Ancient Aztecs
The term “Aztec” is usually exclusively looking at the people of Mexico who lived in Tenochtitlan (Aztec capital), on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The Aztecs ruled Central America during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The Aztec people come from three different groups of people united by ethnic history, cultural traits, and language. Modern day scholars just use the word Aztec to identify the Nahuatl speaking people of Mexico before the Spanish Conquest. The Aztecs called themselves the Mexica, Tenochca, or the Colhua-Mexica and their official language was Nahuatl. The Aztec form of government was a tributary empire which had Hueyi Tlatoani (Head of Nation), Cihuacoatl (High councilor), Oligarchs (Electing council), and Capulli leaders (approving council). The Hueyi Tlatoani was a nonhereditary autocrat; the Oligarchs were either men of military, religious, or a noble background. The Aztecs had vast mythological and religious traditions; the most astonishing of these may have been human sacrifice. In 1521, the Aztecs were overthrown by Hernan Cortez and his conquistadors to begin the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
The Mexica, as the Aztecs called themselves, were thought to have come from Aztlan. Some experts believe this may be a mythical place due to the fact that Aztlan can be translated into “place of origin”. For some reason the Mexica people moved to the Valley of Mexico around the 13th century. Many city states were already in the Valley of Mexico upon their arrival, thus making it hard for them to be nomadic, so they settled on a hill on the west shore of Lake Texcoco. The nearby Tepanecs later ran off the Mexicas to the barren lands of Tizzapan, which was given to them by Cocoxtli (ruler of the Culhuacan). The Mexicas then intermarried and began sharing the culture of the Culhuacan people. After sacrificing the daughter of Achicometl (the new ruler) the Mexicas were forced to flee their lands yet again. They settled a...
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