The aztecs: cultural achievements and leaders
Many of the Aztecs' cultural achievements stemmed from trying to maximize the potential of the unique geographical position of their capital, Tenochtitlán, on an island in the center of Lake Texcoco. Being positioned in a lake, the soil on which Tenochtitlán was built was swampy and easily eroded, so the land could not support farming. However, the Aztecs needed a wealth of agricultural growth to keep the growing population of their capital alive, so the ingenious creation of the chinampas was made. Chinampas are artificial islands that the Aztecs constructed on the waters surrounding Tenochtitlán--these islands were composed of mud and reed mats anchored with willow tree roots. On these islands, which allowed the Aztecs more space to farm, the Aztecs cultivated crops like maize, squash, and beans. Even more astonishing about these islands was that they could support around seven harvests per year, whereas the regular growing seasons on land yielded only one or two harvests, giving the Aztecs enough resources to feed their expanding empire. Other innovations created to combat Tenochtitlán's tricky geographical situation were transportation systems to the mainland. One of these transport systems was a canal system created by manipulating the lake area to construct waterways to the land and divert excessive waters from approaching the capital. The other transport system created was the system of causeways to allow easy access to the mainlands--these causeways were formed by digging two lines of stakes into the ground were the causeway would lie, then filling in the interior area with stones and dirt so that the causeways might support heavy loads. A third transportation system was created, much like the canal system, to bring fresh water from the mainland to the capital city through a system of aqueducts--the system was constructed with two identical channels so one could transport water coming in from the mainland while the other was potentially worked on in reconstruction.
As in the Maya Empire, the Aztecs left a rich legacy of spiritual and intellectual wealth. The Aztecs had a complex, polytheistic religion based around nature, much like the Maya religion. These gods were built magnificent temples in the capital, temples financed by the tributes of the conquered lands. Within these temples were priests who not only kept the knowledge of the gods but also the knowledge of recorded history--the priests were responsible for recording laws and historic events. This responsibility eventually led to the creation of two calendars: a solar calendar and a ritual calendar, calendars mirroring the Maya calendars. The solar calendar was 365 days and was centered around the Aztec knowledge of astronomy and mathematics; the ritual calendar was 260 days. Each day of these calendars was thought to be controlled by two gods, one good, and one bad, allowing Aztecs to believe that some days could be lucky or unlucky depending on the signs and forecasts of the day. The calendars were synchronized together in 52-year cycles, leading to the Aztec belief that the world "ended" every 52 years; as a result, elaborate rituals were performed each 52 years to honor the death and rebirth of the world. In addition to their duties as keepers of records, priests were some of the first humans to explore the human body. The Aztec people were often experiencing new diseases and ailments that the knowledge they had of herbal medicines and steam bath therapy could not combat. This led to the exploration of the human body in terms of setting broken bones and treating dental cavities, most often performed by a priest.
One of the great leaders of the Aztecs, who helped establish the Aztec Empire, was Nezahualcoytol. He lived from 1402 to 1472. Nezahualcoytol was originally the king of the city Texcoco; however, Nezahualcoytol allied with the Aztecs in 1428 when they declared war on the Tepanecs. After the war, Nezahualcoytol became the first king of the Aztec Empire. Nezahualcoytol's first goal was political unity for his empire. He developed a code of laws dividing power into specific councils (such as for war, justice, finance, and music) to create a balance of power in his government, as with divided councils no one section of the government would hold ultimate power. These councils thus served as a checks and balance system for the emperor, and the other councils. The theory of specified councils also ensured that each issue (i.e. war, justice, finance, etc…) was handled by a group of experts to that topic--the advisors to the council would be solely responsible for one aspect of the empire, allowing them to have complete focus when determining decisions. He also later brought political unity to the Aztecs Empire while simultaneously defeating the enemies who killed his father by forming a triple alliance with leaders of other Aztec nations in order to defeat the Azcapotzalos, an enemy and threat to the Aztec Empire. Having the cooperation of these other Aztec nations solidified the empire into one cohesive unit instead of a few, broken apart nations. Nezahualcoytol also busied himself with the social stability of his people. Nezahualcoytol specifically created the council of music to develop the arts, science, and history, encouraging exploration of the arts and leading to a richer culture. Nezahualcoytol also satisfied the hunger of his people by designing a flood control system for the capital that could support agricultural growth in the city. Nezahualcoytol also allowed the poor of his empire to eat any corn, as long as it was growing near a road, if they were hungry, an act that could previously be punished by death. Nezahualcoytol was more lenient on the entirety of his empire, instead of simply favoring the upper class.
