Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Aztecs the Warrior Empire



The founding of the capital city of the Aztec's, Tenochtitlan, was based on a sign from the gods. Where an eagle was seen killing a rattlesnake on a cactus would be the site for the Aztecs to build their city.



The Aztec Empire was built by warfare. In Pre-Columbian times their army was never defeated. All warriors aspired to reach the special ranks of Eagle or Jaguar Warrior castes as they were the elites of the Aztec Army


The great temple of Tenochtitlan, dedicated to the gods Huitzilopochtli (war & sun god) and Tlaloc (rain god).

The Aztec was the largest empire in Central America, but not the only civilized culture with cities, armies and power. The Tlaxcala were especially strong foes the Aztecs were constantly fighting.












The Sun Calendar of the Aztecs was both a sacred calendar (Tonalpohualli) of 260 days and a yearly one (Xiuhpohualli) of 365 days. The lives of upwards of 25 million people of the Aztec Empire were ruled by the priest's interpretation of this calendar.



The pantheon of Aztec gods was very large (see links site). Every key aspect of life had a representative god. This is Tlaloc, "He Who Makes Things Sprout," the god of rain, lightning and thunder. All gods needed sacrifices, but only the most important needed human blood daily.














          Captain General Hernando Cortez, commander of the Spanish troops that landed in Mexico in 1519. An event that caused great upheaval and eventual destruction of the Aztec World.


La Malinche-Dona Marina, the native lover, advisor, and interpreter of Cortez. Her assistance was critical to the Spanish Conquest of Mexico.





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