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On the basis of our recent discovery of the earliest highland ballcourt in Oaxaca, Mexico, we argue that both lowland and highland societies contributed to the evolution of the Mesoamerican...
the aztecs were the last great mesoamerican culture they followed other important civilizations including the olmecs the maya and the zapitax and they ruled most of northern mesoamerica for almost 100 years the aztec civilization was notable for its stunning art and architecture as well as for advances in trade and agriculture which allowed the creation of one of the largest and most complex cities the world had seen at that time the aztecs rose to power late in the history of mesoamerica other significant cultures such as the olmecs the maya and the zapotecs had flourished for over a thousand years before the aztec empire was created like many mesoamerican cultures the aztecs drew on the religion technology and artistic achievements of those that had gone before in this way they became highly advanced very quickly and because this is a relatively recent civilization we know more about the aztecs than we do about many of the ancient civilizations of mesoamerica the area known as mesoamerica the word means middle america is loosely defined but is generally taken to mean parts of present-day north and central america including areas of mexico and costa rica and the whole of guatemala belize el salvador honduras and nicaragua the first human settlers were tribes of hunter-gatherers who arrived in this area somewhere around 10 000 years ago and settled in this generally temperate and fertile area the first settlements were built comprising small houses occupied by people who supplemented hunting by growing crops which included maize and beans as well as tomatoes avocado and squash gradually small settlements grew into permanent towns and the people who lived there developed more complex societies and cultures the pace of change was slow until around 1400 bce when a new people appeared in the present day mexican states of veracruz and tabasco at the bay of campeche on the gulf coast these people the olmecs built the first true city in mesoamerica san lorenzo in the kuwaza koalkos river basin the olmecs created monumental architecture including the stepped pyramids which became characteristic of the area and produced notable advances in science and technology particularly in the fields of astronomy and agriculture the olmecs also developed some of the first trade routes in mesoamerica and through these their ideas spread throughout the region for reasons that aren't completely understood the olmecs and their cities disappeared around 400 bce but their legacy continued through the zap attacks in the oaxaca valley and the maya in the yucatan peninsula by the end of the first millennium ce a new civilization had risen to prominence in mesoamerica the toltecs who established an empire centered in present-day mexico which influenced areas as far away as the yucatan the toltecs created several cities including their capital tulane chico then around 1100 ce like many other mesoamerican cultures before it the toltec empire collapsed we do not know what caused this but we do know that during this period the people who had previously dominated the region abandoned their cities and returned to the land where they once again became subsistence farmers mysterious collapses and abandonments of this sort are a recurring feature of mesoamerican history the olmecs for example built the city of san lorenzo and for almost 500 years it was the greatest and most powerful city in the region then around 900 bce the olmecs seem to have walked away from their city and abandoned it to the jungle there have been many theories put forward to account for these sudden abandonments and the decline of cultures which often followed but none are wholly accepted by historians all we can be certain about is that for some unknown reason the toltec culture which had previously dominated much of present-day mexico suddenly melted away the power vacuum left by the disappearance of the toltecs made it almost inevitable that a new people would take their place the people who began to fill the void left by the toltecs were loose bands of hunter-gatherers who lived in the south central region of present-day mexico we don't really know very much about the early history of these people other than that they were generally referred to by other people in the region as the tinachka these were the nahate speaking people and they had been migrating into the valley of mexico the areas surrounding lake techo for several hundred years they had established a number of city-states in this area notably chalco churchimilco clackapan kuluakan and azkapotsalco new tribes arriving were forced to establish themselves wherever they could find unoccupied land somewhere around 1250 ce one particular tribe of nahate speaking people who worshipped the deity huitsalapachtli arrived in the area and established their first city at chapultepec a hill on the west side of lake techoco these people believed they were different to the other nahate speaking tribes and they gave themselves the name mexica they would eventually become known by another name the aztecs inspired by their semi-mythical homelands astlan the white land the first mexica city of chapultepec did not last long there were simply too many other well-established and powerful city-states in the area and before long one of them began to cast covetous eyes on the new settlement the tepanex of the powerful city-state of atska pulsalco another nahate-speaking people attacked and occupied the city around 1300 ce and ejected the mexica kokochikli the ruler of another powerful city-state in the area kul hua khan took pity on the homeless mexica and gave them permission to live in a barren swampy area called tisar pan somehow the mexica flourished in their new home and became assimilated to an extent with the people of kolhuaquan however