Tlacaelel I
Tlacaelel I (c. 1398–1480) was the cihuacoatl (chief advisor and co-ruler) of the Aztec Empire, serving under four successive tlatoque. He was the principal architect of Aztec imperial ideology, engineering the rewriting of history, the elevation of Huitzilopochtli as supreme war deity, and the institutionalization of the Flower Wars to supply sacrificial victims. Arguably the most powerful man in the empire despite never being tlatoani himself.
- Lived: 1398 CE – 1480 CE
- Nationality: aztec
- Roles: diplomat, ruler
