Aztec History

A detailed Summary of Aztec History

Aztecs started out as a small group of barbarians that called themselves the Mexica. The Mexica was believed to first appear in the Valley of Mexico about A. D. 1200. Although, according to folk legend it is believed that the Aztec's original homeland was an island called Aztlan. The Aztecs migrated from their original home land sometime during the early twelfth century settling in the Valley of Mexico later in the twelfth century. Teotihuacan ame of the This is where the name Aztec originated from. During this migration they held an image of Huitzilopochtli, which is their patron deity. They arrived in the Valley of Mexico towards the end of the twelfth century. They believed that their homeland would be marked by an eagle alighted on a cactus with a snake in its beak. When they came upon an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, they supposedly they came across the eagle and the snake.# Since they lacked the sophistication of their neighboring communities, they had to seek alliances with the stronger city-states. The Aztecs were great worriers. In the early fifteenth century the Aztecs had become the leading city-state. They established their capital at Tenochtitlan. Their capital was on an island in the middle of Lake

The Aztec society was not one of the better societies in the area. They were able to set up their own government, social classes, form of writing and they also had gender roles within their society. Since the Aztec state was authoritarian by nature, its power was given to the Monarch which its authority had both a divine and secular type characteristics#. Any ruler for the Aztec land's had to be a descendent of the gods and would have to serve as an intermediary between the material and the metaphysical worlds#. The ruler would be advised by a small council of lords, which was headed by a prime minister. The chief executive of the government and the bureaucracy was another job of the prime minister. In return for paying tribute, the rulers of territories subject to the Aztecs had a large amount of sovereignty. The tax collectors would collect the tribute and they would use the treat of military forces if there was a problem with a collection. Government positions were considered to be a privilege to hold and could only be held by the hereditary nobility.

From 1440-1469 Moctezuma I was the Aztec's ruler. He built many things including botanical and zoological gardens. During his reign there was a severe drought that caused a famine throughout the empire#. Some Aztec people had to sell themselves into slavery, which was one of the only ways out of debt. Because of these hard times the act of sacrifice increased dramatically. Axayacatl ruled from 1469-1481, and was Moctezuma's grandson#. He spent most of his time regaining the control of the lost territories in the area. Tizoc was the ruler to follow to follow. He ruled from 1481-1486 and was another on of Moctezuma's grandson#. The next ruler was Ahuizotl. He ruled from 1486-1502#. The last ruler was Moctezuma II, who ruled from 1502-1520#. He was Axayacatl son and the great grandson of Moctezuma I. He was a great emporer that was very capable of ruling an empire but at the same time he was very demanding about the way things should be ran and who should run them. He was very superstitious and believed in the legend of Quetzalcoatl. Add in the legend of Quetzalcoatl here.

From 1440-1469 Moctezuma I was the Aztec's ruler. He built many things including botanical and zoological gardens. During his reign there was a severe drought that caused a famine throughout the empire#. Some Aztec people had to sell themselves into slavery, which was one of the only ways out of debt. Because of these hard times the act of sacrifice increased dramatically. Axayacatl ruled from 1469-1481, and was Moctezuma's grandson#. He spent most of his time regaining the control of the lost territories in the area. Tizoc was the ruler to follow to follow. He ruled from 1481-1486 and was another on of Moctezuma's grandson#. The next ruler was Ahuizotl. He ruled from 1486-1502#. The last ruler was Moctezuma II, who ruled from 1502-1520#. He was Axayacatl son and the great grandson of Moctezuma I. He was a great emporer that was very capable of ruling an empire but at the same time he was very demanding about the way things should be ran and who should run them. He was very superstitious and believed in the legend of Quetzalcoatl. Add in the legend of Quetzalcoatl here.

Within the Aztec empire there was social classes. Nobles only made up about ten percent of the entire Aztec population. Evan though there were not that many nobles or lords they were still in control of society. The regulations for the nobility were written out in the law. The laws included limited use or consumption of key goods#. "Macehualli" is a term that means "subject", this term was

Some common words found in the essay are:
Quetzalcoatl Aztec, Moctezuma Aztec's, Lake Texcoco, Valley Mexico, Moctezuma II, Teotihuacan Teotihuacan, Atlantic Pacific, Aztlan Aztecs, valley mexico, Quetzalcoatl Add, Pacific Ocean, twelfth century, island middle lake, social classes, moctezuma's grandson#, island middle, legend quetzalcoatl, middle lake, prime minister, lake texcoco, middle lake texcoco, advised council lords, chief executive, ruler advised council, council lords headed,

Approximate Word count = 2461
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History