they continued to worship their own deity huizilla poktli the god of war the sun and human sacrifice then in 1323 the mexica offended the people of kuluakan the mexica petitioned kokochikli to send them his daughter so that the mexica could make her into the goddess yauchikotte the king agreed but the mexica had failed to make one important point clear to the king or to his daughter her conversion into a goddess would entail the young princess being sacrificed and skinned the story goes that king kotchli and important members of his court were invited to a festival dinner with the mexica to celebrate the deification of his daughter it wasn't until a mexican priest appeared wearing the girl's flayed skin that the king realized what had happened unsurprisingly the mexica found themselves banished once again soon thereafter they resumed their wanderings to find a suitable spot for a city this time their priests said they had directions from huitsalapaktli himself which were intended to make it clear when the perfect spot had been found the mexica were told to look for an eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus and clutching in its talons a wriggling snake when they found this omen that would be the perfect place in which to establish a new city the mexica wandered for some time until finally around 1325 they saw an eagle perched on a cactus and holding a snake in its talons the location was far from perfect in objective terms it was a small island near the west side of lake techoco there was very little room for building and this island was virtually surrounded by land controlled by hostile and more powerful city-states undaunted the mexica began to create what would become their main city of tinochtitlan building began on the original island identified by priests and soon expanded to include a second island as well as land reclaimed from the lake by the expansion of both islands life could not have been easy for the builders and early occupants of tenochtitlan building land was very limited but right from the beginning the creators envisaged that the city would become very large they were right tinochtitlan would eventually become the largest city in mesoamerica and they planned construction accordingly the city was divided by canals which were to be used as the main means of transport within the city in the early stages most occupants of the city lived in temporary housing and were at the mercy of the weather the island was linked to the lake shore by a number of causeways and the land to which they gave access was controlled by the city-state of atska putsalco capital of the tepanak empire the new city of the mexico was completely under the control of the ruler of atska putsalco akol nahuakate this must have been galling for the mexica but as atskapotsalco was the most powerful city-state in the region it meant that they were at least protected from incursion by any of the other lesser city-states when akol nahuakate died in around 1371 he was replaced by his 23 year old son tezozamok the new king was an even more effective ruler than his father and he pushed the boundaries of control of the city of atska pozalko to include most of the valley of mexico he also appreciated the war-like nature of the mexica and he forced these subject people to provide warriors for his armies with the support of mexican mercenaries te zazamoc was able to conquer and destroy the only other city in the region which rivaled the power of asgar putsalco from that time on asuka potsalco became the most powerful city-state in the region controlling virtually all trade and having a more powerful military force than any other through a combination of military conquest which increasingly relied on the presence of mexico warriors and careful diplomatic maneuvering with neighboring states tezazemak was able to make his city the most powerful economic and trade center in the region ruled for more than 50 years and when he died in 1426 the reign of atskapotsalko was inherited by his son however it rapidly became clear that the new king lacked the ability and finesse of his father like many other mesoamerican cultures aztec society was rigidly stratified and it was almost impossible for a person born to one class to improve their situation by moving on to the class above the clothing worn by aztecs was not dependent only on their wealth only the highest classes were permitted to wear feathers in their clothing for example and jewelry people from lower classes though they might be able to accumulate wealth were not permitted to dress in the same way at the very bottom of aztec society were the slaves known as clekhoten the bought ones slaves might originally be prisoners of war from other city-states but they might also be aztecs who had committed certain crimes or had got into debt and had been sentenced to slavery as a punishment they might even be aztec children sold into slavery when times were hard slaves were protected from mistreatment by aztec law and were generally employed as agricultural workers or general laborers though some were used as servants in large households or even as concubines slaves were not generally resold once purchased by a master they tended to stay with that person or household for life slaves were permitted to marry and the children of slaves were regarded as free and if they were able to save the money somehow they were allowed to purchase their own freedom slaves were also permitted themselves to own slaves next on the hierarchy of aztec society were serfs known as mayake these were nominally free citizens but in truth their lives were little better than those of slaves surfs generally worked on farms but they owned no land and were expected to give anything up to 30 percent of all produce to the landlord in lieu of rent these were essentially subsistence farmers who were able to barely produce enough food to keep themselves and their families alive unlike slaves the children of serfs were also serfs and it was very difficult for anyone to