Angatahuacan Republic
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Angatahuacan Republic Totechiuhcahuan Angatahuaca | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 744-1910 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
| Capital | Angatahuaca | ||||||||
| Common languages | Nahuatl Purépecha | ||||||||
| Religion | Cozauism | ||||||||
| Government | Cuauhtlatollo | ||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval-Early Modern | ||||||||
• Foundation of Angatahuaca | 744 | ||||||||
• Second Tariata | 650-750 | ||||||||
• Hegemony | 965-1290 | ||||||||
• Omehueyatlatoloyan Rule of Two Oceans | 1390-1650 | ||||||||
| 1650-1660 | |||||||||
| 1910 | |||||||||
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The Angatahuacan Republic (Nahuatl: Totechiuhcahuan Angatahuaca) was a hegemonic city-state and multi-ethnic centered in what is now southeastern littoral Zacapican. It is the direct predecessor to both the present day city of Angatahuaca as well as the modern United Zacapine Republics. Angatahuaca would eventually emerge as one of the pre-eminent maritime powers of the Age of Sail, ruling over a bi-continental empire sometimes referred to as the Great Heron or as the Heron Empire. Its golden age, the Omehueyatlatoloyan period, would last more than two centuries and mark the apogee of Zacapine civilization and global power. Angatahuaca would endure more than a millennium as an independent power before its fall to the western rebellion that would evolve into the Zacapine Revolution, a longevity primarily attributed to the stability of its government which was able to endure most major shocks.
For its entire history, the Angatahuacan Republic was governed by an aristocratic class known as the Cuauhtli descended from the original Purépecha founders. The lingua franca of the city as well as its empire, however, was Nahuatl, thanks to the widespread distribution of Nahua groups across the continent since the fall of Tolan. In particular, Angatahuaca was influenced by a large number of eastern Pochutlan Nahua peoples under its rule, many of whom would become the earliest conquered subjects to attain Angatahuacan citizenship and gain political rights within the Republic. The classical east Nahuatl dialect would be propagated across the Huitzlan landmass that comprises modern day Zacapican, becoming the antecedent of present day Zacapine Nahuatl.
Angatahuaca's thalassocracy brought about an unprecedented era of trade and exchange between the regions of Huitzlan which had historically been regarded as wholly separate, cut off as they were by some of the tallest mountains in the world and the notoriously dangerous southern seas that only the exceptional seamanship of Angatahuaca's maritime legacy inherited from the Purépecha could overcome. Just as a linguistic homogeneity had emerged surrounding Nahuatl as the language of exchange, a broader process of cultural blending took place under Angatahuaca's unipolar domination of the region that saw the distinctions between the myriad indigenous groups blur over time as peoples mixed and exchanged customs and adopted standard practices under Angatahuaca's empire. Most notably, the rich tapestry of indigenous religions across Huitzlan would almost entirely be swallowed up by Cozauist religious doctrine.
Art and Technology
Clothing
Many species of cotton native to the Mixtepemec mountains had served as the primary textile material for the civilizations of Huitztlan for centuries by the time of Angatahuaca's founding. The city inherited the great importance its Purépecha forefathers vested in the production of cotton clothing and textiles. Weaving of such textiles took place in dedicated buildings near the city center and was undertaken by a privileged class of artisans that jealously guarded the techniques of clothing production which were passed down through lineages of cloth-makers. The weavers and tailors cemented their special status within the city by producing elaborate articles of ceremonial clothing for the city's elite, ingratiating themselves to the upper classes through the patronage of Cuauhtli families. This influx of wealth into the textile mills allowed them to expand as well as innovate ever more complex looms and techniques for producing richly decorated clothing and tapestries, many of which survive today.
The typical citizen of Angatahuaca wore a simple cotton tunic secured at the waist with a string or length of leather, sometimes the same fastener used to secure pants or leggings. These were by far the most common article of clothing, and the base upon which even the garments of the upper class would be based. Among these elite, capes and mantles were common signifiers of rank and status. In particular, Angatahuacan textile artisans became known for the use of gold thread embroidery using golden wire to decorate articles of clothing. Following the traditions of the city founders, necklaces, skirts and other decorative items made of feathers, especially white feathers, were worn by city officials, citizens of high standing, as well as soldiers.
Shoes and footwear were usually made of leather, consisting of sandals in the summer or in warmer climates and fully enclosed shoes and boots stuffed with fur to protect the feet during the bitterly cold winter months. Winter mantles made from llama wool were also typically worn during the winter by both men and women.
Armor
The protective garments worn in battle by the Angatahuacans and their allies were in most cases iterations of older types of armor that had been developed and used for centuries in the region. One of the main innovations the Purépecha founders had brought with them to east was the techniques necessary to produce steel, thereby displacing iron and bronze as the primary metal materials for both weapons and armor. The typical battle armor of Angatahuacan soldiers was the tepozixpantzaucayotl (lit. "metal apron"), a suit of armor consisting of a steel cuirass with a winged backplate and additional protecting piece resting over the legs, giving the suit its apron-like appearance. The leg protection, sometimes paired with splinted shin-guards or boots, protected the thighs and was attached directly to the soldier's belt rather than the cuirass, articulating independently so as to allow the wearer more freedom to move and bend over. The backplate or matlapalcuicil (lit "wing cloak") was a large articulated plate that protected the upper back, the head, as well as the shoulders and upper arms from attack from behind. The function of this piece of armor was not only to protect the wearer from being hit by the arrows of their own archers behind the battle lines, but also to be used to protect the head and upper body from enemy projectiles by turning their side towards the enemy. This was of particular utility for those armed with bows or crossbows, who could simply turn their body to reload their weapon in relative safety behind their suit of armor which left both hands free for the dexterous task of preparing their weapon.
The actual construction of Angatahuacan armor was typically steel lamella attached to a leather backing, under which a padded cotton layer would be worn. This is largely the same pattern used by earlier iron armors and even the much older indigenous armors made from woven wooden slats. The metal lamella, or the splints of the shin and forearm protectors, could provide excellent protection against slashing weapons like the blades of swords, and a measure of defense against the puncturing action of spears and arrows. Such armor could render cuts to the protected parts of the body virtually harmless, while reducing what would be potentially mortal puncturing wounds to far less serious, ultimately survivable injuries, or simply preventing injury altogether depending on the nature of the attack. The blunt force of the attacks, however, would mostly be transmitted and spread out by the armor. This is what made the cotton under-armor vitally necessary, as the padding would help absorb the blunt force of the blows landing armor the armor and in particular help reduce the effectiveness of clubs and other blunt weapons. In the hot climates of modern day Pulacan and Xallipan, much of the peripheral additions to the battle dress would be eschewed, leaving only the cuirass and backplate over a simple cotton vest, which both improved flexibility as well as reducing the heat experienced by the wearer, at the expense of lesser protection from attack.