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During this period of 50 years, the dawn of a new age occurred. Because of Purple Cloud's inventions the world was forever changed. The Dawn of colonization started here.




The New Mayan Empire[]

Kinich Ahkal Mo Nahb


During the 8th and 9th centuries, the Mayan empire had collapsed. The Mayans had been the only American civilization that had a fully developed writing system. They were amazingly ahead of their time in many other ways. But constant warring amongst themselves, had destroyed this powerful civilization. The Mayans were reduced to a small group of city-states. Mayan culture was in decline and the whole area was controlled by wild bandits for several centuries.

Acropolis del Norte

Mayan Ruins of a city abandoned during the 9th century.

A small degree of order was finally restored around 1200 A.D., but many believed things would never be the same. Chichen Itza, one the recently created Mayan city-states, began to put its dominance on the other city-states, by forcing them to pay tribute. Eventually the tribute was so large that the other Mayan city-states decided to combine together to destroy Chichen Itza.

The Rebellion of Puuc (1279 A.D.), was put to a swift and brutal end by Chichen Itzan forces. Chichen Itza now forced the fallen rebels to give up their children to be sacrificed. The Rebellion of Chiapas (1306 A.D.) at least put a dent in the Chichen Itzan armor. After these two violent wars, two dynamic figures in Mayan history arose. The first was Huup Bolontiku, an outstanding leader who could motivate the common peasant to do anything. He became the King of Tikal. He ruled wisely and fairly. The second person (whose name is translated to English as) Purple Cloud. He was an alchemist, who used elements and is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time.


Purple Cloud was born in 1314 A.D. and 32 years later, he discovered an amazing secret. He invented gunpowder from scratch. He and King Bolontiku, were close friends, so he shared his invention with him. Bolontiku quickly reorganized the military of Tikal. The mass production of guns was Tikal's greatest priority for over a year. After the military of Tikal was far more powerful than that of Chichen Itza, King Bolontiku made trips to other Mayan states to get them on his side.


Maya-calendar-1

The Mayan calendar

Chichen Itza had been carefully monitoring Bolontiku, ever since he started reforming the military. They now knew that a third rebellion was about to occur, so Chichen Itzans expanded their army to three times its former size. Chichen Itzan commanders knew of the new weapon that Tikal wielded called a "gun", but they thought that this weapon wouldn't work. This foolish conclusion, is what led to the downfall of Chichen Itza.


On October 12, 1343 The Siege of Chichen Itza started. Bolontiku hadn't been able to convince any other city-state to join him in another rebellion. It was only Tikal's army. The Chichen Itzan forces outnumbered them five to one. Worse still, more than half of Tikal's guns had been rendered useless because of heavy raining. Many believed Bolontiku to be a madman to even attempt such a battle. But there was one thing the Chichen Itzans didn't have - a commander who could rally every man to do ten times his work.


A line of Chichen Itzan Swordsmen charged into Bolontiku's archers. His archers were devastated, but held their ground. Bolontiku brought the rest of his army around and surrounded the enemy Swordsmen. He was met with success, and Chichen Itza lost its Swordsmen. This was devastating to the Chichen Itzan army which relied heavily on its Swordsmen.


The Chichen Itzans brought out their reserves and attacked in the rear of Tikal's army. Bolontiku had suspected that they would do that very thing, and had already created armor used for one's back. This was the first time that back armor was used in Mayan warfare. The portion attacking the front of Tikal's (referred to as Zincanton) was relying on the fact that they thought Bolontiku would have to turn around and deal with two forces at once. Because of the armor however, Bolontiku could ignore the rest of Chichen Itza's army.

MyanRainGodChac0180Rot

The Mayan Rain God, Chaahk



The final sweeping blow came at midnight, October 13. Bolontiku's men had been suffering heavy casualties. It appeared that although Bolontiku had started out with success, he was doomed to fail. Many of his men were talking of retreat. Bolontiku decided that it was time.


Before that day, no one in the Western Hemisphere had been killed by guns. Although Bolontiku's cause was great, the use of these terrible new weapons appalled many. Bolontiku was the first of many to use this appalling weapon. The Day of October 13 at Chichen Itza changed our world forever. We will never be able to go back.


