Pull the names out of a hat.
Here's your hat:
The Aztec army was organized into two layers. The commoners were organized into "wards" (calpÅlli[8]) that were under the leadership of tiachcahuan[9] and calpoleque [10]. The nobles were organized into professional warrior societies. Apart from the Tlatoani the war leaders of the Aztecs were the High General, the Tlacochcalcatl[11] and the General the TlÄcateccatl.[12] The Tlacochcalcatl and Tlacateccatl also had to name successors prior to any battle so that if they died they could be immediately replaced. Priests also took part in warfare, carrying the effigies of deities into battle alongside the armies. The image below shows the Tlacateccatl and the Tlacochcalcatl and two other officers (probably priests) known as Huitznahuatl and Ticocyahuacatl, all dressed in their tlahuiztli suits:
Aztec warriors as depicted in the Codex Mendoza
[edit] Training
Sons of nobles were trained at the Calmecac[13] and received sophisticated training in warfare as well as in general courtly subjects such as astronomy, calendrics, rhetorics, poetry and religion.
The sons of commoners were trained in the TÄ“lpochcalli[14] where they received basic military training and sometimes learned a trade.
[edit] Stratification and ranks
The commoners composed the bulk of the army, the lowest were porters (tlamemeh[15]) who carried weapons and supplies, next came the youths of the telpochcalli led by their sergeants (the tēlpochyahqueh[16]) Next were the commoners yaoquizqueh. And finally there were commoners who had taken captives, the so-called tlamanih.[17]
Ranking above these came the nobles of the "warrior societies". These were ranked according to the number of captives they had taken in previous battles; the number of captives determined which of the different suits of honor (called tlahuiztli)[18] they were allowed to wear. These tlahuiztli became gradually more spectacular as the ranks progressed, allowing the most excellent warriors who had taken many captives to stand out on the battlefield. The higher ranked warriors were also called "Pipiltin".
This page from the Codex Mendoza shows the gradual improvements to equipment and tlahuiztli as a warrior progresses through the ranks from commoner to porter to warrior to captor, and later as a noble progressing in the warrior societies from the noble warrior to "Eagle warrior" to "Jaguar warrior" to "Otomitl" to "Shorn One" and finally as "Tlacateccatl". The Eagle Warrior, Otomitl, and Shorn One figures wear the pamitl.
[edit] Warrior societies
Commoners excelling in warfare could be promoted to the noble class and could enter some of the warrior societies (at least the Eagles and Jaguars). Sons of nobles trained at the Calmecac however were expected to enter into one of the societies as they progressed through the ranks. Warriors could shift from one society and into another when they became sufficiently proficient; exactly how this happened is uncertain. Each society had different styles of dress and equipment as well as styles of body paint and adornments.
[edit] Eagle and Jaguar warriors
Those Aztec warriors who demonstrated the most bravery and who fought well became either jaguar or eagle warriors. Of all of the Aztec warriors, they were the most feared. Both the jaguar and eagle Aztec warriors wore distinguishing helmets and uniforms. The jaguars were identifiable by the jaguar skins they wore over their entire body, with only their faces showing from within the jaguar head. The eagle Aztec warriors, on the other hand, wore feathered helmets including an open beak.
[edit] Otomies
Main article: Otomi (military)
The Otomies (OtÅntin[19]) were another warrior society who took their name after the Otomi people who were renowned for their fierce fighting. In the historical sources it is often difficult to discern whether the word otomitl "Otomi" refers to members of the Aztec warrior society, or members of the ethnic group who also often joined the Aztec armies as mercenaries or allies.
[edit] The Shorn Ones
The "Shorn Ones" (Cuachicqueh[20]) was the most prestigious warrior society — their heads were shaved apart from a long braid over the left ear. Their bald heads and faces were painted one half blue and another half red or yellow. They had sworn not to take a step backwards during a battle on pain of death at the hands of their comrades.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Ranged weapons
Aztec jaguar warrior (ocelÅtl) with shield (chimalli) and obsidian sword (mÄcuahuitl)
Atlatl: The Aztec dart thrower was a weapon used to hurl small darts called "tlacochtli" with greater force and from greater range than they could be thrown by hand. Murals at Teotihuacan show warriors using this effective weapon and it is characteristic of the Mesoamerican cultures of central Mexico.
Tlahuitolli: a bow.
Mitl: arrow.
Micomitl: Aztec arrow quiver.
Yaomitl: war arrows with barbed obsidian points.
Tematlatl: a stone sling. made from maguey fiber.
Tlacalhuazcuahuitl: a blowgun consisting of a hollow reed using poison darts for ammunition. This was used primarily for hunting rather than warfare.
[edit] Melee weapons
Macuahuitl: "hand-wood", essentially a wooden sword with sharp obsidian blades embedded into its sides. This was the standard armament of the elite cadres. Also known in Spanish by the Taino word "macana". A blow from such a weapon was reputedly capable of decapitating a horse.[21]
Tepoztopilli: Wooden spear with sharp obsidian blades in the top.
Quauhololli: a simple club with a spherical wooden ball at the end.
Huitzauhqui: a wooden club with inlaid obsidian blades.
[edit] Armor
Chimalli: shields made by different materials such as the wooden shield "cuauhchimalli" or maize cane "otlachimalli". There were also ornamental shields decorated with motifs made in featherwork, these were called mÄhuizzoh chimalli.
Ichcahuipilli: quilted cotton armor. One or two fingers thick, this material was resistant to obsidian swords and atlatl darts.
Ehuatl: the tunic that some noble warriors wore over their cotton armor or tlahuiztli.
Tlahuiztli: the distinctively decorated suits of prestigious warriors and members of warrior societies.
Pamitl: the identifying emblems that officers and famous warriors wore on their backs. Like the Japanese uma-jirushi, these were frequently unique to their wearers, and were not necessarily shaped like flags.