escape from this social class serfs were also expected to serve in the army during protracted conflicts and to provide labor for government construction projects such as the building of roads bridges or canals next were the commoners the farmers artisans merchants and low-level priests these people resided within calpuli the neighborhood wars which were presided over by a noble and a council of elders these kalpuri generally consisted of groups of families which had blood ties or connections from long association the noble at the head of each kalpuni there were more than 80 kalpuli in tinach at its peak each with its own temple would allocate land to farmers mase who would in turn give part of their produce to the calpulia's tribute farmers were further divided into two groups those who performed the day-to-day work on the farms and those who had knowledge of things like when and where to plant and who acted as supervisors artisans were also commoners but were held in higher regard than farmers artisans were generally known as tolteca after the earlier and respected toltec culture and within aztec society this might include stone masons potters metal workers weavers carpenters and scribes the activities of artisans were generally controlled by self-governing trade guilds presided over by elected members of a particular craft traders and merchants were also an important part of the commoner class traders especially those who traded over long distances were respected and controlled by their own trade guilds made up of the most experienced traders these people known as pokteca also traded on behalf of the state and sometimes traded in slaves and sacrificial victims as well as spying for the aztec nobles by listening to talk in foreign marketplaces traders were also directly involved in the state religion and especially the festival of tonal during which prominent traders funded lavish banquets and provided sacrificial victims for important ceremonies the highest level of aztec society was the nobility and this class was divided into two groups the pipiltin were wealthy landowners who were entitled to wear fine garments with adornments such as feathers administrators and senior priests were generally drawn from the ranks of the pipilton in theory any commoner could become a pipilton by displaying great bravery in battle these people were known as kuahu papilton eagle nobles though in practice this was very rare indeed at the very top of aztec society were the families which constituted the tethen these nobles were even more wealthy than the average pipilton dressed even more flamboyantly and lived in opulent palaces in the center of aztec cities the highest level of government officials in the aztec king always came from the ranks of the tethy as in many other mesoamerican cultures women were generally confined to lesser roles in aztec civilization women could serve as priestesses as healers or midwives or as members of calpouli administration but they could not generally attain the highest ranks and they could not serve as artisans traders merchants or warriors women were generally married when they were 16 years old and were expected to devote their lives to their homes and families when a female child was born her umbilical cord was buried beneath the family fireplace to denote this education was available to male children of all classes and to males and females of the pipilton and to tihutin for commoners schools were known as telpok kali and were provided by the local cal poly these schools were attended only by boys and the principal purpose of the curriculum was to provide sufficient training that a boy could effectively serve in the military for the children of the noble classes and a small number of gifted children born to commoner families there were kalmakak schools which in addition to military training provided a more academic curriculum that prepared students for roles in the priesthood or as part of the government administration the priesthood was a fundamental part of aztec society in addition to conducting religious rituals priests were teachers and healers and even served with the military priests were expected to carry into battle representations of the aztec gods and to select the bravest warriors from among prisoners to be used as sacrificial victims at the highest level of the aztec priesthood there were two roles for high priests who directly assisted the king quetzalcoate totec klamakoski was the head of the cult of the war god huitsalapochtli and quetzalcoate claylock klamakoski was the head of the cult of the rain god claylock these men advised the king in many matters and acted as intermediaries between the king and the gods below this was a whole range of priestly roles including astronomers and scribes all the way down to lowly quili priests who were in charge of small areas within an aztec city in theory any person from any level of aztec society could become a priest or priestess but in practice senior positions in the priesthood always went to those who came from the pipiltin or tethyuchtin the ruler of all aztecs became known as hue klattuani great speaker this position was usually though not always hereditary when the hue clattoni died a council of the highest ranked nobles chose his successor this was usually a son of the dead emperor but it could be a brother or another family member if the council of nobles felt this person would make a better leader each aztec city-state had its own trethwani who was responsible for that city and answered to the huey clatawani during the reign of the tsupanic leader to zazumak there had been generally friendly relations between the city-states of atska putsalco and the aztec city of tenochtitlan aztec mercenaries served in the czepanek army and helped to subdue the rival city of kolhuaquan when tazhazamak died he left the throne to his son tayatsin tayatsin's younger half brother machtcla did not accept this and seized power for himself claiming that he was the new king of atsuka putsalco the