The Aztecs were one of the most dominant Native American tribes in the 15th and 16th Centuries.
Who were the Aztecs? What happened to them? The word Aztec derives from the word Aztlan,
which, according to ancient legend, was the ancestral home of some Aztec tribes.
These tribes migrated to central Mexico in the 1200s (or before). Aztec tribes were very warlike
and aggressive. They frequently fought each other, enslaving or killing those they had defeated.
The largest of these tribes was the Mexica.
The Mexica were fierce warriors who became the dominant power of the region. They founded a
capital city, Tenochtitlan, which would grow to become the largest city in the empire.
As the Mexica rose to power, Tenochtitlan developed an alliance with two other city-states,
Texcoco and Tiacopan. This alliance is known as the Triple Alliance,
and these three city-states ruled over the Aztec Empire for more than a hundred years.
The Aztec Empire waged wars of conquest against other Native tribes.
They conquered these tribes and added them to their ever-expanding empire.
However, in most cases, they allowed local leaders to remain in positions of power.
They only required a tribute which was paid twice a year and that soldiers be provided as well.
In exchange, the empire gave military protection and incorporated that tribe or village into
their economic network. At its height, the Aztec Empire stretched from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, encompassing most of central Mexico.
Laws in the Aztec Empire could be very harsh. The empire developed a code of 80 written laws which
they adhered to. Theft, damaging someone else s property, and murder were illegal,
as were drunkenness and adultery. Many of these crimes carried severe penalties, including death.
Punishments were swift and carried out in public.
Aztec society was hierarchical. There was a small class of nobility as well as many commoners.
However, within that structure, there were levels of rank which determined a
person s status in society. Frequently, these positions were inherited through family lines.
Therefore, the education one could receive, and the position he or she could hold in life, was
mostly determined by parentage. Occasionally, a commoner could become a person of great standing.
Education was relatively important to the Aztecs. During the rule of Moctezuma I, the
Aztecs established schools in every neighborhood. These schools were supervised by authorities who
instructed students in basic religious knowledge and military training. The children of nobility
attended more prestigious schools where they learned to become artisans or priests.
Priests were amongst the most respected members of society because the Aztecs
placed a high emphasis on their religious beliefs.
The Aztecs practiced a polytheistic religion which included a vast pantheon of gods and goddesses.
Many times, when they conquered a new tribe, the gods of that tribe were incorporated into the
Aztec faith. Therefore, over time, the religion continued to grow, expand, and change. Amongst
the most important gods in the pantheon included Quetzalcoatl (the god of wind, air, and learning),
Tlaloc (the god of rain, water, and earthly fertility), Tezcatlipoca (god of the night sky,
night winds, and hurricanes), and Huitzilopochtli (god of war, sun, and human sacrifice).
Throughout the year, the Aztecs performed rituals and held festivals to honor these gods. During one
festival, the commoners participated in a sweeping of the streets, followed by a ritualistic bath.
One ritual, known as the Great Fire Ceremony, occurred only once every 52 years.
This ceremony required all commoners to destroy their house utensils and snuff all fires.
Then, new fire would be received from a bonfire which was built on the chest of a human sacrifice.
Human sacrifice played an important role in the Aztec religion.
Aztecs believed they were living in the end times and that the world would soon be destroyed. To
appease the gods and prevent them from returning to destroy the world, they Aztecs believed they
were required to offer human sacrifices. This was one purpose of their constant warfare.
They would wage war, take prisoners, and offer those prisoners as sacrifices to their gods.
Different gods required different human sacrifices. They sacrificed commoners to
minor gods while prominent gods often required someone from the nobility. Almost every native
tribe in that region practiced human sacrifice, but the Aztecs seemed to place an even higher
emphasis on the ritual. For example, during the dedication of the Great Pyramid at Tenochtitlan,
Aztec priests sacrificed anywhere from 10,000 to 80,000 victims over a four-day period.
Witnesses described the scene, stating that rivers of blood poured down the steps of the pyramid.
In the early 1500s, the Aztec Empire encountered Spanish conquistadors for the first time.
Starting in 1519, the Spaniards, under the leadership of Hern n Cortez,
fought a series of battles against the Aztecs.
The Aztecs were no match for the Spaniards who used guns, rode horses, and wore metal armor.
In 1521, the Aztecs were defeated when Cortez captured their capital city of Tenochtitlan.
Aside from the Spanish conquest, the Aztecs were also decimated by diseases.
Spanish explorers introduced smallpox, chickenpox, the measles,
diphtheria, typhus, and malaria to the continent. Native populations had
no natural immunity to these diseases, and millions died from these maladies.
The Aztecs remain an important part of Mexico s cultural history.
Many Mexicans have Aztec heritage in their ancestral background, and numerous Aztec
ruins are still visible throughout central Mexico. Additionally, the Aztec capital city
of Tenochtitlan was renamed Mexico City and still serves as the Mexican capital.