Flowery+War

A “flowery war’s” primary purpose was not to conquer the opposing side, but was rather used as a way to provide military training and practice. Two states would agree to conduct the Flowery Wars (xochiyaoyotl), sending their warriors to conduct battles. In the early fights, there were few intentional injuries or deaths and any captives were returned at the war’s completion.
 * The Flowery War: **

Over time, what used to be a training exercise was used as a means to provide sacrifices to the gods. Chimalpahin Quauthtlehuanitzin wrote of the flowery wars. He describes the agreed upon battles between the Mexica of Tenochtitlán and the Chalca of Chalco Atenco. During this time, the nobles of both states were returned and only some of the commoners were killed. After a time, the flowery war turned into an “angry war” where an increased number of people were injured or killed and captives were taken to be sacrificed rather than being returned to their family.

Over time, the ritual battles called, xochiyaoyotl, became ingrained in Aztec culture and neighboring communities The Aztecs believed that their gods were nourished on the blood of human sacrifices, so the captives were taken to be sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war and the sun. Captives went willingly to the temple to be sacrificed because it was viewed as honorable.

Another possible purpose of the Flowery wars was a way for the Aztecs to conquer rival empires with minimal loss. By fighting an outright war, the Aztecs may still have come away from a victory severely weakened. A flower war allowed the Aztecs to showcase their military prowess without suffering devastating losses. In some cases, the rival would simply submit. In others, the Aztecs would slowly begin to acquire pieces of the rival nation to add to their tributaries.