The next great leader of the Aztecs was Moctezuma I. He was declared the supreme ruler of the Aztec Empire, ruling over around 15 million people at the empire's height. His accomplishments were mainly centered around combating the geographical situation of Tenochtitlán. In the mid 1400's, Tenochtitlán was flooded, the catalyst for Moctezuma I's building of a dyke around the city. This dyke, which Nezahualcoytol consulted on, was supposed to prevent future floods and also keep the fresh water coming in to the city separate from the salt water in the lake. Moctezuma I was also the ruler who saw the need to increase the city's food supply to feed the expanding empire as well as his army, which was busy expanding into modern-day Mexico. Thus, he was the ruler under which the chinampas were devised, these "fake islands" that supported agricultural growth in the swampy land of Tenochtitlán.
Another great leader of the Aztecs was Ahuitzotl, the son of Moctezuma I. Ahuitzotl took charge of the empire through territorial expansion in a mission of brutal conquest. In 1502, his military campaigns successfully conquered territory as far south as modern-day Guatemala. As he conquered more and more land, and gained more and more prisoners of war, he promoted sacrifice more and more. In fact, Ahuitzotl institutionalized sacrificial killings, accounting for such slaughter with the belief that humans needed to reciprocate the gods with their most precious commodity, blood (often referred to as "precious water"), or an apocalypse would occur. However, Ahuitzotl also used expansion for more than just the accumulation of sacrificial humans. He opened up transport roots to conquered coastal areas from where Aztec merchants could gather riches to sell in the larger markets. He also used the tribute system on these conquered lands to gain wealth to use for building projects, such as his Temple Mayor. He succeeded in linking the empire for the transport of such wealth and goods by constructing super highways throughout central mexico – relay runners were stationed along these roads, and they could transport materials faster than our modern post office.
Following Ahuitzotl was Moctezuma II. Moctezuma II ruled the Aztec empire at its peak; the empire covered approximately 80,000 square miles, ruled over 25 million people, and contained 38 provinces. Moctezuma II's tough leadership kept the empire in order. However, Moctezuma II would also preside over the empire as it crumbled in the heat of Spanish conquest. Moctezuma II was leader when Cortez and his army crossed the Atlantic from Spain to explore the "New World." Before Cortez' arrival, Moctezuma II saw a comet pass above his city, a foreshadowing sign of crisis and trauma, a signal that sent Moctezuma II into a spiral of paranoia. In 1519, Cortez and his army arrived. The first meeting between Moctezuma II and the Spaniards was amicable, yet tense. Nonetheless, Moctezuma II invited the Spaniards, whom the Aztecs viewed as divine and of another world, into his palace. Once inside the palace, the Spaniards kidnapped Montezuma and began to use him as their political puppet to control the Aztec people. However, once the Spaniards interrupted a sacred sacrifice, an uprising was sparked among the people that even Moctezuma II could not control. Moctezuma II died while held out on a balcony by the Spaniards to give a calming speech to his people; his people did not accept Moctezuma II's empty words this time and threw stones at him for being a passive leader as the Spaniards held him out as shield. It is still unknown by whose hands he met his fate.
As in the Maya Empire, the Aztecs left a rich legacy of spiritual and intellectual wealth. The Aztecs had a complex, polytheistic religion based around nature, much like the Maya religion. These gods were built magnificent temples in the capital, temples financed by the tributes of the conquered lands. Within these temples were priests who not only kept the knowledge of the gods but also the knowledge of recorded history--the priests were responsible for recording laws and historic events. This responsibility eventually led to the creation of two calendars: a solar calendar and a ritual calendar, calendars mirroring the Maya calendars. The solar calendar was 365 days and was centered around the Aztec knowledge of astronomy and mathematics; the ritual calendar was 260 days. Each day of these calendars was thought to be controlled by two gods, one good, and one bad, allowing Aztecs to believe that some days could be lucky or unlucky depending on the signs and forecasts of the day. The calendars were synchronized together in 52-year cycles, leading to the Aztec belief that the world "ended" every 52 years; as a result, elaborate rituals were performed each 52 years to honor the death and rebirth of the world. In addition to their duties as keepers of records, priests were some of the first humans to explore the human body. The Aztec people were often experiencing new diseases and ailments that the knowledge they had of herbal medicines and steam bath therapy could not combat. This led to the exploration of the human body in terms of setting broken bones and treating dental cavities, most often performed by a priest.
