AZTEC CIVILIZATION (Term Paper Sample)

Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Introduction The Aztec empire continues to dominate the history of Americas as one of the most iconic within the region. For a nondescript group which no land to lay claim, the Aztec civilization experienced a meteoric rise to become one of the leading civilizations at the height of its power. The Aztec had the warrior spirit to thank for their rise and expansion. Wherever they went, they became legendary for their warring skills and often formed strategic partners and allies to the dominant force of the time. This went on till they had expanded to conquer the remaining force within the Mexican region. The empire also benefited immensely from the careful calculation of its leaders for self preservation to surpass their hosts and allies eventually. The rise of the Aztec empire hinged upon the military expertise, agriculture, and calculation by the leaders to take advantage of the prevailing situations. Collapse of Toltec empire and power vacuum A number of factors set the stage for the rise of the Aztec empire but it was the collapse of the Toltec empire that propelled Aztec to the heights it reached. The Toltec empire was massive and spanned across central Mexico. However, like most massive empires, it soon saw an implosion from within as a result of internal warring. Droughts also served to weaken this massive empire leading to its destruction and looting by the savage tribes from the north. Following the collapse of the Toltec empire, a power vacuum ensued in terms of a dominant empire. The smaller city-states then engaged in perennial conflict all seeking to establish their dominance (Kellogg, 250). At this point in time, the Aztecs were still a small power that could not withstand the might of the city-states. With time, the Aztecs learned from the collapsed Toltecs organizational ideologies and monarchy rule. At this point, the Aztecs existed mainly as a small tribe. They possessed agricultural expertise as they were masters in cultivation. In addition, the Aztecs were a warrior tribe that surpassed their neighbor’s skills. Consequently, they continued to scan for available land to establish their empire. They were not lucky since the seemingly stronger city-states already occupied the arable land in the region. Therefore, the Aztecs had no other option than to transform into mercenaries and guns for hire for wiling rulers within the region. Their legendary warring nature was appealing to city-states that sought to destabilize their neighbors. True to Aztecs nature, the engaged in barbarism and often vandalized the invaded lands. In some cases, the Aztecs would capture women from the invaded and conquered city-states for wives. Self preservation and meticulous calculation While working as mercenaries, they happen to work with the Colhuacan who occupied the region south of Valley of Mexico (Paulinyi, 315). It so happened that the Toltec royals had fled to this city state upon the collapse of their empire. The Aztec soon clashed with their hosts as was in their nature. They simply were not containable and engaged in constant warring with every group they encountered in a bid to conquer and receive tributes from the neutralized opponents. The Colhuacan had stomached enough from the Aztec. They unleashed their fury on the barbarian Aztecs killing a sizable portion in the portion. The few remaining Aztecs fled to a marshy and desolated island where they found the Tenochtitlan city. From this analysis, the barbaric nature of the Aztec could have stood in their way of becoming a mighty empire early enough. They still operated like some disorganized militia and guns for hire. They had no organization skills and it is an expectation that they would have failed in their quest to become an empire at this point. The relocation to the marshy region was a self preservation tactic since it was generally an undesired region. Therefore, no mightier empire would consider conquering the still disorganized Aztecs. Additionally, the marshy region marked the border between mighty empires and city states of the time. Therefore, the Aztecs remained safe even at their lowest moment since every opponent feared encroaching into the territory fearing retaliation from their opponents. Encroaching into the territory was have amounted to an art of war from rival empires. Therefore, each steered clear implying the Aztecs had sufficient time to regroup and build upon their forces with time. Aztec alliances As was their norm, the Aztec thrived on alliances. Afterward, they became allied to the Tepanec which was a thriving fast expanding kingdom on the mainland. The Tepanec relied on the services of the Aztec to expand their kingdom by subduing opposition from neighboring kingdoms and city states (Smith, 1). It was from this alliance that the Aztec benefited immensely to become a powerful force to reckon with. As was the case, the Aztecs were the mercenaries