Aztecs :: essays research papers

According to their own history, the Aztecs, who called themselvesthe Tenochcaor Mexica, started as a small nomadic tribe originating froma turn out called Aztlan.Aztlan existed somewhere in the southern part of Californiaor the north west ofMexico. At this time they were Nahuatl speaking. Duringthe twelfth century theystarted a period of world-wide and in the thirteenthcentury they came acrossMexicos central valley. There they decided to settle.The reason for this is aprophecy. The prophecy said that when they saw aneagle sitting on a cactus witha snake in its mouth that was where they wereto build their great civilization. Forthat reason they called it Tenochtitlan,meaning place of the cactus. Since theprophecy was filled upon an is primingin the middle of a small lake, called LakeTexcoco, land became short. Theybuilt Tenochtitlan in the year thirteen twentyfive BC. They started as asmall struggling village continually battle with otherMexican city-states.Tenochtitlan acted as a place of refuge.Aztec Empire At first the Aztecswhere ruled by the mightiest of the city-states in central Mexicoknown asAzcapotzlaco. They helped Azcapotzlaco to becharm surroundingterritory inthe early fourteen hundreds. By fourteen twenty-eight they hadAzcopotzlacoitself with the help of attached allies. Tenochtitlan, by the yearfourteenthirty-one, with an alliance with the neighboring city-states of Texcoco andTlacopanhad become and independent city-state itself. This triple alliance of thirdcity-statessoon controlled all of Mexicos central valley. Tenochtitlan, as thedominatecity-state in this alliance, became a base for a syllabus of militaryexpansionand conquest. However the program was left incomplete even when theempirefell to the Spaniards. To connect the Capitol to the mainland the Aztecsbuilta network of canals, bridges and three stone causeways. Aztecs didnt ruledirectlyover the lands they concord. Instead they demanded tribute such as food,clothing,woven blankets, precious stones, furs, feathers, fine woods and slaves orcaptives.As a result these products became available in the marketplace andcommonin peoples homes. The emperors power came from his control of themilitary, wich wasexceedingly large. Under him was his chief deputy, whowould communicate withthe gods and relate the gods wishes to the Emperor.Below him thither was acouncil of four noble princes and three honored classesof warriors who managedday to day affairs in the empire. Below them werefour social classes, nobles,commoners, serfs and slaves. Nobles the noblesowned private plots of land orshared land with other families. CommonersThe commoners were the largestgroup who included priests, merchants, artisans,and farmers who held land incommon with the nobles. Serfs The majorityof the serfs farmed the nobles land. Slaves The slaves were the lowest