque (Aztec rulers) Ahuitzotl and Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. In Zuanga's time however the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani would also take part in a major series of conflicts in the west, especially centered around the control over salt mines, against several different independent peoples who would unite against their expansion, a series of conflicts which would be later called "saltpeter wars" in the colonial era. This series of conflicts would end in the first decade of the 16th century with the peoples of Colima, Sayula, Tzapotlán, Tapalpa and Autlán expelling the Purépecha forces from the areas of nowadays Colima and Jalisco states in Mexico.

This is a re-imagined portrayal of a conflict in Ouesehuarape / Taximaroa (nowadays Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacán), circa 1470, between the forces of the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani (the Purépecha state) and the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (the Triple Alliance) with different groups of Pjiekak'joo / Matlatzinca and Hñahñù / Otomí warriors fighting among and against both sides.

The Purépecha people and culture exist to this day, having resisted the military expansion of the Aztec empire and later the Spanish colonization, and attempts of forcefully eliminating their cosmology and language throughout centuries (the Spanish eventually started calling the Purépecha "Tarascos" which is a derogatory term). In the modern era, the Purépecha people, continuing their fight for autonomy in Mexico, have adopted a flag in which the phrase JUCHARI UINAPIKUA ("Our Strength" in Purépecha) is written. Every beginning of February, Purépecha communities celebrate the "New Fire Ceremony" with festivities and offerings to the Sun God Kurhíkuaeri and the Earth (Kueraperi).

Mixed media illustration (ink on paper + digital painting) and animation by Zamahel, 2023
Animated version minted and available in the Tezos Blockchain . Check it out, I spent about 54 hours working on it from the initial sketch to the final animation.

Description
In 1469, a year Yei Calli (3 House), following the passing of Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (Moctezuma the elder), who ruled Tenochtitlán - the capital of the Mexica, and, by then, the most powerful altepetl (city-state) of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (the Triple Alliance between Tenochtitlán, Texcoco and Tlacopan, a.k.a the Aztec empire, which ruled most of central Mexico since 1428) for 26 years, Axayacatl became the next Huey Tlatoani, and would continue the military expansion of the alliance.

Some of his earliest victories include the defeat of a neighbor, Moquihuix, ruler of the Mexica altepetl of Tlatelolco, who was replaced with an ally of Tenochtitlán, in 1473; and the defeat of several Pjiekak'joo (Matlatzinca, as they were known by the Nahua - group which the Mexica are part of) polities in the Toluca valley, adding more tribute gathering spots for the growing alliance, while also forcing the migration of the Matlatzincas fleeing the war and moving west.

In the west, however, the forces of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan met another growing state: the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani (the kingdom of the Purépecha, then based in the polity of Tzintzuntzan, on the banks of Lake Pátzcuaro, nowadays Michoacán State, Mexico), which would enter in conflict with the Triple Alliance in the first years of Axayacatl's rule.

The Purépecha is an ancient culture from Mesoamerica which has traditionally been centered in the northwestern region of today's Michoacán State, Mexico. Very distinct from other Mesoamerican cultures in certain aspects such as speaking a language isolate (today spoken by approximately 140,000 people. Their language mysteriously displays certain similarities to the unrelated Runa Simi / Kichwa language of the far-off Andes) and using copper weapons (while metallurgy is common among some Mesoamerican cultures, most weapons have been traditionally made of wood with blades of the obsidian stone), the territory of the Purépecha became known by the Nahua as Michoacán ("place of the fishermen" in Nahuatl. The Purepécha were called Michhuaqueh by the Nahua), which names the state in modern Mexico.

At the time, the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani was ruled by Tzitzipandáquare - the rulers of the Purépecha were called Irecha or Cazonci - who saw an opportunity in the migration of the Matlatzincas, and later, that of the hñahñù (known by the Nahuas from central Mexico as Otontin, later as Otomíes), another group from the Toluca valley involved in conflicts against the expansion of the Triple Alliance during Axayacatl's rule. The Purépecha would start to grant some of them benefits in their lands if they were to push down the expansionist efforts of Axayacatl, as if allowing them to live and work in their lands on the condition of fighting beside the Purépecha. This strategy would only partially be replicated by the Triple Alliance, as formerly independent altepeme (city-states) were forced to pick one or another side if they were to survive. Thus, different peoples were caught in the wake of two expanding political forces, which would occasionally meet each other in the battlefield.

Ouesehuarape (nowadays Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacán State, Mexico), that for a long time used to be a city of the Hñahñù / Otomíes, was known by the Purépecha as Taximaroa, and eventually became part of the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani, then its immediate border with the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (who called it Tlaximaloyan) controlled territory. Around the 1470s, a large battle was fought there, ending in a victory of the Purépecha and their allies, who planned to advance more into the territory of the Triple Alliance, targeting altepeme (city-states) such as Xicocotitlán, Temascaltepec, Ixtlahuaca and Tollocan (Toluca), as well building a garrison in Apatzingani (known by the Nahua as Cutzamala; in nowadays Guerrero State), while also expanding into what's today's state of Guanajuato. Apatzingani's garrison rivaled with that of Oztoman (Oztuma, today in the Guerrero State), of the In Excan Tlahtoloyan, that practically became the borders of both empires for a long time.

In that battle, the Triple Alliance employed their elite warriors, the Cuachicqueh (plural form of Cuachic "shorn one") as did the Purépecha employed their elite warriors, the Kuangariécha

By the end of that decade, in 1479, Tzitzipándaquare's passing would result in his succession to Zuanga, that would resume the conflict against the In Excan Tlahtoloyan, in the rule of Tlatoque (Aztec rulers) Ahuitzotl and Moctezuma Xocoyotzin. In Zuanga's time however the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani would also take part in a major series of conflicts in the west, especially centered around the control over salt mines, against several different independent peoples who would unite against their expansion, a series of conflicts which would be later called "saltpeter wars" in the colonial era. This series of conflicts would end in the first decade of the 16th century with the peoples of Colima, Sayula, Tzapotlán, Tapalpa and Autlán expelling the Purépecha forces from the areas of nowadays Colima and Jalisco states in Mexico.

This is a re-imagined portrayal of a conflict in Ouesehuarape / Taximaroa (nowadays Ciudad Hidalgo, Michoacán), circa 1470, between the forces of the Iréchikwa Ts'intsúntsani (the Purépecha state) and the In Excan Tlahtoloyan (the Triple Alliance) with different groups of Pjiekak'joo / Matlatzinca and Hñahñù / Otomí warriors fighting among and against both sides.

The Purépecha people and culture exist to this day, having resisted the military expansion of the Aztec empire and later the Spanish colonization, and attempts of forcefully eliminating their cosmology and language throughout centuries (the Spanish eventually started calling the Purépecha "Tarascos" which is a derogatory term). In the modern era, the Purépecha people, continuing their fight for autonomy in Mexico, have adopted a flag in which the phrase JUCHARI UINAPIKUA ("Our Strength" in Purépecha) is written. Every beginning of February, Purépecha communities celebrate the "New Fire Ceremony" with festivities and offerings to the Sun God Kurhíkuaeri and the Earth (Kueraperi).

Mixed media illustration (ink on paper + digital painting) and animation by Zamahel, 2023
Animated version minted and available in the Tezos Blockchain . Check it out, I spent about 54 hours working on it from the initial sketch to the final animation.