Aztec Empire The Aztecs were a great Empire that lasted approximately 200 years. They entered the Valley of Mexico from North and founded their capital in the center of a lake. Their capital was called Tenochtitlan, and it was founded in 1325. In 1428 a Triple Alliance was formed with other two cities, Texcoco and Tlacopan, consolidating what we now call, the Great Aztec Empire. The primary source, The Broken Spears, not only tells us about the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniards, but it reveals us some of their social, cultural and political aspects. This Great Empire was able to develop a complex civilization that was divided into three social classes nobles, or pipiltin, the ordinary citizens, or macehualtin, and the serfs and …show more content…
Each city state was ruled by a supreme leader (tlatoani) and a supreme judge and administrator (cihuacoatl). The tlatoani of the capital city of Tenochtitlan served as the Emperor (Huey Tlatoani) of the Aztec empire. The tlatoani was the ultimate owner of all land in his city-state, received tribute, oversaw markets and temples, led the military, and resolved judicial disputes. Another important aspect of this civilizations was the agriculture which was the basis of the Aztec economy, and corn, squash and beans, the most important crops. Trade was also a widespread activity. They exchanged products with people from different regions. The merchants came to distant places with items of great value, such as cocoa, gems, cotton or precious feathers. The book displays this aspect when the king was rewarding his artisans for what he ordered them. He said, “Give each of these, my grandfathers, a portion of various rich cloths, and huipiles and skirts for my grandmothers; and cotton, chiles, corn, squash seeds and beans, the same amount to each” …show more content…
The Aztecs thought that the sun was weakening and needed sacrifices, and especially those of human blood, to be able to follow its course and not destroy the world. Human sacrifices were made on a large scale. The sacrifices were carried out on top of huge pyramids, to be closer to the sun, so that the blood spilled down the steps. The book: The Broken Spears, shows us how the king had no mercy for his people. Motechuzoma said to a messenger “You may rest now.” “The man that brought this news had no ears, for they had been cut off, and no toes, for they had been cut off too” (16). This book displays how ruthless was this
Thi Vo Pre-Ap world history Mr.le 2nd p Hippo document Document 1 H- The map was illustrate from 1427 the reign of itzcoatl to 1520,reign of motecuhzoma I-this map intended to the future people to show the history of Aztec between 1427 to 1520 P-The Anztec was conquest all the land from itzcoatl start in 1427 to throughout the mid-south America P-The purpose of this map was to show what territory did Aztecs conquer the land from time to time. O-the warrior of aztec has conquered the land throughout 93 years,started from itzcoatl until to the reign of Motecuhzoma.
In 1521, Hernando Cortés, an adventurer from Spain, led an army of 508 men into the Yucatán peninsula on an exploratory expedition. During their explorations, they stumbled upon the Aztec Empire, the world’s largest city at the time. Despite the enormity of the empire, it was struggling to thrive due to a rigid political system and low technological development. The Spaniards, who were motivated by the promise of gold and wealth, were able to conquer the Aztecs by using the native people’s fear, instability, and lack of superior weapons to their advantage. When Cortés, an adventurer from Spain, arrived to the mainland with an army of 508 soldiers, they stumbled upon an empire weakened by war and an unstable political system.
He was a great warrior and is remembered as the father of the Aztec Empire. Under his reign he solidified the alliance with Tlacopan and Texcoco, as well as major expansion took place and the city of Tenochtitlan started to become the dominant city of the triple alliance. Tenochtitlan was the driving force of the Aztec’s military and lead the conquests of new city-states. When city-states or territories were conquered the Aztec emperors did not rule over each one directly, local governments were formed for certain areas but still were forced to contribute certain amounts of tribute to the Triple Aliiance, most of them going to the city of Tenochtitlan. With over 500 city-states and five to six million people, 140,000 living in Tenochtitlan alone, this way of government worked very well for the empire.
Eventually when the Spanish arrived, they used brutal force and contaminated many. These contributions led to the collapse of the Aztec Empire due to revolts of tribes, ineffective leadership, the military disadvantages, and spread of diseases. During the Aztec’s reign,
The Aztecs had a very tight way of running things. If one did not follow the rules they would be punished very severely by death. Their system was based upon sacrifices for their beloved gods, and it ran that way for many generations, until the Spanish came. Hernan Cortes, was the Spanish expedition leader, eased his way into Tenochtitlan’s throne to become emperor. He faked being a sacred god called Quetzalcoatl, so the Aztecs would be on their knees praising him and doing whatever he wished.
