Quatzalzuma I (birth name: Nezahual) was born in 1600 to Tlacateotl and his wife as the grandson of Empress Tenochzitza. He was educated at the Imperial School of Tenochtitlan and was also trained in military tactics and combat. Although he was not first in line in the line of succession, his father was killed in a battle in Northern Mexico, and after Empress Tenochzitza's death, he became emperor in 1615.