Warm-Up #12 Where was the Aztec Empire located? Retell the Aztec myth about founding their capital city, Tenochtitlan?

How did the Aztec’s become so powerful? Aztec Warfare How did the Aztec’s become so powerful?

Triple Alliance The Aztec civilization was based upon a military alliance between the cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan They were able to control a large area in central and southern Mexico

Military Structure The bulk of the Aztec army was composed of commoners The nobility were organized into exclusive warrior societies and ranked by their achievements

Why did they fight? For the Aztecs, religion and war went together. It was basically a much bloodier version of the Maya religion. The Aztecs went to war to capture enemy soldiers to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies. One source says that during religious ceremony over 20,000 people were killed in 4 days. This is probably exaggerated. Either way, sacrifices were common for the Aztecs. To make money by conquering enemy city states and collecting tribute

Why Fight cont… Aztecs played Tlachtli, the Aztec version of Pok a Tok. Legend says the gods fought for control of man by playing this game. The losers, and sometimes the winners, would be sacrificed.

Flower Wars Sometimes the Aztecs would set up limited battles where both sides would agree to a set amount of combatants. The objective of these battles was to provide all sides with enough captives for sacrifice without risking their entire armies

Warrior Societies After capturing four warriors you were eligible to become an Eagle or Jaguar Warrior The Jaguar warriors wore skins over their bodies The Eagle warriors wore feathered helmets The most prestigious society was the “Shorn Ones” who swore not to take a step backwards in battle upon pain of death

Weapons and Armor The Aztecs did not have metal, and made all of their weapons from wood, stone, obsidian and bone The Aztecs did make use of armor, including helmets and shields