A flower war or flowery war was a ritual war fought intermittently between the Aztec Triple Alliance and its enemies on and off for many years in the vicinity and the regions around the ancient and vital city of Tenochtitlan, probably ending with the arrival of the Spaniards in 1519. Enemies included the city-states of Tlaxcala, Huejotzingo, and Cholula in the Tlaxcala-Pueblan Valley in central Mexico. In these wars, participants would fight according to a set of conventions.
Flower war
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their native allies who ruled under Hernán Cortés defeated them in 1521.
First page of the Codex Boturini, showing the migration of the Mexica.
Jaguar warriors in a flowery war from the Codex Zouche-Nuttall
Codex Azcatitlan depicting the Spanish army, with Cortés and Malinche in front
Cristóbal de Olid led Spanish soldiers with Tlaxcalan allies in the conquests of Jalisco and Colima of West Mexico.