klatloani of tinachtitlan at this time was chimal papoka and this ruler initially tried to continue the good relations which had previously existed between the two cities however lacked the diplomatic abilities of his father and he quickly managed to offend not just but also other tepenak leaders in the region part of the issue was that chimal papoka and the aztecs had supported tayatsin who they believed to be mark's rightful heir when muchdler usurped his half-brother and then had him killed this angered the aztecs and left much less suspicious about people who from his perspective had supported his rival when soon afterward an assassin was able to gain access to the palace of chimal papoka and to kill both the tratawani and his only son the aztecs was certain who was to blame but they were not yet strong enough to challenge the power of atska potsalco the aztec council of elders selected a new klatowani it's kawate the new aztec ruler proved to be adapted diplomacy as well as war although the aztecs were cut off from their trade routes by troops loyal to matsutla it's kawate was able to make contact with neza hual koyate the ruler of the city-state of techcoco on the eastern shore of lake techoco who was also his nephew tachkoko was a city of nahate speaking people and they and their leader had little reason to love the tapanaks or matchtla nezahual coyote's father had been killed by the tepanax and he had been forced to live for many years in exile before returning to rule tachikoko the alliance between tinach titlan and tejkoko was quickly joined by another city-state in the region clacopan was a tepenek city on the western shore of lake techcoco but its leaders were weary of being under the control of atsuka putsalco and joined the other two city-states in the hope of defeating atskapotsalco this triple alliance of tinochtitlan coco and placopan became the nucleus from which the mighty aztec empire would emerge in 1428 a force comprising military units from all three members of the new alliance advanced on adska putsalco they met the forces of matchtla in battle and achieved a stunning victory part of the reason was that the aztecs employed new tactics most warfare at the time used subterfuge to draw enemy forces into a position where they were surrounded and combat itself was generally intended not to kill opponents but to wound them prisoners who could be used as sacrifices were more valuable than dead enemy soldiers in this battle however the aztecs stunned their opponents by screaming and then launching a head-on attack on the tepan x unnerved the tepanek army broke and was routed the aztecs were able to pursue the fleeing enemy into the city of atska putsalco where the survivors were killed or captured king matchdlor was found hiding in one of the royal steam baths he was taken to nasa while koyate who lost no time in having the ruler killed in revenge for the death of his father aztec warriors roamed throughout the streets of atska putsalco killing anyone who offered resistance and capturing the remainder for use as slaves anything of value was removed and then the city itself was burned until it was little more than a pile of rubble the center of what had been the most powerful city in mesoamerica was abandoned for some time until it later became a slave market the triple alliance of tinachtitlan techoco and klakopan divided up not just the spoils from the sack of atska putsalco but also the territory and tribute formally controlled by that city as the senior partners in the alliance tech cocoa and tenochtitlan both took two-fifths of the spoils of war while tlaquepan the lesser partner took just one-fifth the defeat of the city of atskapotsalco by the triple alliance marked a seismic change in the power balance in mesoamerica where previously the tepanax had ruled the valley of mexico now the aztec alliance was the most powerful force in the region though it was not without rivals who sought to limit its power and reach the aztecs conquered much of present-day central america and southern mexico by using military force armies were an essential part of the rise of the aztec empire and warriors were an important and respected part of aztec society although the city of atska potsalco was defeated and sacked by the combined military forces of the triple alliance that was not the end of taponic power in the valley of mexico the city-state of koyakan was an important tepenek stronghold on the southern side of lake tech cocoa which continued to hold out against the triple alliance after the fall of atsuka putsalco initially the city of tenochtitlan sent ambassadors to koyakan to encourage the city to join the new alliance perhaps not realizing just how fundamentally the balance of power in the region had shifted the rulers of koyakan insulted these ambassadors in the aztecs by forcing the group to dress in women's clothes for their return to tinachtitlan it's kawate the ruler of tinach titlan reacted swiftly to this grievous insult he declared war on koyakan and the city was quickly surrounded by aztec warriors they cut off the water supply to the city and started fires that blew dense choking smoke into its center the army of koyakan was forced to emerge and take on the aztecs in open battle they were quickly defeated and the city sacked other city-states in the area drew the appropriate conclusions from the instant subjugation of koya khan and within a very short period almost the whole of the valley of mexico was under the control of the triple alliance within tinach titan its kawate began a series of expansions and improvements that would see the city dramatically increase in size new roads were built in the surrounding area another causeway was created to link the island city with the mainland and new and even more magnificent temples were created to honor quetzal of pogre and playlock farming land in the area close to the city was expanded and improved with new irrigation systems to provide food for the city's growing population the three leaders