Aztec (ăz`tĕk'), Indian people dominating central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. Their language belonged to the Nahuatlan subfamily of Uto-Aztecan languages. They arrived in the Valley of Mexico from the north toward the end of the 12th cent. and until the founding of their capital, Tenochtitlán Tenochtitlán , ancient city in the central valley of Mexico. The capital of the Aztec, it was founded (c.A.D. 1345) on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco.
..... Click the link for more information. (c.1325) were a poor, nomadic tribe absorbing the culture of nearby states. For the next century they maintained a precarious political autonomy while paying tribute to neighboring tribes, but by alliance, treachery, and conquest during the 15th and early 16th cent. they became a powerful political and cultural group. To the north they established hegemony over the Huastec Huastec , indigenous people of the Pánuco River basin, E Mexico. They speak a Mayan language but are isolated from the rest of the Mayan stock, from whom they may have been separated prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
..... Click the link for more information. , to the south over the Mixtec Mixtec , Native American people of Oaxaca, Puebla, and part of Guerrero, SW Mexico, one of the most important groups in Mexico. Although the Mixtec codices constitute the largest collection of pre-Columbian manuscripts in existence, their origin is obscure.
..... Click the link for more information. and Zapotec Zapotec , indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Little is known of the origin of the Zapotec. Unlike most native peoples of Middle America, they had no traditions or legends of migration, but believed themselves to have
..... Click the link for more information. and even ventured as far as Guatemala. Their subjugation of the people of Tlaxcala in the mountains to the east was bloody but only intermittent, and the Tlaxcala people later became allies of the Spanish against the Aztec. Only in the west, where the Tarascan Tarascan , Native Americans of the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Their language has no known relation to other languages, and their history prior to the 16th cent. is poorly understood.
..... Click the link for more information. Indians severely defeated them, did the Aztec completely fail to conquer.

The Aztec Civilization

By absorption of other cultural elements and by conquest the Aztec achieved a composite civilization, based on the heritage of Toltec Toltec , ancient civilization of Mexico. The name in Nahuatl means "master builders." The Toltec formed a warrior aristocracy that gained ascendancy in the Valley of Mexico c.A.D. 900 after the fall of Teotihuacán.
..... Click the link for more information. and Mixteca-Puebla. They attained a high degree of development in engineering, architecture, art, mathematics, and astronomy. The Aztec calendar utilized a 260-day year and a 52-year time cycle. Aztec skill in engineering was evident in the fortifications of their island capital. The Aztec further developed sculpture, weaving, metalwork, ornamentation, music, and picture writing for historical records. Agriculture was well advanced and trade flourished.

The political and social organization was based on three castes—nobility, priesthood, and military and merchants. The priesthood was a powerful political as well as religious force. Aztec government was relatively centralized, although many conquered chiefs retained political autonomy; they paid tribute and kept commerce open to the Aztec. The Aztec had a large and efficient army. Prisoners of war were used for human sacrifice to satisfy the many gods of the Aztec pantheon, notably Huitzilopochtli Huitzilopochtli , chief deity of the Aztec, god of war. He is said to have guided the Aztecs during their migration from Aztlán. Usually represented in sculptured images as hideous, he was the object of human sacrifice, particularly of war prisoners.
..... Click the link for more information. , the chief god, who was god of war.

Spanish Conquest

When the Spaniards, under Hernán Cortés Cortés, Hernán, or Hernando Cortez , 1485–1547, Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Mexico. Expedition to Mexico

..... Click the link for more information. , arrived in 1519, the Aztec civilization was at its height. However, many subject Indian groups, rebellious against Aztec rule, were only too willing to join the Spanish. Initially, the invaders were aided by the fact that the Aztec believed them to be descendants of the god Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl [Nahuatl,=feathered serpent], ancient deity and legendary ruler of the Toltec in Mexico. The name is also that of a Toltec ruler, who is credited with the discovery of corn, the arts, science, and the calendar.
..... Click the link for more information. . Montezuma Montezuma or Moctezuma , 1480?–1520, Aztec emperor (c.1502–1520). He is sometimes called Montezuma II to distinguish him from Montezuma I (ruled 1440–69), who carried on conquests around Tenochtitlán.
..... Click the link for more information. , the last of the independent Aztec rulers, received Cortés, who made him prisoner and attempted to rule through him. The Aztec revolted, Montezuma was killed, and Tenochtitlán was razed (1521). Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc , d. 1525, Aztec emperor. Succeeding the brother of Montezuma II in 1520, Cuauhtémoc failed to unite the native city-states of the Valley of Mexico against the Spanish after the expulsion of Hernán Cortés from
..... Click the link for more information. , last of the emperors, was murdered (1525), and the Spanish proceeded to subjugate Mexico.

