![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Tarascan_incense_burner_w_Tlaloc_headdress.jpg/300px-Tarascan_incense_burner_w_Tlaloc_headdress.jpg)
The state of Tarasco is a vanished state that existed in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica , the territory of which roughly coincided with the territory of the modern Mexican state of Michoacan . By the time of the Spanish conquest, Tarasco was the second largest state on the territory of modern Mexico.
The state was founded at the beginning of the XIV century by the people of Purpeche and was conquered by the Spaniards in 1530 . The unsuccessful uprising against the Spaniards raised the daughter of the last ruler, Princess Heredira . In 1543, the Spanish governorship of Michoacan was formed on its territory (in Nahuatl, this word, which the Aztecs called the state of Tarasco, meant "the place of those who have fish"). In the language of Purêpecha , the creators of the state, their country was called Iréchecua Tzintzuntzáni , that is, “the land of Qintsuntsana ”.
Along with the purpeche, which constituted the majority in the state, the people of Nahua , Otomi , Matlazinka and Chichimeks also lived there. These peoples gradually assimilated, entering into the composition of the Purépecha.
The state of Tarasco consisted of a network of provincial subjects and gradually became highly centralized, led by the Caconti king of the country. The capital Tarasco was located in the city of Zincuntsan on the shore of Lake Patzcuaro . According to legend, the city was founded by the first “kakonci” named . In the city, the rule of the Uakusechea dynasty (“eagles” in the Purepecha language).
Tarasco’s formidable rival was the Aztec empire, with which long wars were fought. The state of Tarasco blocked the expansion of the Aztecs to the north-west, strengthened and well guarded its borders with the Aztecs.
Because of its relative isolation in Mesoamerica, Tarasco has many cultural features that are completely different from other cultures in this region. Tarasco is one of the few Mesoamerican states where metal was used for tools and decorations.
Content
Geography
The territory where the Tarascan state was formed is a high-mountain volcanic region that forms the western part of the Mesa-Central mountains in Mexico between two large rivers, Lerma and Balsas . The region includes temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic zones, with Cenozoic volcanic mountains and mountain lakes at an altitude of over 2000 meters above sea level, but in the southwestern coastal part there are also lower areas. The most common soil types on the central plateau are young volcanic , and less fertile . The plants are mostly pines and spruces. From antiquity in the region were inhabited by the coast of mountain lakes, abundant in natural resources. In the north near the river Lerma there is a large amount of obsidian , thermal sources.
The state of Tarascan originated on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro .
History of the State of Tarasco
the capital of the state of Tarasco
Early archaeological evidence
The future territory of Tarasco has been inhabited at least since the beginning of the pre-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology . Evidence was found for the early Lithuanian period up to 2500 BC. e., such as flute-type throwing tools and stone utensils. The most ancient archaeological sites date from around 1200 BC. e .. The most famous archaeological culture of the pre-classical period is the ; its sites were found mainly on the islands of the lake, which may indicate their connection with the later culture of the Tarascans (purpecha). Since the early classical period, ball games and other items showing the influence of Teotihuacan have begun to appear in the mychoacaca region.
Ethno-historical sources
The most useful of the ethno-historical sources is the "Message from Michoacan" ( Spanish Relación de Michoacán ), which was made around 1540 by the Franciscan priest Fray Jeronimo de Acalá . This document contains translations and paraphrases of the chronicles of the Tarascan state, recorded from the words of the local nobility. The document describes in detail not only the history of the state, but also religion and social structure. Unfortunately, the first part of the document has been preserved only partially. Among other sources one can mention a number of brief illustrated manuscripts, of which the most famous is Lienzo de Jucutacuto .
Foundation and Expansion
In the Late Classical period of Mesoamerican chronology, at least two non-Purepecha peoples settled on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro: Nahuatl native speakers in Haraquaro, and some Chichimec cultures on the northern shores.
According to the Message from Michoacan, the leader of the Purepecha people’s prophet named Tariakuri decided to unite the communities living on the banks of the Patzcuaro into a single strong state. Around 1300, he undertook the first aggressive campaign, and appointed his sons Hiripan and Tangashoana (Tangashuana) as rulers of the cities of Iuatzio and Zincunzana, respectively, and ruled himself in the city of Patskuari. After the death of Tariakuri (circa 1350), his dynasty controlled all the major centers around Lake Patzcuaro. His son Iripan (Hiripan) continued to expand into the area of Lake Cuitzo .
