Aztecs

Why Study the Aztecs

They had a powerful civilization that developed independently from Western or Eastern civilizations.

They

Timeline

• 1345 - Traditional date for the founding of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco
• 1376-1395 - Reign of Acamapichtli, first tlatoani of the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan.
• 1429–1472 - Reign of Nezahualcoyotl, scholar, philosopher, warrior, architect, poet king
• 1418 - Texcoco temporarily conquered by Mexica and Tepanec forces
• 1428 - The Triple Alliance is formed between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan
• 1440–1469 - Reign of Moctezuma I, during which the Aztec Empire expanded significantly and institutions were consolidated.
• 1486–1502 - Reign of Ahuitzol; golden age of the Aztecs
• 1517 - First Spanish Expedition by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba
• 1502–1520 - Reign of Moctezum II
• 1519 November - Motecuhzoma II receives Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan
• 1520 - The 'Noche Triste' event, where the Spanish forces and their allies are driven out of Tenochtitlan after attempting to control the city.
• 1521 - Texcoco provide ships and men to aid Spanish siege of Tenochtitlan
• 1521 August 13 - Tenochtitlan conquered by Hernán Cortés after a 75-day siege

Sources

• The Florentine Codex, also called the Historia General de las Cosas de Neuva España, by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, was an encyclopedic account of the Aztec culture at that time.
• The Codex Borgia is a pre-Columbian Middle American pictorial manuscript from Central Mexico featuring calendrical and ritual content, dating from the 16th century.
• The Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz is an eye-witness account by one of the conquistadors who accompanied Cortez.

Gods

Huitzilopochtli was the patron god of the Mexica tribe and their capital city. He is the sun and war god. He was originally of little importance until the Aztecs rose to power.

Tezcatlipoca was a central deity of the Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. His main festival was Toxcatl, which, like most religious festivals of Aztec culture, involved human sacrifice.

Tlaloc the provider, who brought the rain. He caused “the trees, grasses, and maize to blossom, to sprout, to leaf out, to bloom, to grow.”

Quetzalcoatl was related to wind, Venus, Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning.

Chicome coatl, which means seven snake, was a goddess that represented everything that was eaten or drank to give men sustenance.

Coyolxauhqui was killed by her brother, Huitzilopochtli, right after his birth.