Bibliography

See B. Diaz del Castillo, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico (tr. by A. P. Maudsley, 1928, repr. 1965); A. Caso, The Aztecs, People of the Sun (tr. 1958, repr. 1967); L. Sejourné, Burning Water: Thought and Religion in Ancient Mexico (1961); J. Soustelle, The Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest (tr. 1961, repr. 1970); G. C. Vaillant, The Aztecs of Mexico (rev. ed. 1962); B. C. Brundage, A Rain of Darts: The Mexican Aztecs (1973); G. W. Conrad and A. A. Demarest, Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansionism (1984); R. Hassig, Trade, Tribute, and Transportation (1985) and Aztec Warefare (1988).

Aztec

Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. They may have originated on the northern Mexican plateau before migrating to their later location. Their migration may have been linked to the collapse of the Toltec civilization. The Aztec empire, which at its height comprised roughly five to six million people spread over some 80,000 sq mi (200,000 sq km), was made possible by their successful agricultural methods, including intensive cultivation, irrigation, and reclamation of wetlands. The Aztec state was despotic, militaristic, and sharply stratified according to class and caste. Aztec religion was syncretic, drawing especially on the beliefs of the Maya. The Aztec practiced human sacrifice, an activity that sometimes reached mass proportions. The empire came to an end when the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés took the emperor Montezuma II prisoner and conquered the great city Tenochtitlán (modern Mexico City). See also Nahua.

Aztec

1. a member of a Mexican Indian people who established a great empire, centred on the valley of Mexico, that was overthrown by Cortés and his followers in the early 16th century

2. the language of the Aztecs
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No references found			The last ruler of the legendary Aztec Empire is being thrust into the spotlight at the British Museum, in a spectacular show about the ruler vanquished by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. Last Aztec emperor in spotlight at British Museum by AFP / AFP European Edition The last ruler of the legendary Aztec Empire is being thrust into the spotlight at the British Museum, in a spectacular show about the ruler vanquished by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century. Last Aztec emperor in spotlight at British Museum by AFP / AFP Global Edition Her city lay in the heart of the golden Aztec Empire and her ruler was Montezuma. Landman, Tanya: The Goldsmith's Daughter by Murray, Marilyn / Reading Time			azotea azotemia Azotobacter Azotobacteraceae azotometer azoturia Azov Azov Campaigns of 1695–96 Azov Cossack Host Azov Fleet Azov Flotilla Azov Upland Azov, Sea Azov, Sea of Azov, Siege of Azovskoe azoxy compound Azoxybenzene Azrael Azriel Azrikam AZT Aztalan State Park Aztec Aztec architecture Aztec Empire Aztec Language Aztec Rain Festival Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztecs Azubah Azuela, Mariano azulejo azulene azulite Azur azure B Azure-Winged Magpie Azurite azurmalachite Azusa azygos vein azygospore azygote b B and S gage b axis B battery B bit B blasting powder B box			AzSE AZSG AzSHP AZSHRM AZSOLEN AZSOS AZSRC AZSRP AZSSR AZSTA AZSZ AZT AZT AZT AZT AZTA Aztalan State Park Aztalan State Park, WI Aztalan State Park, Wisconsin Aztar Corporation AzTEA Aztec Aztec Aztec Aztec architecture Aztec Athletic Foundation Aztec Civilisation Aztec Civilisation Aztec civilization Aztec civilization Aztec Empire Aztec language Aztec language Aztec lily Aztec marigold Aztec Rain Festival Aztec red Aztec red Aztec red Aztec red Aztec Ruin National Monument Aztec Ruins Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztec Ruins National Monument Aztec Zombie Aztecan Aztecan Aztecan languages Aztecan languages Aztecoidan Aztecoidan languages Aztecs Aztecs AzTEDP Aztlan Aztlán AZTMP AZTN AZTREC aztreonam aztreonam

Aztec (redirected from Aztec Empire)

The Aztec Civilization

Spanish Conquest

Bibliography

Aztec

Aztec
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