King Bolontiku released the Gunners, whom he'd been saving for the right moment. The bullets ripped through the air, instantly killing anything they came into contact with. Chichen Itzans by the thousands, lay down to die. The bullets struck buildings, instantly shattering thousand-year-old works of art. Despite the horror of it all many of Tikal's finest warriors collapsed onto the ground and slept, having not slept for three days.



The other city-states Uxmal, Panleque and Mayapan to name a few, were terrified of Bolontiku. They had every right to be. Mayan honor, dictated that the victor of any war was entitled to kill and take from those who had helped his enemies. They all expected that Tikal would quickly take them over with their terrifying new weapons and gruesomely murder them. So when Bolontiku came to them they were all very worried. However, they were all very surprised when he came, not with an army, but with emissaries they were all astounded. Huup Bolontiku gave them one of the greatest speeches the world has ever known.


" Although you chose not help me in my hour of need, I bare you no ill will. More blood has been shed this day than is needed. Peace must come to the Maya. You have nothing to fear from me."


The Kings of all the other city-states were amazed. They were taken by Huup Bolontiku's kindness, and how he had not taken Chichen Itza for himself, but for all Maya. So that they could live freely without Chichen Itza's cruel grip. They all agreed that something in his honor must be done. On December 4 1343, they crowned the first Emperor of a united Mayan Empire. They Crowned Emperor Huup Bolontiku I.

The Emperor's Orders[]

Maya-Maske






The New Emperor quickly brought his old friend, Purple Cloud to his new imperial palace in Tikal. Emperor Huup Bolontiku I wanted Purple Cloud to lead a Project Taino. The Taino were an isolated people in the Caribbean Sea. The Emperor wanted Purple Cloud to develop a powerful navy that could carry Mayan armies across great portions of sea.


Purple Cloud immediately went to work. The Emperor gave him everything he needed, but Purple cloud still insisted that it would take two or three years to accomplish such a great task. During this time, Bolontiku busied himself with reforming domestic law.


Two years later Purple Cloud and his team presented to the Emperor, the greatest Navy of the World. Emperor Bolontiku marveled at how powerful each ship was. On March 4 1346,

Xipe Totec mask Louvre MH 78-1-60

Mask of the God, Xipe Totec

The Imperial Mayan Army prepared to board the ships. Many Mayans believed that they were going to war. This caused patriotic fever. Every man wanted to join Bolontiku's army, especially when people found out that Emperor Huup Bolontiku I would be commanding it.


And so the Mayan army grew so large that Purple Cloud was put to work again building even more ships. Finally, exactly a year after when they were supposed to board the ships were boarded. The ships were named 'The Jaguar', 'The Snake', 'Xipe Totec',and 'The Mayan'. Months later, the ships spotted an island and named it New Tikal (OTL Cuba) the island quickly fell to Mayan forces after the Battle of Taino.


The Chief of the defeated tribe, simply referred to in Mayan texts as 'The Fat Chief ' fled the island and rallied neighboring islands to his cause. A week later, while the Mayan army was preparing to attack the island of New Mayapan, a massive army composed of all the islanders and their tribes. This caught the Mayans completely by surprise and the Mayans were forced to fake a retreat. The enemy army of Arawaks followed in heavy pursuit. In the Battle of Arawaka, the Mayans released the Gunners on the Arawaks. The Arawaks very well trained and brave. The battle that ensued, lasted four days and was the longest of its time.


At the dawn of the 4th day, Emperor Bolontiku called a truce. He declared that he and the Fat Chief would duel to the death, and the loser's forces would then retreat. The Fat Chief agreed to such a duel. They both chose to bring spears as their weapons. Emperor Huup Bolontiku I slayed the fat Chief, but one of his men let loose an arrow that pierced his skull. Needless to say, the battle broke out again. After another two days the Mayans were victorious, and the islands of the Caribbean joined the Mayan Empire. It is said Mother Earth wept for four days, and during this time nothing grew, but many plants withered and died. Huup Bolontiku only ruled 1343-1348, but was remembered fondly.


The former Emperor's son, K'inich Kan B'alam III was crowned Emperor shortly afterward.

