9. The Aztecs - A Clash of Worlds
Fall of Civilizations Podcast
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Tlacalel - The True Ruler of the Aztec Empire
Tlacalel was a shadowy figure known only to history. He had been the brother of the kindly king chimel papoka, killed in his bed by tepene assassins. Throughout the war with the tepenes, he rose through the ranks of the royal court and would hold this position through the reign of three subsequent kings. Although he was offered the crown multiple times, he always refused it,. preferring to remain in the shadows the power behind the throne. The kind of state that tlacolel wanted to build also had some remarkable and terrifying similarities to dictatorships we might recognize from our more recent past.
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