of the triple alliance also attempted to introduce a unified and codified set of laws that were intended to apply to all areas controlled by the alliance the theory was that a simple easily understood set of laws which applied to all people would help to unify the alliance as well as ensuring the uniform application of justice the punishment for most major crimes was simple death by stoning or strangulation penalties for making false accusations were also severe in order to reduce the chance of people using the justice system as a way of getting even with their enemies when it's kawate died in 1440 the council of elders of the city of tenochtitlan chose his half-nephew moktu zuma a general in the aztec army to be his successor as the new ruler of the city makhta zuma was crowned king of tenochtitlan in a lavish ceremony which involved the sacrifice of large numbers of prisoners taken during the aztecs successful campaigns the crown of tenochtitlan was placed upon his head by the king of techkoco reinforcing the ties between the members of the triple alliance during the reign of mahdi zuma the dominance of tinach titlan within the alliance became even more pronounced the city-state of klakopan was given control over and collected tribute from seven city-states on the western side of lake tech cocoa tachoco took control over nine city-states on the lakes north eastern side while all the other conquered cities were controlled by and paid tribute to tinochtitlan within a relatively short time makdizuma was not just the ruler of tenochtitlan but also effectively the leader of the aztec empire as the city continued to grow in size moktu zuma oversaw a massive engineering project involving the building of an extensive double aqueduct intended to bring fresh water to the people of the city the water in lake tech cocoa was brackish and not drinkable moctezuma was also forced to respond to a series of natural disasters which afflicted the city over which he ruled in 1446 a huge swarm of locusts descended on the city and its surrounding farmland devouring everything and leading to a period of famine and starvation in 1449 continuous and heavy rain caused the lake to rise flooding the city damaging many buildings and making many people homeless in the following year heavy frosts were followed by drought which destroyed the city's crops leading to yet more famine this continued the following year and some aztec families were forced to sell their children into slavery to avoid starvation the priests of tenochtitlan suggested to the king that these natural disasters were caused by the displeasure of the gods which could only be assuaged by increasing numbers of human sacrifices in aztec temples in response makhta zuma persuaded the other members of the alliance to support a war against the city-states of huehutsingo clutchkala and cholula in the clutchkala pueblan valley of central mexico the series of conflicts which followed intermittently for the next 70 years became known as the flower wars the conflicts were allegedly given this name because the bound captives taken in battle resplendent in feather headdresses looked like exotic flowers the flower wars were very different from most of the military campaigns undertaken by the aztecs these were not wars of conquests and there was no intention to occupy or sack the cities of the enemy these were wars specifically undertaken to provide prisoners who could be used for sacrifices which would placate the gods of tenochtitlan to some extent the city-states being attacked especially takala seemed to have gone along with this and battles took place at pre-arranged locations on agreed dates and with a great deal of preliminary ritual armies on both sides were smaller than usual and featured a higher proportion of men of noble birth the preliminary bombardment with projectile weapons was often not used and both sides went directly to hand-to-hand combat in general the aztecs treated their captives taken during the various flower wars well until they were ritually sacrificed however not all the wars fought by the growing triple alliance were like the flower wars during the reign of moctezuma the area directly controlled by the aztecs expanded through a series of conquests first to the east toward the gulf of mexico and then south toward the fertile oaxaca valley some conquests were entirely pragmatic when moktu zuma decided to have the great temple in tinachtitlan rebuilt on an even larger scale he faced a shortage of stone for building his solution was very simple the city-state of chalco was one of the main sources of stone in the valley of mexico so moctezuma sent his troops to conquer the city this provided the double advantage of providing stone to allow the new great temple to be completed and to provide sacrificial victims who could be killed there to appease the gods when makti zuma died in 1469 he was succeeded by his young son archer yakate many of the regions conquered by his father took the opportunity of a change of aztec king to rebel and the early part of archer yakate's reign was spent suppressing these rebellions this was successful and before long the new aztec ruler was looking for areas where he could expand the empire one of the targets selected was the taraskins a people who lived to the west of aztec lands close to lake patzcuaro however these people proved to be as adept at war as the aztecs and they inflicted a bloody defeat on the troops of the triple alliance despite this defeat archer yakate remained the aztec king until his death in 1481 when he was replaced by his brother titsak unfortunately titzak proved to be even less able as a military leader and after a reign that lasted just five years he died of a mysterious illness which led to rumors that he had been poisoned titshok was followed as king by his brother ahitsote in 1486. ahitsote proved to be a much more capable king and after suppressing several minor rebellions he led the aztecs against the zapotecs in oaxaca and into the regions of acapulco