A Bloodthirsty Empire is Formed[]

Basin of Mexico 1519 map-en

A Map of OTL Valley of Mexico






While the Mayans were rapidly increasing technologically, another powerful empire of the Americas was being born. A group of people historians call 'Mexicans' had arrived to the valley of Mexico around 1250 A.D. At the time, the area was dominated by two city-states, one named Azcapotzalco the other named Culhuacan.


At first the Mexicans were mere mercenaries, who would always fight for whoever had the money. After a while they began to construct massive cities of their own. One of their greatest cities was built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. It was built in 1325, and named Tenochitlan.

(here is where Aztec History differs from OTL)


In 1344 A.D. guns from the Maya Civil War, started flooding into Mexican hands. Around this time, many Mexicans thought that they should be united. Opochtzin started training large portions of Mexican youth and supplying them with guns.


In 1346 A.D. Opochtzin lead thousands of Mexicans in the sieges of Azcapotzalco, and Culhuacan. Both sieges were successful, and the Aztec Empire was born. The capital was chosen to be Tenochitlan.


The Leader of Azcapotzalco had ties to a very powerful empire in the west....


The following year, another powerful state was attacked by the New Aztec Empire. Its name was Tlaxcala. To many people's surprise, Tlaxcala fought back hard. After a siege that lasted only one day, the Aztec army was in full retreat. A second siege occurred soon afterward, but still Tlaxcala fought back. Opochtzin's army wasn't hurt all that much, it was just that the will of the Tlaxcallans was to great. Opochtzin instead took his army around Tlaxcala and invaded all the territory around this city-state, hoping to starve out it's citizens. This plan might have worked, had he gotten a chance to try in out, but he didn't.

Tarascan incense burner w Tlaloc headdress

A Tarascan Incense Burner




At that point, an army from the powerful Tarascan Empire arrived. The Ruler of Azcapotzalco's brother was a very powerful man known as, Tariacuri. He had founded the Tarascan Empire as a young man, and had ruled for 47 years! Upon hearing that new empire of Mexicans had formed known as the Aztec Empire, he had brought an army with him to his annual trip to Azcapotzalco. When the citizens of Culhuacan found out that Tlaxcala was independent, and a Tarascan army was heading their way, they rebelled.



An angry Opochtzin soon arrived with an army that included almost every able bodied Aztec man. Culhuacan was not prepared for what happened next. After slaughtering as many people as possible, Opochtzin burned Culhuacan down. Unlike Bolontiku, Opochtzin's cause wasn't even great. The destruction continued until the next day, when the Aztec army continued onward toward Azcapotzalco.


Tariacuri showed his control over Azcapotzalco, by frequently forcing citizens to join his brutal force. Many citizens were getting very unhappy. Many more, were also worried what Opochtzin would do if he were able to take control after a long fight. Would their town be burned down like Culhuacan?



On August 3rd 1347, Opochtzin arrived to Azcapotzalco. Many citizens held an emergency meeting to decide what they should do. Emperor Tariacuri I was not invited. A verdict was reached after some heated debate. A force made up of most of the townspeople attacked the Tarascan army with varying degrees of success, but the bulk of the Tarascan army along with the Tarascan Emperor was driven out, right into the charging Aztec army.


When it appeared that the Aztecs would win, Emperor Tariacuri called a truce. He pledged Azcapotzalco along with large portions of farmland to the Aztecs in exchange to peace. After discussing with his ministers, Opochtzin agreed. The treaty was known as the treaty of Azcapotzalco

Azcapotzalco's Aftermath[]

By 1349, the Tarascan Kingdom, despite having given up large portions of land, was thriving and had become very economical. Many people fled the violent Aztec Empire to the Tarascan Kingdom , instead of to Tlaxcala because almost everyone thought that Tlaxcala would soon fall to the Aztec Empire. Tlaxcala was in complete isolation and it was almost impossible to get in or out during this period. The riches that the Mayans gained through colonies was mostly traded to the Tarascans. The Chichamecas, a tribal people north of the Aztecs, were subject to frequent Aztec raids. Although the Chichamecas played almost no importanrt role in world affairs during this period, they would one day become a powerful empire.

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