Aztecs

Setting the Stage

Although Europeans were unknowingly
headed on a crash course with an unknown
world, other high cultures were evolving in
Central Mexico.
These people were the Aztecs!
The most powerful empire in Mesoamerica!
The Aztec Origins
The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico
around 1200 CE.
They referred to themselves as the Mexica.
They were fierce and ambitious people who
often fought in return of money from local
rulers.
The Aztecs
They claimed to have lived in the area first.
They were actually nomads from the North.
They wrote history to suit their purposes.
Lake Texcoco
In 1325, the Aztecs settled down at Lake
Texcoco and they founded their own city,
Tenochtitlan.
Aztecs
As time went on, the Aztec influence and
power grew.
The Aztecs had a reputation as strong
warriors and religious fanatics!
The Aztecs were experts at military
conquest.
Aztecs grow stronger
The Aztecs let local rulers govern their own
regions for a small price.
The Aztecs did demand tribute in the form of
gold, maize, cacao beans, cotton, jade, and
other products.
If local rulers resisted the Aztecs responded
brutally.
Sacrifices for the Sun God
The most important rituals involved the sun
god.
In dedication to the sun god and as a way to
please him, the Aztecs sacrificed thousands of
people every year.
Typically prisoners of war.
Religion: Bloodletting Rituals
Shedding of human
blood makes gods send
rain
Bloodletting involved
both war captives and
Aztec royals
Very brutal process
The Great Temple
Religion played a great role in the Aztec
society.
The Aztecs had approximately 1,000 gods.
Aztec beliefs centered on huge ceremonies
that communicated with the gods to win their
favor.
The Sun God and Sacrifice
52 year cycle of the world
required blood to escape
destruction
A certain amount of people had
to be sacrificed in this 52 year
cycle or the world may end!
sacrifice for sacrifice
The gods need nourishment
Those crazy Aztecs
This pushed the Aztec military to carry out new
conquests.
In fact, the Aztecs often went to war not to
conquer new lands, but simply to capture
prisoners to sacrifice.
This made the Aztecs be seen as terrorist.
Effects of Human Sacrifice
Surrounding areas began to rise against the
Aztecs.
This began a period of unrest and rebellion,
which the military struggled to put down.
The most worrying event was the arrival of
the Spanish in 1519.
For many Aztecs, these strangers from
across the sea brought to mind the legend of
Quetzalcoatl.
The Fall of the Aztecs
20 million people would be killed or sent into
slavery.
This was thanks to the appearance of the
Spanish
Disease and European military technology
led to the fall of the great Aztecs.