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The Aztecs [a] (/ ˈ æ z t ɛ k s / AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
Aztec society was a highly complex and stratified society that developed among the Aztecs of central Mexico in the centuries prior to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and which was built on the cultural foundations of the larger region of Mesoamerica.
The Aztecs were conquered by Spain in 1521 after a long siege of the capital, Tenochtitlan, where much of the population died from hunger and smallpox. Cortés, with 508 Spaniards, did not fight alone but with as many as 150,000 or 200,000 allies from Tlaxcala , and eventually other Aztec tributary states.
From c. 1375 onwards, the rulers of Tenochtitlan were monarchs and used the title tlatoani. From 1427 to 1521, the tlatoque of Tenochtitlan were alongside those of the cities Tetzcoco and Tlacopan the leaders of the powerful Triple Alliance, commonly known as the Aztec Empire.
The other 80% of society were warriors, artisans and traders. [4] Slaves or tlacotin constituted an important class. Aztecs could become slaves because of debts, as a criminal punishment, or as war captives. [5] While some slaves were punished as criminals or prisoners of war, others sold themselves or their children into slavery due to ...
Tlacaelel recast or strengthened the concept of the Aztecs as a chosen people, elevated the tribal god/hero Huitzilopochtli to top of the pantheon of gods, [5] and increased militarism. [6] In tandem with this, Tlacaelel is said to have increased the level and prevalence of human sacrifice , particularly during a period of natural disasters ...
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca [a] [b] (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of what is now mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century.
Houses of cane and reeds were replaced with houses of stone. A great temple, or teocalli, was also constructed. It is said that during his reign, the first Aztec laws were made. In 1382, Acamapichtli was named tlatoani. He was crowned with even more pomp than before, at the altar of Huitzilopochtli. He ascended the steps accompanied by the ...