on the pacific coast and sokonusko under the leadership of ahitsote the land controlled by the triple alliance had reached its greatest extent by around 1495 but the nature of the alliance was changing the city of tenochtitlan and the mexica people gradually became the dominant partner in the alliance king ahitsaute became the first ruler of tinarchtitlan to use the title hui klattowani implying that he was senior to the kings of techkoco and tlaquepan by the time that ahitsote died in 1502 and was replaced by his nephew moktuzuma ii the new ruler inherited effective control of an empire that was the most powerful in mesoamerica stretching from the gulf of mexico to the pacific ocean and including over five million people however within its success were the very issues that threatened the aztec empire the main problem was its sheer size maintaining control over such a large empire required the presence of large numbers of troops in occupied areas maintaining a large standing army is extremely expensive and this could only be sustained while tribute and spoils from newly conquered areas continued to arrive while it had new lands to conquer the aztec empire could support the military force it needed to maintain the empire however if it ran out of new lands or even worse if it found itself facing a determined and capable enemy it might prove to be more fragile than it may have looked while the aztec empire expanded their main city of tenochtitlan grew until it became not just the largest city in mesoamerica but one of the largest cities in the world tenochtitlan was built on an island on lake tech cocoa linked to the mainland by several causeways this made it relatively easy to defend and it allowed simple expansion when the aztecs ran out of building land they would drive wooden stakes into the bed of the relatively shallow lake and lash these together with reeds to create a solid framework they would then use teams of laborers to carry loads of rocks and rubble from the shore which would be dumped into the frameworks to create a solid base for new buildings in this way the original small islands on which the city of tinachtitlan was built gradually increased in size until by the time of the rule of makti zuma ii the city covered an area of more than 13 square kilometers and had a population of more than a quarter of a million people though some modern estimates suggest that the city may have had a population as large as 350 000 this counts only the people living within the city limits if the mexica who live nearby in farms on the shores of lake chechcoco are included the population of the city and its immediate surroundings may have exceeded seven hundred thousand by comparison london the capital of great britain had a population of around fifty thousand at that time and only paris and constantinople might have come close to the size and population of tinachtitlan the city was crisscrossed with a network of canals which brought produce to its bustling marketplaces and which were used by the occupants of the city as travel routes no carts or other wheeled vehicles were permitted within the city canoes and small barges were the main means of transport on the canals and the three causeways which linked the island to the mainland incorporated raised sections so that these boats could pass beneath the causeways could also be temporarily removed if the city was threatened the city was divided into four zones and each zone was further subdivided into 20 districts each district was overseen by a calpuli each district had its own market but the city also had a main marketplace where up to 20 000 people would gather on normal days and anything up to 40 000 people on important feast days the houses of the poorest people were built of adobe a mix of reeds and mud and roofed with a thatch made from reeds wealthier families had larger houses made from adobe bricks and often incorporating a central courtyard merchants and traders had even larger houses made from stone with complexes of rooms gathered around a central courtyard many districts of the city included squares which provided public baths and toilets the waste from public toilets was collected and used in the farms on the mainland and on chinampas small artificial islands built on lake chechcoco the city was well lit compared to many other cities of that period with torches being permanently illuminated on temples and in public squares the center of the city was dominated by palace complexes of the king and nobles and by ceremonial buildings the grand temple was enclosed within a wall over 500 meters to a side and dominated by the stepped pyramid dedicated to itself and clay lock this temple complex also incorporated a ceremonial ball game complex and a temple to the god quetzalcoate the feathered serpent when the rebuilt temple was consecrated in 1497 several thousand prisoners were sacrificed on the steps of the pyramid in a ceremony which lasted a number of days the palace of makti zuma the second was vast and very elaborate it contained amongst many other things two zoos a botanical garden and an aquarium over 300 servants and slaves were used just to look after the animals in the zoos by the early 1500s the city of tenochtitlan was one of the largest most complex and most sophisticated in the world to the people who lived and worked there it must have seemed that the city of the aztec empire would last forever yet even as it reached its peak new invaders were coming who would challenge the aztecs and completely destroy the city religion permeated every aspect of aztec life and culture no decision would be taken without first considering its religious implications and taking advice from a priest no child would be given a name until the divina had been consulted to assess what the child's path through life was likely to be and what name would suit that best this applied to every level of aztec society from the king and the royal family to the lowest surf every aztec believed that the gods influenced day-to-day