Aztec Empire | Decline (2024)

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Aztec Empire | Decline? ›

Cortés's army besieged Tenochtitlán

Fearless warriors and pragmatic builders, the Aztecs created an empire during the 15th century that was surpassed in size in the Americas only by that of the Incas in Peru. The Aztecs are the most extensively documented of all Amerindian civilizations at the time of European contact in the 16th century.

The Aztecs (/ˈæztɛks/ AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521.

Smallpox spread among the indigenous people and crippled their ability to resist the Spanish. The disease devastated the Aztec people, greatly reducing their population and killing an estimated half of Tenochtitlán's inhabitants.

The Mayans lived in city-states, each with its own independent ruler. These city-states often engaged in warfare, alliances, and trade with each other. The Aztecs, on the other hand, had an empire ruled by a single Emperor, with Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) as the capital.

The Aztec civilization is known for being the last of the great Mesoamerican cultures before the Europeans arrived. They built impressive temple-pyramids, used sophisticated techniques of agriculture, their eagle warriors built a great empire, and they made human sacrifices to their gods.

Human sacrifice was intended to pay back the debt that was formed when the gods let blood from themselves to create the world. The Aztecs believed that if they didn't sustain the sun with blood, the world would come to an end. It was kind of like feeding the gods.

Realms of the Sacred in Daily Life: Early Written Records of Mesoamerica. The people whom we typically refer to as Aztecs called themselves Mexica or Culhua-Mexica. They were also known as the Tenochca, a name derived from the ancestor Tenoch.

Cortés's army besieged Tenochtitlán for 93 days, and a combination of superior weaponry and a devastating smallpox outbreak enabled the Spanish to conquer the city. Cortés's victory destroyed the Aztec empire, and the Spanish began to consolidate control over what became the colony of New Spain.

With the help of other local groups who no longer wanted to be ruled by the Aztec, the Spanish conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521, ending the Aztec Empire. However, many Aztec descendants still live in Mexico today.

Are there any Aztecs left? ›

Today the descendants of the Aztecs are referred to as the Nahua. More than one-and-a-half million Nahua live in small communities dotted across large areas of rural Mexico, earning a living as farmers and sometimes selling craft work. Most Nahua worship in the local church and take part in church festivities.

The Aztec religion is a polytheistic and monistic pantheism in which the Nahua concept of teotl was construed as the supreme god Ometeotl, as well as a diverse pantheon of lesser gods and manifestations of nature.

A: We don't have information from Aztec Ruins, but based on nearby excavations it appears most women were about 4' 8”, and most men were 5' 2.” Interestingly however, the height of people found at great houses similar to Aztec Ruins was about 2" taller on average, suggesting they had better access to nutritious high- ...

The Maya were relatively small people, as they still are today. It is believed that the average height for a male was five feet and two inches, whereas the average height for a female was four feet and ten inches.

Yes, the Aztecs were Native American. Native American refers to the indigenous peoples of North, Central and South America, who were the original human inhabitants. However, Aztecs and their descendants do not call themselves Native American. They prefer the term Mexica to describe their culture.

Why should the Aztecs be remembered? Although the Aztecs are known for their human sacrifice rituals, this civilization should be remembered for their innovative agricultural, political, military, and economical systems. They should be remembered for their contributions have helped influence modern technology.

Probably, young audiences will be pleased to know that the Aztecs can be considered inventors of pop-сorn and chewing gum. Roasted on the open fire, roasted maize grain served as staple food for Aztec warriors during campaigns, for they were nutritious, easy to transport and could be kept for long times.

There were two main objectives in Aztec warfare. The first objective was political: the subjugation of enemy city states (Altepetl) in order to exact tribute and expand Aztec political hegemony. The second objective was religious and socioeconomic: the taking of captives to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies.

Certainly, the Aztecs built some of the most magnificent pyramids from the 14th to the 16th century. These pyramids were religiously motivated and on top of them, they created their temples. To clarify, the temples were built to facilitate the Aztec religion.