Tlaxcala (Spanish  [tla(k)sˈkala] ; (/tlɑːsˈkɑːlə/; [tla(ɣ)sˈkala]; from Nahuatl: Tlaxcallān Nahuatl pronunciation: [tɬaʃˈkalːaːn]), which means place of corn tortillas. Officially Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District make up the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala.

It is located in East-Central Mexico, in the altiplano region, with the eastern portion dominated by the Sierra Madre Oriental. It is bordered by the states of Puebla to the north, east and south, México to the west and Hidalgo to the northwest. It is the smallest state of the republic, accounting for only 0.2% of the country’s territory.

The state is named after its capital, Tlaxcala, which was also the name of the pre-Hispanic city and culture. The Tlaxcalans allied themselves with the Spanish to defeat the Aztecs, with concessions from the Spanish that allowed the territory to remain mostly intact throughout 300 years of colonial period. After Mexican Independence, Tlaxcala was declared a federal territory, until 1857 when it was admitted as a state of the federation.

Tlaxcala is the name of different historical, political and geographical entities in Mexico, all of which are derived from the Nahuatl word tlaxcallān meaning "place of maize tortillas". It may refer to:

Tlaxcala (Classical Nahuatl: Tlaxcallān [tɬaʃ.ˈká.lːaːn̥] "place of maize tortillas") was a pre-Columbian city and state in central Mexico.

Ancient Tlaxcala was a republic ruled by a council of between 50 and 200 chief political officials (teuctli [sg.], teteuctin [pl.]) (Fargher et al. 2010). These officials gained their positions through service to the state, usually in warfare, and as a result came from both the noble (pilli) and commoner (macehualli) classes. Following the Spanish Conquest, Tlaxcala was divided into four fiefdoms (señoríos) by the Spanish corregidor Gómez de Santillán in 1545 (26 years after the Conquest). These fiefdoms were Ocotelolco, Quiahuiztlan, Tepeticpac, and Tizatlan. At this time, four great houses or lineages emerged and claimed hereditary rights to each fiefdom and created fictitious genealogies extending back into the pre-Columbian era to justify their claims (Gibson 1952).

History

Tlaxcala was never conquered by the Aztec empire, but was engaged in a state of perpetual war, or so-called flower wars also known as garland wars. During the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Tlaxcala allied with the Spaniards against the Aztecs, supplying a large contingent for – and at times the majority of – the Spanish-led army that eventually destroyed the Aztec empire.