life and that they must be constantly placated to keep the natural world in balance the pantheon of gods worshipped by the aztecs was extensive over one thousand aztec gods have been identified and many were borrowed from earlier cultures the principal aztec gods included quetzal the god of war sun and human sacrifice was also revered as the founder and patron deity of tinoctitlan often referred to in aztec writing as the left-handed hummingbird god clay lock the guard of rain and storms quetzalcoate the feathered serpent god of the morning star wind and life also a maya deity chipetotec the flayed god of fertility originally a yopi deity michikawate the cloud serpent god of hunting and the stars originally a toltec deity the aztec creation myth noted that it took the gods five attempts to create the world and all the living things in it in order to create the sun and to keep it moving across the sky the gods were forced to sacrifice themselves they did this but in order to ensure that the sun kept moving more sacrifices were needed although human sacrifice had been a part of mesoamerican religions which came before the aztecs the aztecs took this to new levels they believed that there was a constant state of warfare in the sky between the forces of light and darkness the principal warrior fighting on behalf of light was with the god of the sun but he could only be kept strong by sacrifices carried out on the steps of the great temple in tinochtitlan this location was considered both the center of the world and the place where heaven earth and the underworld coincided during the consecration of this temple in 1487 around 20 000 people were sacrificed in a single ceremony though some scholars put this figure as high as eighty thousand even when there were no special ceremonies such as this the practice of human sacrifice remained a significant part of aztec religion it is thought that anything up to 250 000 people may have been sacrificed each year in aztec temples though some historians suggest that this number was actually much lower with perhaps no more than twenty thousand people sacrificed per year whichever figure is accepted aztec religion clearly needed a great many sacrificial victims for its ceremonies which makes the wars fought by the aztecs to acquire prisoners for sacrifice understandable the aztecs believed that a person sacrificed on the steps of their temple would become part of an army fighting on behalf of whitslow poachedly against the forces of darkness which was why the bravest enemy warriors were thought to make the best sacrificial victims in contrast aztecs who died naturally were believed to have to make a long journey through the nine levels of the underworld which was located beneath the earth aztec priests were also astronomers and the priesthood became the keepers of the two calendars the aztecs used one calendar was based on a 365 day year broken up into 18 months this calendar was used to predict times for planting and harvesting crops the second calendar tonal was a 260 day religious calendar which marked important religious festivals this calendar would simply be repeated on a 260 day cycle these two calendars would coincide every 52 years and this also became an important cycle in aztec religious belief it was believed that the gods might decide to destroy and remake the world at the end of the 52-year cycle one word associated with aztec religion which puzzles historians is tiote initially it was assumed that this word meant god but more recently it has been considered that this had a wider meaning perhaps being used to mean supernatural or mysterious this is significant because when the aztecs encountered europeans for the first time they referred to them as tiote hernan cortes was born to a middle class family in the spanish city of medellin like many ambitious spanish he was attracted by the stories filtering back to spain of riches being discovered in the caribbean following the discovery of the new world cortes traveled to the island of hispaniola in 1504 and by 1515 he was established as the secretary to diego velazquez the spanish governor of cuba in late 1518 cortes was entrusted with leading an expedition to the mainland of modern day mexico velazquez wanted his subordinate to undertake a voyage of exploration to make later larger expeditions possible the ruthless and ambitious cortez had other ideas he intended to make this an expedition of conquest and to make himself as wealthy as possible in the process in early 1519 cortes left cuba with 11 ships containing around 100 sailors and 500 soldiers when cortes arrived on the coast of the yucatan peninsula his tiny force could not have seemed much of a threat to the aztecs by that time tinachtlan ruled over more than 400 city-states with a total population of around 5 million the aztec army was the largest most powerful and most successful military force in the region when moktu zuma ii heard about the spanish it seems that his main feeling was curiosity when cortes took over the town of veracruz in the yucatan the aztec king sent unboys and gifts hoping that he could appease the spanish leader instead the gifts simply inflamed cortez's desire for gold and he decided to launch a major campaign against the aztecs just to make sure his men understood that he would not countenance a retreat to cuba cortes had all their ships burned the small spanish force must conquer or perish one thing that cortes quickly noted was that there was little love for the aztecs among those they had conquered some of the indigenous people in the area including the tottenham people from the city of chem poala saw the arrival of the spanish as a means to escape from aztec oppression they joined with cortes and his men as they marched inland the first battle took place at the city of cholula a loyal ally of the aztecs who tried to block the advance of cortez's small army instead the spanish defeated the army of cholula killing around six thousand of its men and sacking the city for two days