Klaas-Jan BAKKER - AMORC

more harshly when they broke the laws. The
nobility were expected to set a good example to
everyone else. Corrupt judges were punished
severely and this had the effect of increasing the
efficiency and reliability of justice. Confidence in
the justice system grew.
He unified the diverse cities of his kingdom
into one justice system. On one occasion when the
Spiritual and ritual functions were everpresent
at these pleasure palaces, which were
often located at or near existing shrines.
law required that he condemn to death a man who
had stolen seven ears of corn to feed his family, he
was so touched by the injustice of this punishment
for nothing more than the sin of poverty, that he
freed the man and instead ordered that at the
edges of roads, lakes and canals corn, beans and
squash should be planted from which anyone in
need could take without fear of punishment.
The Triple Alliance
In 1430, after the defeat of Máxtla, a new political
order was established in the Valley of Mexico.
Nezahualcóyotl was the driving force behind the
foundation of the Triple Alliance, with Texcóco on
the eastern side of the lake, Mexíco-Tenochtítlan,
the Aztec capital in the centre, and the Tepanec
city of Tlacópan on the western side of the lake.
These three cities founded what is generally
called the “Aztec Empire” which gradually spread
outside the valley to cover most of central and
southern Mexico.
In each of the three capital cities, a king
or Huey Tlatoáni would govern his own domain
directly and without interference, continuing an
already existing political and dynastic tradition.
Each of the three great kings kept under his
rule a group of kingdoms, each with its own
dynasty and ethnic tradition. As the empire grew,
it was divided into three parts, each defined
geographically as the domain of one of
the three Alliance capitals: Tenochtítlan
predominant in the south, Texcóco
predominant in the northeast and
Tlacópan in the northwest. Tribute
from all over the empire was sent to
Tenochtítlan, where it was shared out among the
three members of the Alliance.
Texcóco
For the next 40 years, Nezahualcóyotl was free
to turn his dreams into reality. In the early
1430s he built his administrative palace or huey
tecpancálli in Texcóco, which measured 1,032 by
817 metres. Spread over one square kilometre,
the complex consisted of numerous buildings,
extensive gardens, temples, a ball-court, zoo,
two large courtyards with a marketplace in one,
all surrounded by massive adobe brick walls.
The many sections of the palace included living
quarters for the king, the queen and attendants,
servants’ quarters, a throne room, many chambers
and halls for judges, councillors, officials and
ambassadors, a hall for warriors, a science and
music hall, a section for poets, philosophers
and historians, an archive room, storehouses for
weapons and storehouses for tribute.
An Aztec court in session (from the Codex Mendoza).
Geographical distribution of the Aztec Empire around 1519 CE.
The Rosicrucian Beacon -- December 2007
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