Tlapan

Tlapan, or Tlapa-Tlachinollan, was a major centre in the mountains of eastern Guerrero. Its rulers governed a diverse territory inhabited by Me’phaa, Mixtec and Nahua peoples, stretching from the Balsas basin toward the Costa Chica. The history of the lordship, its rulers and its conquests is recorded in the pictorial Codices of Azoyú.

The kingdom grew during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but faced the expansion of the Mexica. After prolonged resistance Tlapa fell, was incorporated into the Mexica tribute system and later came under Spanish rule. The Azoyú codices continue their account into the sixteenth century, recording changes in government and the arrival of the Spaniards. Their painted histories preserve the perspective of the people of the mountain region through successive changes of power.