moctezuma seemed transfixed by fear of the spanish force which consisted of only a few hundred men supported by no more than one thousand allied indigenous warriors in february 1519 the spanish entered the city of tenochtitlan and the aztecs made no attempt to stop them at first maktizuma ii welcomed cortes as an honored guest however once he had established control over a part of the center of the city cortes had the aztec king imprisoned as a hostage in early 1520 cortes found himself under threat but not from the aztecs diego velazquez the spanish governor who had sent cortez to mexico had become so enraged by what his subordinate was doing that he sent a second expedition whose task was to find defeat and arrest the leader of the first cortes was forced to take a large part of his army and march back to the yucatan to meet this threat he left his second in command pedro de alvarado in charge of the city of tenochtitlan with around 80 spanish troops understandably nervous about being left with such a small force in a city of a quarter of a million potentially hostile inhabitants alvarado panicked and massacred large numbers of aztec nobles enraging the population of the city on june 24 1520 cortes returned to tenochtitlan having defeated the forces sent by diego velasquez by this time it was clear that the city was on the point of revolt against the spanish cortes forced moktezuma ii to address hostile crowds in the city hoping to placate them instead they pelted their king with stones the aztec nobles decided to replace moctezuma ii as king and elected his younger brother quit la huac as the new leader of the aztec people a few days later it was announced that makta zuma ii was dead though there is some doubt as to whether he died as a result of attacks by his own people or was killed by the spanish as soon as it became obvious that he was no longer of use to them on the night of june thirtieth fifteen twenty the spanish fled the city of tenochtitlan under cover of darkness many died in what became known as the knight of sorrows there is little doubt that the aztecs could have destroyed cortez's depleted force if they had followed and attacked vigorously however the city and the aztec army had been ravaged by an epidemic of small parks brought by the spanish and cortez was allowed to escape and regroup in the summer of 1521 he returned to assault tinoctitlan with a larger force of around one thousand spanish troops supported by around fifty thousand warriors from indigenous peoples who had decided to ally themselves with the spanish against the aztecs the siege of tenochtitlan lasted until august 13th when the city finally fell it was completely destroyed not a single stone remained left to burn and destroy wrote one spanish eyewitness the complete superiority of modern european weapons and armor compared to the basically stone age equipment used by the aztecs was illustrated in the casualty figures during the siege and the final assault on the city only a few hundred spanish soldiers died in the same period around one hundred thousand aztecs are thought to have been killed almost as soon as the city was under his control cortes ordered the execution of the current aztec king quoitamok with his death the aztec empire effectively came to an end in less than two years the mighty aztec empire had been utterly destroyed cortes founded what would become mexico city on the rubble of tenochtitlan this would become the center of the spanish occupation of the americas which was known as new spain and surviving aztec people were banned from living in the rebuilt city the aztecs fared badly under the spanish occupation the aztec education system was completely abolished and replaced with a system of catholic schools though in fact very few aztecs received any form of education at all in the 16th century as many as a quarter of a million spanish settlers arrived in the new world followed by another half million in the 17th century many of these were single men who took local wives or mistresses and created a large population of mestizos mixed race people who by the 18th century had become the majority of the population in this area the aztec language nahate also known as mexicano is still spoken by more than 1.5 million najwa people in present-day mexico and el salvador these people are the direct descendants of the aztecs and they maintain elements of aztec religion combined with teachings from the catholic church the main legacy left by the aztecs are the many archaeological sites in present-day mexico where temples and other buildings created by the aztecs survive today mexico city itself is built on top of the remains of tenochtitlan and what is left of the grand temple can still be seen in the center of the city next to the cathedral built by the spanish invaders there are many other aztec sites still in existence throughout mexico not far from mexico city is which was one of the city-states controlled by the aztecs during the time of the triple alliance at that time the city was located on the northwest shore of lake tech cocoa and it became an important aztec religious center many of the aztec buildings on this site were dismantled by the spanish to provide stone for building but one stepped pyramid survives another aztec site is located in tenneyuka this city was located around 10 miles northwest of tinochtitlan on the western arm of lake techoco around 1434 this city was conquered by the triple alliance and its ruins include elaborate temples to playlock and whitslow poachedly one interesting aztec archaeological site is located in the state of morelos in mexico el tepotes techo is a small temple and pyramid dedicated to the aztec god tepotez tekate a deity associated with pulque an alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant which is still consumed in some parts of central america and mexico even the flag of present-day mexico includes a reminder of the aztecs the central image on the flag is of an eagle holding a snake while perched on a cactus