allied to the Tepanec and in return they learned how to constitute and run a thriving empire. With power changing hands in the Tepanec kingdom, the new ruler became increasingly concerned that the Aztecs were up to no good. They had transformed into a massive force within the Tepanec kingdom which did not sit well with the subsequent ruler. It was at this point that the Tepanec sought to clip the wings of the Aztec in a bid to maintain dominance over this warring tribe. The Aztecs too went on the offensive and conquered the Tepanec kingdom which happened to be the strongest at this point. As usual, the Aztec went ahead to destroy the remaining elements of the Tepanec empire. Technically, they had finally transformed into the strongest empire in Mexico. The Aztec then chose to reduce the power and influence of the nobles in their new empire. In the past, the nobles held massive sway over internal affairs of any kingdom or empire. However, the Aztec chose a different path. They dismantled the nobility structures and instituted powerful ruler. Under the new dispensation, the Aztec went out to deliberately erase history. They had endured a lengthy and winding rise to the top. Therefore, once they succeeded in their quest, they chose to rewrite history by laying claim to Toltec empire links. They pronounced the Aztec as the true heirs of this once mighty and powerful empire. In this regard, the Aztec regarded themselves as the chosen people and automatically the heirs of the Toltec empire. Aztec continued to rewrite history by claiming to be directly descended from the Toltec people (Iverson, 92). Aztecs solidifying dominance One of the most iconic rulers of the Aztec remains Motechuhzoma Ilhuicamina. His reign remains iconic since he continued to stamp Aztec authority of the region. To be specific, the ruler formed a tripartite alliance alongside the Tlacopan and Texcoco. This was the time that the Aztec unleashed their might against weaker opponents. The empire had grown so much that they would attack opponents at will. During this time, the Aztec alongside their allies waged what they termed as the “Flowery War” which comprised of conquering weaker neighbors (HICKS, 87). In the midst of this conquest, the Aztec would take slaves to be sacrificed later on to the sun god in a step pyramid. Another iconic ruler was emperor Axayacatl whose reign saw the Aztec expand further into central Mexico. The following ruler was Ahuitzotl and Motecuhezoma Xocoyotzin. The last of these rulers saw the conquest by the Spanish which put to an end the warring nature and might force of the Aztec. It took the superior European power to mark an end to a deadly and domineering force that was the Aztec. Even as the empire lies in ruins, the Aztec cemented their place in history by rising to the top of the Central American society through domination of opponent through brute force. Religion and agriculture The Aztecs were polytheists and worshiped several gods. As mentioned, they were brutal and often formed the habit of worshiping through offering human sacrifice. The Aztec could offer children or prisoners from their many wars in efforts to appease the gods. The gods represented different aspects of life and the Aztecs made sure to offer human blood and heart as a sacrifice to the gods. They also had an impressive calendar system to track annual events such as seasons, ceremonies, harvests and so on. Perhaps this could be the main reason Aztecs were equally good cultivators (Gillespie and Nicolle, 31). They had mastered the art of cultivation early enough. Perhaps they were seeking to make the empire immune from droughts an hunger which led to the collapse of the Toltec empire which they held in high esteem. The Aztec still continued to refer to themselves as direct descendants of this massive empire. In the same breath, the Toltec empire had previously collapsed as a result of drought and hunger. Therefore, the Aztec made it a point to insulate their empire from such possible calamities. This could explain their obsession with human sacrifices where they sought to appease numerous kinds of gods. Some of the sacrifices were directed towards good harvest in the belief that the goods would guarantee this. The kingdom rose to prominence after having mastered the art of taking care of its subsistence needs. There was simply no way they could have been besieged by an external force when they had sufficient food supply to last them the entire time. The economy of the Aztecs hinged upon agriculture. In terms of trade, they relied upon the barter system to exchange of agricultural products in the main. As it happens, corn was the main native plant to the region. The reason why many empires and city-states collapsed was that corn depletes essential minerals in the soils and required relocation to other arable lands periodically. However, the Aztecs were lucky enough to have the marshy land as their first true land. The region had abundant decaying foliage ...