One of the great leaders of the Aztecs, who helped establish the Aztec Empire, was Nezahualcoytol. He lived from 1402 to 1472. Nezahualcoytol was originally the king of the city Texcoco; however, Nezahualcoytol allied with the Aztecs in 1428 when they declared war on the Tepanecs. After the war, Nezahualcoytol became the first king of the Aztec Empire. Nezahualcoytol's first goal was political unity for his empire. He developed a code of laws dividing power into specific councils (such as for war, justice, finance, and music) to create a balance of power in his government, as with divided councils no one section of the government would hold ultimate power. These councils thus served as a checks and balance system for the emperor, and the other councils. The theory of specified councils also ensured that each issue (i.e. war, justice, finance, etc…) was handled by a group of experts to that topic--the advisors to the council would be solely responsible for one aspect of the empire, allowing them to have complete focus when determining decisions. He also later brought political unity to the Aztecs Empire while simultaneously defeating the enemies who killed his father by forming a triple alliance with leaders of other Aztec nations in order to defeat the Azcapotzalos, an enemy and threat to the Aztec Empire. Having the cooperation of these other Aztec nations solidified the empire into one cohesive unit instead of a few, broken apart nations. Nezahualcoytol also busied himself with the social stability of his people. Nezahualcoytol specifically created the council of music to develop the arts, science, and history, encouraging exploration of the arts and leading to a richer culture. Nezahualcoytol also satisfied the hunger of his people by designing a flood control system for the capital that could support agricultural growth in the city. Nezahualcoytol also allowed the poor of his empire to eat any corn, as long as it was growing near a road, if they were hungry, an act that could previously be punished by death. Nezahualcoytol was more lenient on the entirety of his empire, instead of simply favoring the upper class.
The next great leader of the Aztecs was Moctezuma I. He was declared the supreme ruler of the Aztec Empire, ruling over around 15 million people at the empire's height. His accomplishments were mainly centered around combating the geographical situation of Tenochtitlán. In the mid 1400's, Tenochtitlán was flooded, the catalyst for Moctezuma I's building of a dyke around the city. This dyke, which Nezahualcoytol consulted on, was supposed to prevent future floods and also keep the fresh water coming in to the city separate from the salt water in the lake. Moctezuma I was also the ruler who saw the need to increase the city's food supply to feed the expanding empire as well as his army, which was busy expanding into modern-day Mexico. Thus, he was the ruler under which the chinampas were devised, these "fake islands" that supported agricultural growth in the swampy land of Tenochtitlán.
Another great leader of the Aztecs was Ahuitzotl, the son of Moctezuma I. Ahuitzotl took charge of the empire through territorial expansion in a mission of brutal conquest. In 1502, his military campaigns successfully conquered territory as far south as modern-day Guatemala. As he conquered more and more land, and gained more and more prisoners of war, he promoted sacrifice more and more. In fact, Ahuitzotl institutionalized sacrificial killings, accounting for such slaughter with the belief that humans needed to reciprocate the gods with their most precious commodity, blood (often referred to as "precious water"), or an apocalypse would occur. However, Ahuitzotl also used expansion for more than just the accumulation of sacrificial humans. He opened up transport roots to conquered coastal areas from where Aztec merchants could gather riches to sell in the larger markets. He also used the tribute system on these conquered lands to gain wealth to use for building projects, such as his Temple Mayor. He succeeded in linking the empire for the transport of such wealth and goods by constructing super highways throughout central mexico – relay runners were stationed along these roads, and they could transport materials faster than our modern post office.
Following Ahuitzotl was Moctezuma II. Moctezuma II ruled the Aztec empire at its peak; the empire covered approximately 80,000 square miles, ruled over 25 million people, and contained 38 provinces. Moctezuma II's tough leadership kept the empire in order. However, Moctezuma II would also preside over the empire as it crumbled in the heat of Spanish conquest. Moctezuma II was leader when Cortez and his army crossed the Atlantic from Spain to explore the "New World." Before Cortez' arrival, Moctezuma II saw a comet pass above his city, a foreshadowing sign of crisis and trauma, a signal that sent Moctezuma II into a spiral of paranoia. In 1519, Cortez and his army arrived. The first meeting between Moctezuma II and the Spaniards was amicable, yet tense. Nonetheless, Moctezuma II invited the Spaniards, whom the Aztecs viewed as divine and of another world, into his palace. Once inside the palace, the Spaniards kidnapped Montezuma and began to use him as their political puppet to control the Aztec people. However, once the Spaniards interrupted a sacred sacrifice, an uprising was sparked among the people that even Moctezuma II could not control. Moctezuma II died while held out on a balcony by the Spaniards to give a calming speech to his people; his people did not accept Moctezuma II's empty words this time and threw stones at him for being a passive leader as the Spaniards held him out as shield. It is still unknown by whose hands he met his fate.