Cuzcatlan
Cuzcatlan ( Nawat Tekuyut Kuskatan , Nahuatl Tēucyōtl Cōzcatlān , Spanish Señorío de Cuzcatlán ) was a state belonging to the Nahua Pipil . The area was in what is now western El Salvador and existed from around 1200 until the Spanish conquest in 1528.
history
According to tradition, the Pipil people go back to the Toltecs , who left their previous homeland Tollan under the leadership of their king Cē Acatl Tōpīltzin Quetzalcōātl in the second half of the 10th century and founded the city of Cuzcatlan (Kuskatan) around 1054 . Archaeological finds in Antiguo Cuzcatlan and Izalco indicate, however, that the Pipil culture in the area of El Salvador already existed before the year 900, i.e. the immigration of the Nahua into this area took place before the Toltec rule in Chichén Itzá (in Yucatán ).
In their conquest, the Nahua destroyed a number of cities, while others, including Tehuacán and the allied cities of Chalchuapa and Cihuatán , opened their gates to them. Over time, these cities adopted the Nawat language and culture.
There were initially a number of independent Pipil states, but these were united around the year 1200 under the rule of Cuzcatlan.
In the 15th century there was a war of the Pipil on the side of the Tzutujil against the Quiché and Cakchiquel , in the course of which the military leader Cuachimitzin became master of Cuzcatlan. Cuachimitzin was later overthrown by the priests and replaced by Tutecotzimit . This established a hereditary monarchy and installed his son Pilguanzimit as successor and military leader. The Pocomam in the area of today's departments of Ahuachapán and Santa Ana with the capital Atiquizaya were subdued at this time.
expansion
The rule of Cuzcatlan covered an area of about 10,000 km², which was bordered in the west by the Río Paz , the current border between El Salvador and Guatemala, and in the north and east by the Río Lempa . It included the principalities (cacicazgos) of Cuzcatlan, Izalco , Apaneca , Ahuachapán , Guacotecti , Īxtēpetl , Apastepequer and Tehuacán . The total population towards the end of the rule is estimated at 350,000 people.
In addition to the dominant, Nawat-speaking Pipil, Maya ethnic groups ( Pocomam and Chortí ), Lenca and Xinca lived in the rule of Cuzcatlan .
Form of government
The lord of Cuzcatlan and the caciques of the tributary principalities bore the title Takateku ( nahuatl tlācatecuhtli ) or Tatoni (nahuatl: tlahtoāni "speaker"). The second Tatoni in the government was called Siwakuat (nahuatl: cihuacoōātl "woman-snake"). An eight-member council, called Tatoke , stood by the caciques . Four captains took on ministerial duties and conferred with the priests.
After Takateku's death , his eldest son succeeded him. If there were no sons, the closest male relative followed. If the eldest son was still a child, a brother of the deceased initially held the office.
End of the reign of Cuzcatlan
After the conquest of the Aztec Empire , Pedro de Alvarado crossed the Río Paz on June 6, 1524. After two battles in Acaxual (June 8) and Tacuzcalco (June 13), he reached the city of Cuzcatlan on June 17, 1524, which he did could not take. He left on July 21st.
In 1525 Gonzalo de Alvarado founded the city of San Salvador not far from Cuzcatlan , which he had to leave after a revolt. Diego de Alvarado founded the city of San Salvador for the second time in 1528 and forced Cuzcatlan to give up on November 23, 1528. In 1540 the entire area was subjected to the former rule of Cuzcatlan.
The ethnonym Pipil goes back to the time of the Spanish conquest and comes from the Nahuatl . The Tlaxcaltek , Nahuatl-speaking allies of the Spaniards were able to understand the nawat of the population of Cuzcatlan. It is said that the Tlaxcaltek soldiers regarded the language of the Cuzcateks as a "childish" form of their language and therefore called them "children". Pipil is translated as “nobleman” in some places, but that is not the meaning of the word here: Pil means “small”, Pipil “child, boy, girl”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Cuscatla: Señorío de Cuzcatlán
- ↑ Historia precolombina de El Salvador ( Memento of the original from May 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Universidad Francisco Gavidia: Museo Arqueológico Digital de El Salvador ( Memento from June 15, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Proyecto Cihuatán
- ↑ a b Domingo Juarros: Compendio de la historia de la ciudad de Guatemala . Guatemala 1857.
- ↑ FISDL: Conoce a tu municipio ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Asociación Tikal: Investigaciones en Antiguo Cuscatlán ( Memento of the original of July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.4 MB)
- ^ A b c Biblioteca Garay: Crónica de Diego García Palacios
- ↑ a b Fuerza Arma de El Salvador: Historia de la Fuerza Armada de El Salvador - Fuerza Armada precolombina de El Salvador
- ↑ a b c Fuerza Armada de El Salvador: Historia de la Fuerza Armada de El Salvador - Fuerza Armadas Medievales
- ↑ a b UTEC: Historia Económica de la Provincia de San Salvador ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
