Aztecs :: essays research papers

According to their own history, the Aztecs, who called themselvesthe Tenochcaor Mexica, started as a small nomadic tribe originating froma outrank 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 wandering and in the thirteenthcentury they came acrossMexicos telephone exchange valley. There they decided to settle.The originator 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 cracking civilization. Forthat reason they called it Tenochtitlan,meaning place of the cactus. Since theprophecy was filled upon an islandin the lay of a small lake, called LakeTexcoco, land became short. Theybuilt Tenochtitlan in the year thirteen twentyfive BC. They started as asmall struggling colonization continually fighting with otherMexican city-states.Teno chtitlan 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 conquer surroundingterritory inthe first fourteen hundreds. By fourteen twenty-eight they hadAzcopotzlacoitself with the help of neighboring allies. Tenochtitlan, by the yearfourteenthirty-one, with an alliance with the neighboring city-states of Texcoco andTlacopanhad become and independent city-state itself. This threefold alliance of threecity-statessoon controlled all of Mexicos central valley. Tenochtitlan, as the reigncity-state in this alliance, became a base for a program of military involutionand conquest. However the program was left incomplete even when theempire barbaric to the Spaniards. To connect the Capitol to the mainland the Aztecsbuilta network of canals, bridges and three muffin 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 causation 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. down the stairs him there 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 nobles have private plots of land orshared land with other families. CommonersThe commoners were the largestradical 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