Download The Aztec Empire

2011
The Aztec Empire
900AD – 1500AD
The Aztecs; from the initial colonization to the Spanish War.
Rebecca Sherrington
Woodleigh School
6/7/2011
An Introduction to the Aztecs
The Aztecs were a civilisation living in Mexico between
1100AD and 1500AD. They were strong warriors, who, by
1400, owned most of Mexico (Fig. 1). Where they lived, there
were active volcanoes, one of the largest called “Popacatapel”,
meaning “smoking mountain”, and many mountains. The
climate was quite hot and there were not many places with
fertile soil, so towns, villages and cities developed near places
such as the Valley of Mexico, where crops could grow. The
Aztecs did not originate from Mexico, but they travelled
Figure 1, The Aztec Empire
there at about 1100AD, and by 1500 had about 15 million
citizens living in 500 different towns, each slightly different groups with slightly different
traditions.
Figure 2, comparative timeline, Medieval Europe and Aztec Empire
The Social and Political Side
Each city-state in Mexico had its own noble family in charge. There were quite a few
different nobles, for example an ahaw, meaning “the lord”, mahk’ina, meaning the “Great Sun
Lord”, the tribal leader, the tlatoani, meaning “the speaker” and his deputy, a female noble,
the cihuacoatl, meaning “snake woman”. Ordinary citizens were called macehualtin. To be a
noble you had to be related to the ruler, but it was possible for a macehualtin to become of
higher rank, like the rank of an army commander, priest or a “lawmaker”. If you had captured four live enemy soldiers in war and
brought them back to be sacrificed. The Aztecs’ view on life could
be considered sexist, but not quite as sexist as other religions. For
example, although there were no female mahk’inas, but the wives
of the lords and nobles tended to be very controlling, feeding the
husband information and being very manipulative, coming up
with ideas and influencing many of his decisions. The general role
of a man was to be a farmer, fisherman or craftsman, while the
role of a woman was to be a housewife and otherwise assist the
husband in basically every aspect of his life, providing him with
Figure 3, a macehualtin farmer
children. Some richer families had slaves, people who were
prisoners of war, criminals or people who gave their lives up to be slaves in return for food.
Unlike other civilisations, not only was it compulsory to go to school, slave children were
educated along with boys and girls, and slaves were given rights, such as they could marry
and own land. Also, children of slaves were born free.
The City of Tenochtitlan (te-noch-tit-lan)
The city of Tenochtitlan was the capital of
the Aztec empire. It was founded at
approximately 1325AD. Being the capital,
it was made not only the centre of
government, but also the place where all
the temples for sacrifice were built.
Tenochtitlan was built on an island in the
centre of Lake Texcoco (lake of the moon)
(fig.4), but man-made cause-ways made of
Figure 4, Location of Tenochtitlan
pounded dirt and sand connected it to the
mainland. Tenochtitlan was divided into four parts; Flowery Place, Mosquito Fen,
Heron’s Home and, in the heart of the city, Sacred Precinct. Each section of the city was
connected by causeways and canals. By 1500 it is estimated that 200 000 people
inhabited Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan was where most sacrifices and ceremonies took
place.
The Aztec Religion
Figure 5, The Aztec Calendar stone
The Aztec religion relied a lot on prophecy, astronomy and legend. They worshipped
demanding gods, who were only appeased when someone had been sacrificed to them. If the
Gods were not happy, they caused disasters, such as drought and famine. If they were
happy, they allowed the Sun to rise and set every morning and night. The Aztecs believed
that life was the most valuable of gifts, and so by the time the Spaniards arrived they were
sacrificing around 20 000 victims per year.
The Aztecs predicted the world had ended four times before, and with each there had been a
rebirth, but the next time would be different. They thought the world would end in 1519
after a conflict between the gods, and this fear was intensified with the priests having
worrying dreams, the sighting of comets and a solar eclipse. It was also predicted that every
52 years the world was in danger. To keep the Sun rising and the crops growing, all the
fires were put out, and every citizen went inside. Then the priests would climb to the top of
a hill and, the exact moment Venus appeared in the sky, rip out the heart of a sacrifice, then
run around town relighting all the fires. This would keep the earth alive for 52 more years.
There were many different ceremonies, during some the Aztecs actually ate the limbs of the
sacrificed. Sacrifices occurred in temples, which emperors built during their reign to be
buried in. When the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan was completed, 20 000 people were
sacrificed in honour of its completion. There was so many people, it took 4 days to complete
the killing.
The Empire Expands
The Aztecs had a very strong army force (fig 6). By
the end of 1400 they controlled most of Mexico. The
cities the Aztecs had captured, apart from being
controlled by Aztec soldiers, were generally allowed
to keep their own traditions. All the Aztecs asked in
return was that the cities pay tribute to them. One
major reason for all the war was that once a new
emperor had been appointed it was his first act to
participate in a war. Another factor is that the
Figure 6, the Aztec Army
Aztecs always needed new sacrifices, and the young
fit males that tended to appear in wars were the best candidates. One more reason they fought was
to control trade routes.
The Demise of the Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire was finally over-thrown by the
Spaniards, led by Cortes (Fig. 7). When the Spanish
arrived, they were greeted as friends by the Aztecs. Cortes
captured and tortured Tenochtitlan and its citizens. He
rampaged through the cities destroying the religious
statues and banning sacrifice. The Aztecs retaliated, killing
two Spaniards. Cortes was furious. He kidnapped the
tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, Montezuma. Cortes stayed in a
palace where he and his men found a bricked-up door. After
knocking it down he found a room filled with silver, gold
and jewels. By this time, the Aztecs were furious toward
the new-comers. Montezuma was sent out to calm his
Figure 7, Hernán Cortés
people, but this just resulted in them stoning him to death.
Cortes was forced out of Tenochtitlan, but returned with reinforcements. Although
outnumbered 150 to 1, Cortes was ruthless and slaughtered so many Aztecs that the rest
surrendered. Cortes was named Governor of “New Spain”, and died in 1547.
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