The+Aztec+Empire

toc The [|Aztec Empire] was a tribute empire, which extended its power throughout Mesoamerica in the late postclassic period. It originated in 1427 as a Triple Alliance between the city-states who allied to defeat the Tepanec state of A zcapotzalco, that had previously dominated the [|Basin of Mexico]. Soon Texcoco and Tlacopan became junior partners in the alliance. The empire extended its power by a combination of trade and military conquest. It was never a true territorial empire controlling a territory by large military garrisons in conquered provinces, but rather controlled its client states primarily by installing friendly rulers in conquered cities or constructing marriage alliances between the ruling dynasties, and by extending an imperial ideology to its client states. Client states paid tribute to the Aztec emperor, in an economic strategy limiting communication and trade between outlying polities making them depend on the imperial center for the acquisition of luxury goods. The empire reached its maximal extent in 1519 just prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors led by Cortés who managed to topple the Aztec empire by allying with some of the traditional enemies of the Aztecs, the Nahuatl speaking Tlaxcalteca .

=**History:** = media type="custom" key="9483286" align="right"
 * ==** Migrational period. **==

The [|Nahua peoples] began to migrate into [|Mesoamerica] from northern Mexico in the 6th century. They populated [|Central Mexico] as they spread their political influence south. As the former nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples mixed with the complex civilizations of Mesoamerica, adopting religious and cultural practices the foundation for later Aztec culture was laid. During the Postclassic period they rose to power at such sites as [|Tula, Hidalgo]. In the 12th century the Nahua power center was in [|Azcapotzalco] , from where the Tepanecs dominated the valley of Mexico. Around this time the Mexica tribe arrived in central Mexico.


 * ==** Rise of the Triple Alliance. **==

At the time of their arrival, the Valley of Mexico had many city-states, the most powerful of which were [|Culhuacan] to the south and Azcapotzalco to the west. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 6pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">In 1323, the Mexicas were shown a vision of an eagle perched on a prickly bear cactus, eating a snake. This vision indicated that this was the location where they were to build their home. In any event, the Mexicas eventually arrived on a small swampy island in Lake Texcoco where they founded the town of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|Tenochtitlan] in 1325. <span style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 6pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">For the next 50 years, until 1427, the Mexica were a tributary of Azcapotzalco, which had become a regional power, perhaps the most powerful since the Toltecs <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, centuries earlier. The union of the three city-states was the foundation of the Aztec Triple Alliance <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">, which defeated Azcapotzalco in 1428. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 6pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Triple Alliance would, in the next 100 years, come to dominate the Valley of Mexico and extend its power to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific shore. Over this period, Tenochtitlan gradually became the dominant power in the alliance.


 * == **Colonial period population decline.** ==

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 18pt; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 6pt;">In 1520–1521, an outbreak of <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|smallpox] swept through the population of Tenochtitlan and was decisive in the fall of the city. It is estimated that between 10% and 50% of the population fell victim to this epidemic.Subsequently, the Valley of Mexico was hit with two more epidemics, smallpox (1545–1548) and <span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|typhus] (1576–1581). The Spaniards, to consolidate the diminishing population, merged the survivors from small towns in the Valley of Mexico into bigger ones.The population before the time of the conquest is unknown and hotly contested, but disease is known to have ravaged the region; thus, the indigenous population of the Valley of Mexico is estimated to have declined by more than 80% in the course of about 60 years.

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<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 6pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">If you want to look for more detailed information about how the Aztec Empire was organized, how it was governed, etc. look this interesting pages:
 * Aztec's Cultural Patterns.
 * Aztec's Social Structures.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;"> Aztec's Spanish Conquest.