Iripan and later his brother Tangashuan I began to implant a tribute system and consolidate their empire. They created a developed system of bureaucracy and divided the right to collect taxes among the nobility of the empire. In subsequent years, first the mountain regions (Sierra Tarasco) were included in the state, then the region along the Balsas River.
During the reign of Cacon Cipicandakuare, several regions conquered, which, however, were again lost as a result of the Aztec attacks. In 1460, the Tarascan state reached the Pacific coast in the area of the present city of Sacatula (Zacatula), spread to the Toluca Valley, and in the northern part reached the territory of the present state of Guanajuato . In the 1470s, under the leadership of Ashayakatl , the Aztecs seized a number of border cities of Tarascus and came close to the center of the state, but in the end were defeated. The experience of this war forced the ruler of Tarasco to further strengthen the border with the Aztecs by building military centers. He also allowed Otomi and Matlazinc tribes, whom the Aztecs had driven out of their native lands, to settle in the border areas, provided that they would take part in the defense of the Tarascan lands. Beginning in 1480, the Aztec ruler Auitsotl intensified the fight against the Tarascans. Other peoples - allies of the Aztecs - such as matlazinka , Chontali and kuitlateks, participated in the attacks on the Tarascan lands. Tarascans, led by Cacon Suangua, repulsed the attacks, but the expansion of the Tarascan state slowed down until the arrival of the Spaniards two years after the last of the Tarascan rulers of the independent state, Tangashuan II , came to power.
The decline of the Tarascan state
Learning of the fall of the Aztec Empire , as the sent envoys to the Spanish winners. Several Spaniards went with them to Zincuntsan , where they were presented to the governor and there was an exchange of gifts. The Spaniards returned with golden objects, which aroused Cortes’s interest in the Tarascan state. In 1522, Spanish troops under the command of Cristobal de Olida were sent to the territory of Tarasco and in a few days reached Zincunzana. The Tarascan army numbered many thousands of warriors, perhaps about 100,000, but at the critical moment it refused to fight. [3] Tangashuan subordinated to the Spanish administration, and for this received quite a wide autonomy. This led to a strange dual power, when both Cortes and Tangashuan considered themselves rulers of Michoacan for the next few years: the population paid tribute to both. When the Spaniards discovered that Tanguaguan was giving the Spaniards only a small part of the tribute he received from the population, Nuño de Guzmán , known for his cruelty, was sent against him. Tangashuan was captured and executed. [4] The period of violence and unrest began. Tangashuana’s daughter, Princess Erendira , raised a rebellion, but it ended with the defeat of the rebels. Over the next few years, the Spanish government appointed puppet rulers of Tarasco, but when Nuño lost confidence and was recalled to Spain, Bishop Vasco de Quiroga was sent to Tarasco to restore order. He quickly gained credibility with the local population, which ceased resistance and recognized Spanish rule.
Notes
- ↑ American Museum of Natural History.
- ↑ Covarrubias, p. 103
- ↑ Gorenstein (1993, xiv).
- ↑ See Gorenstein (1993, xv). According to some sources, Tangashuana II was dragged tied to a horse, and then burned.
Literature
- Covarrubias, Miguel. Indian Art of Mexico and Central America. - New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957.
- Gorenstein, Shirley. Introduction // Taríacuri's Legacy: The Prehispanic Tarascan State / Helen Perlstein Pollard. - Norman: University of Oklahoma Press , 1993. - P. xiii-xx. - ISBN 0-8061-2497-0 .
- Pollard, Helen Perlstein. Taríacuri's Legacy: The Prehispanic Tarascan State. - Norman: University of Oklahoma Press , 1993. - ISBN 0-8061-2497-0 .
- Silverstein, Jay. The southeastern extent of Tarascan imperialism (Neopr.) . - 2001. - T. Abstract of a paper presented at the 100th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC .
- Weaver, Muriel Porter. The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archeology of Mesoamerica. - 3rd edition. - San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1993. - ISBN 0-12-739065-0 .