Firstly, God: When the Aztecs saw Cortes and the Spanish men, they thought Cortes was a god named Quetzalcoatl, because the Spanish arrived when the Aztecs god (Quetzalcoatl) was supposed to come. They were granted gifts and other valuables. Cortes and his men had better advantages over the Aztecs. The Aztecs didn’t suspect anything because they thought their gods wouldn’t betray them, so the Spanish took advantage over it. When Cortes and his men arrived to Moctezuma’s palace, they seized him and Moctezuma was arrested within his palace and when he was out of his palace the Aztecs started to throw rocks and arrows at him until he died.
A basic part of Aztec culture was agriculture. Furthermore, most of the population were farmers. Because of their need for food and money, they invented a new farming technique. The Aztecs invented the chinampa, also known as floating gardens, which are essentially small floating islands in fresh water with layers of dirt, mud, and vegetation and are often regarded as a very efficient farming system.
The emperor was the ruler of many people. Eventually they were conquered by the Spanish. The Aztec’s
Aztec religion developed from the worship of animistic spirits symbolizing natural forces in constant conflict while seeking balance. The cycle of life and death encouraged acceptance of the Toltec belief that the gods required human sacrifice to sustain nature and continuing life. The Aztecs conceptualized their sun deity Huitzilopochtli as a blood-thirsty war god with an appetite for brave warriors captured in battle. In every Aztec city, they built pyramids, topped with temples to the sun.
The Aztec Empire lasted from the year 1345 to the year 1521. During these years, the Aztec Empire was able to flourish all throughout central Mexico. Their capital was established on Teotihuacan, on top of a lake. The Aztec Empire alone was 117,501 miles squared long. The citizens of the Aztec Empire were feared all over Mexico.
The author gives insight on how many ways the Spaniards used their power to assist in the downfall of the Aztecs. The reason why the Spaniards became victorious, was because the Spaniards were looked upon as if they were gods because of their outer appearance. The Aztecs broke bread and welcomed the Spaniards with gifts and parties. The Aztecs triggered their relationship with the Spaniards by holding a ritual for the arrival of the god which included a human sacrifice. The Spaniards didn’t agree with the rituals and began to despise the Aztecs.
Abstract The Aztec Empire remains one of the most exciting yet powerful empires in the world 's history. The empire was originally made up of the Tenochtitlan city in the current day Mexico City. The city later combined with two more city states; Texcoco and Tracopan to form a Triple Alliance which ruled the Mexico Valley from 1428 until 1521 when they were overwhelmed by the joined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their local supporters led by Hernan Cortes. All through the Aztec rule, the Tenochtitlan City was evidently the strongest in the Empire.
The fall of the Aztec Empire was due to the determination of the Spaniards. The Spaniards were destructive. They did not respect the Natives’ religions at all. They almost destroyed all of the Natives’ culture, and now we know very little about Natives. The Spaniards’ greed and obsession with power, this was their main motivation to conquer the Aztec Empire.
The Aztec rise to power and formation of an imperial state was both rapid and spectacular. Aztec domination extended from the Tarascan frontier about a hundred miles north of present-day Mexico City southward to the Maya area. The people were forced to pay tribute, surrender lands, and sometimes do military service for the empire. Aztec society had changed in the process of expansion and conquest. The loose association of clans, which was the previous form, the Aztec Empire transformed into a stratified society under the authority of a supreme ruler.
The Tang Dynasty Learning China’s history, you find that the Tang Dynasty was the greatest historic period in Chinese history. Founded in 618 and ending in 907, the dynasty, under the ruling of the Tang Emperors, became the most powerful and thriving country in the world, at that time. Particularly, in this magnificent period, the economy, politics, culture and military strength reached an exceptional advanced level. After about 300 years of division and fragmentation following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 A.D, China once again was unified under the Sui dynasty (581–618). The political and governmental institutions established during this short period prepared the foundation for the growth and prosperity of the succeeding Tang dynasty.