The Aztecs: History Around 1300 CE, a wandering tribe of Indians wandered into the Valley of Mexico. These people were called the Aztecs. When the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico, other tribes were already in residence. They had already taken the best land. The Aztecs had to make due with the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco.

But this did not bother the Aztecs. Not only were they very clever people, but they had every faith that their main god had sent them to the swampy shores of Lake Texcoco, so obviously this place was perfect for them.

The Aztecs: History They built canoes, so they could fish and hunt birds that lived near the water. They created floating gardens for growing food. They created more land for agriculture by filling in the marshes. They built dikes to hold back the water.

After they settled in, they began to conquer the neighboring tribes. They conquered first one tribe, and then another, and then another. Each conquered tribe had to pay tribute to the Aztecs in the form of food, clothing, jewels, and of course, captives to feed the hungry gods. That made the Aztecs very happy and very rich. The Aztecs expanded and expanded until they had built an EMPIRE

The Aztecs: Government The Emperor & Palace: The Aztecs had an emperor, a king who ruled over all the people. The emperor lived in the imperial palace in the capital city of Tenochtitlan. The palace was huge. It even had its own zoo. The ground floor of the palace housed government offices and the shops of the most talented craftsman in the Aztec empire.

The Aztecs: City-states As the Aztec empire grew, under the direction of government officials, Aztec engineers built many fine cities. A noble family controlled each city. the Aztecs, like the Mayas, were governed by city-states.

The Aztecs: Home Rule / Crime and Punishment With their own people, the Aztec rulers were quite severe. Aztec courts decided on the punishment those who broke the law would receive. Drunkenness was the worse crime. The punishment for being drunk was death. Thieves were put to death.

The Aztecs: Religion Aztec religion practiced by the Aztec empire had elements of human sacrifice in connection with a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Aztec calendar. Aztec cosmology divided the world into upper and nether worlds, each associated with a specific set of deities and astronomical objects. Important in Aztec religion were the sun, moon and the planet Venus

The Aztecs: Clothing Aztec clothing was often made of beautiful fabric, though the extent of the quality of the cloth was generally dependent on the wealth of the wearer. With the art of clothes making an important craft of the ancient Aztecs, however, it is no wonder the Aztec clothes contained vivid colors and intricate designs.

The Aztecs: Clothing The Aztec women were held responsible for making Aztec clothing. Jewelry was also an important component of Aztec dress. In fact, the amount of decoration on Aztec clothing indicated the wealth of the wearer. Favorite additions to Aztec Indian clothing included copper, silver, gold, turquoise, emerald and jade.

The Aztecs: Legacy Most modern day Mexicans (and people of Mexican descent in other countries) are mestizos, of mixed indigenous and European ancestry. The Nahuatl language is today spoken by 1.5 million people, mostly in mountainous areas in the states of central Mexico. Some Nahuatl words (most notably chocolate and tomato) have been borrowed through Spanish into other languages around the world. Mexico City was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, making it one of the oldest living cities of the Americas. Many of its districts and natural landmarks retain their original Nahuatl names. Mexican cuisine continues to be based on and flavored by agricultural products contributed by the Mexican/Aztecs.

The Aztec civilization ended when the spaniards arrived to Mexico and tried to conquest all the territory. The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, was finally destroyed on August 31, 1521 End of the Aztec civilization