1. 16.3 – Aztecs Control Central Mexico

2. Valley of Mexico Mountainous basin high above sea level
Large shallow lakes & the center
Large quantities of accessible resources
Very fertile soil
Attractive area for people to develop a civilization

3. “City of the Gods”
1st major civilization = city-state of Teotihuacán (~200k people)
Contained 20+ pyramids dedicated to the gods
Apartment-block housing for the people
Center of a trade for Central America
Obsidian = weapons
Conquer & influence much of Mesoamerica
City mysteriously abandoned in 750 A.D.

4. Toltecs ~900 A.D. – Toltecs rise to power Rule from Tula (capital)
Warlike people centered on conquest = practice human sacrifice
After 1000: Topiltzin tries to follow Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent)
Warriors revolt & he is exiled
Toltecs decline afterwards & lose power by early 1200s

5. Empire 1200: Aztecs enter valley
Poor nomadic people from Northern Mexico
Adapt culture & work as mercenaries
Huitzilopochtli (God of Sun) tells Aztecs to found own city (p. 454)
1325: Found Tenochtitlán on Lake Texcoco

7. Aztec Power 1428: Form the Triple Alliance w/ Texcoco & Tlacopan
Early 1500s: Empire stretches 80k sq. miles & contains 5-15m people
Power based on military conquest & tribute
Gold, cotton, jade, etc.
Often allowed local rulers to maintain power
Brutally put down resistance – slaughter villages

8. Society Emperor = absolute power
Noble Class – military leaders, government officials, & priests
Ruled as lords of estates
Commoners – merchants, artisans, farmers, & soldiers
Own land
Merchants – elite, travel as spies, gain wealth
Enslaved Persons – low

9. Tenochtitlán Early 1500s: 200-400k people
3 causeways connected city w/ mainland
City connected by vast network of roads
Tlatelolco (market): traded all goods of the empire
Food supplied by chinampas (raised land on marshes)
Center: Palaces, temples, & the Great Temple (Sun & Rain Gods)
Tenochtitlán

10. Chinampas

11. Religion Religion ruled Aztec life
Worshipped ~1,000 gods
Adopt many gods from other cultures (i.e. Quetzalcoatl)
Practiced elaborate public ceremonies
Win favor of the gods
Offerings, dances, songs, & plays made up ceremonies
Calendar include festivals to honor specific gods

12. Huitzilopochtli (Sun God) = most important = most important rituals
Made the sun rise & had to fight evil to do it each day
Practiced human sacrifice to give him strength to fight
Belief: Sun would not rise w/o offerings & plunge world into darkness
Victims: slaves, criminals, tributes, & prisoners-of-war (main source)
Sacrifice

13. Problems 1502: Montezuma II crowned emperor
Provinces rebel due to greater demands of tribute & sacrifice
Reforms fail & bad omens occur
Ex. Lightning striking the Great Temple
Greatest Threat = The Spanish:
Bring disease, guns & horses
The return of Quetzalcoatl

14. Conquest of Mexico