The Aztecs, who probably originated as a nomadic Native American tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica (as the south-central region of pre-Columbian Mexico is known) around the beginning of the 13C. From their capital city, Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs emerged as the dominant force in central Mexico, developing an intricate social, political, religious & commercial culture that brought many of the region’s city-states under their control by the 15C. Invaders led by the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes overthrew the Aztecs by force & captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, bringing an end to Mesoamerica’s last great Native American civilization.
The exact origins of the Aztec people are uncertain, but they are believed to have begun as a northern tribe of hunter-gatherers whose name came from that of their homeland, Aztlan (or “White Land”). The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca (from which the name for their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was derived) or the Mexica (the origin of the name of the city that would replace Tenochtitlan, as well as the name for the entire country). The Aztecs appeared in Mesoamericain the early 13C. Their arrival came just after, or perhaps helped bring about, the fall of the previously dominant Mesoamerican civilization, the Toltecs.
Tradition relates that when the Aztecs saw an eagle perched on a cactus on the marshy land near the southwest border of Lake Texcoco, they took it as a sign to build their settlement there. They drained the swampy land, constructed artificial islands on which they could plant gardens & established the foundations of their capital city, Tenochtitlán, in 1325 A.D.
Typical Aztec crops included maize (corn), along with beans, squashes, potatoes, tomatoes & avocadoes; they also supported themselves through fishing & hunting local animals such as rabbits, armadillos, snakes, coyotes & wild turkey. Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture (including intensive cultivation of land & irrigation methods) & a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful empire.
In 1428, under their leader Itzcoatl, the Aztecs formed a 3-way alliance with the Texcocans & the Tacubans to defeat their most powerful rivals for influence in the region, the Tepanec, & conquer their capital of Azcapotzalco. Itzcoatl’s successor Montezuma (Moctezuma) I, who took power in 1440, was a great warrior who was remembered as the father of the Aztec empire. By the early 16C, the Aztecs had come to rule over up to 500 small states, & some 5 to 6 million people, either by conquest or commerce. Tenochtitlán at its height had more than 140,000 inhabitants.
Bustling markets such as Tenochtitlan’s Tlatelolco, said to be visited by some 50,000 people on market days, drove the Aztec economy. The Aztec civilization was also highly developed socially, intellectually & artistically. It was a highly structured society with a strict caste system; at the top were nobles, while at the bottom were serfs, indentured servants & slaves.
The Aztec faith shared many aspects with other Mesoamerican religions, like that of the Maya, notably including the rite of human sacrifice.
In the great cities of the Aztec empire, magnificent temples, palaces, plazas & statues embodied the civilization’s unfailing devotion to the many Aztec gods, including Huitzilopochtli (god of war & of the sun) & Quetzalcoatl (“Feathered Serpent”), a Toltec god who served many important roles in the Aztec faith over the years.
The Aztec calendar, common in much of Mesoamerica, was based on a solar cycle of 365 days & a ritual cycle of 260 days; the calendar played a central role in the religion & rituals of Aztec society.
The 1st European to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba (c1475-1526), who arrived in Yucatan from Cuba with 3 ships & about 100 men in early 1517. Cordobars reports on his return to Cuba prompted the Spanish governor there, Diego Velasquez (1465-1524), to send a larger force back to Mexico under the command of Hernan Cortes.
The Spaniards then murdered thousands of Aztec nobles during a ritual dance ceremony, & Montezuma died while in custody. Cuauhtemoc, his young nephew, took over as emperor, & the Aztecs drove the Spaniards from the city. With the help of the Aztecs’ native rivals, Cortes mounted an offensive against Tenochtitlan, finally defeating Cuauhtemoc’s resistance on August 13, 1521. In all, some 240,000 people were believed to have died in the city’s conquest, which effectively ended the Aztec civilization. After his victory, Cortes razed Tenochtitla & built Mexico City on its ruins. See History.com
____________________________________________
The contemporary illustrations are from the Florentine Codex (c 1540 & 1585) which consists of 12 illuminated books of Aztec codices, created in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Colonial México) by Spanish missionary Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590). Bernardino de Sahagún was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest, & pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean to New Spain in 1529, & spent more than 50 years conducting interviews regarding Aztec beliefs, culture & history. Though he primarily dedicated himself to his religious missionary task, his extraordinary work documenting indigenous worldview & culture has earned him the title “the first anthropologist.” He also contributed to the description of the Aztec language Nahuatl, into which he translated the Psalms, the Gospels & a basic manual of religious education.
