(1427-1521)
During the same period as the
Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire
dominated Mesoamerica from Mexico and Guatemala to the territories of Salvador
and Honduras for nearly 100 years. This empire consisted of the native speaking
people known as the Nahuatl-speakers and those of the Culhua-Mexico, who had
migrated from the Pacific Northwest and inhabited the area which would become
the capital of Mexico, Tenochtitlan.
The people
of this culture were refined workers, merchants, farmers and fishers. Also,
they were fervent worshippers of the many gods of the Sun, and fierce defenders
and conquerors of their territory. In 1519 when Hernan Cortes landed in this
region and came upon this civilization, they were the sole heirs of a
flourishing community. Only two years after his landing, the Aztec Empire
crumbled and the capital was burned to the ground.
The Aztecs began their reign in 1427 after the
leader, Itzcoatl, with the assistance of surrounding cities, defeated the
Tepanecs and gained control of the Mexican basin. Leadership of the nation was
passed on from brother to brother and then to the eldest son of the eldest
brother. Leaders were then chosen by religious leaders and people of political
power, based on their skills on the battle
field and their
ability to speak eloquently.
For the Aztecs, warfare had a much different goal than for most of their counterparts. The goal of the battles was not to destroy the enemy and ransack the village but to capture the community and integrate them into the Aztec society, thus providing a much more productive and expanding kingdom. The temples of these cities were burned and the worship of Huitzilopochtli was installed. Warfare was also used to capture victims for ceremonial use. Prisoners of war were sacrificed on huge alters in front of large crowds. The heart of the victim was cut out, symbolically offered to the gods, and the lifeless bodies of the victims were rolled down the long stairs, staining the steps with blood.
Aztec religion was closely tied into the
calendrical system they adopted based
on the cosmos. The Aztec god was a form of energy in one way or another. This
energy could then be distributed to mankind through several different forms
from lakes and streams to sunlight and wind. Each part of the Aztec world was
represented in one fashion or another by some deity, which in turn either
blessed or punished the peoples. These deities were then represented in the
calendars of the Aztec, namely the Day-Count and the Solar Year. The Day-Count
calendar was based on 20 day signs, (i.e. dog, water, deer, grass, etc..) and
13 day numbers. This was an endless cycle which constantly repeated itself,
providing a 260-day year and determined the type of day it was going to be,
based on the meaning of the signs. The Solar Year was used to determine
planting and harvesting times and to organize festivities. This system was
based on a 365 day cycle and when combined with that of the Day-Count, it
provided a perfect 52 year cycle, which measured historical events for the
Aztec.
The fall of the Aztec Empire was based not only on the
actions of the Spaniards, but on the revolt of surrounding smaller communities
which belonged to this huge collaboration of peoples. Cortes had found the
weakness of this Empire, that being the Empire was nothing more than a
collection of smaller groups of people who were tied together by one thing:
membership in this society. Many of these communities despised the Aztecs and
wanted freedom from their rule. Cortes saw this and exploited it to its
fullest. By gathering up more than 150,000 of these native peoples and 9,000 of
his own troops, he completely dismantled the Aztec Empire and in the process
gained control of those who were fighting for their own freedom. Finally, after
the city of Tenochtitlan became infected with the small-pox epidemic, and half
of the city was wiped out, Cortes seized the city and laid it in ruins. By
August 13th, 1521, the Aztec empire was decimated and Spanish rule soon spread
throughout the newly gained land.
Boone, Elizabeth Hill. The Aztec World. St.
Remy Press and Smithsonian Institution, 1994.
Caso, Alfonso. The Aztecs
People of the Sun. University of Oklahoma Press, 1958.
Townsend,
Richard F.. The Aztecs. Thames and Hudson Inc, 1992.