History of the Aztec Empire

After the demise of Teotihuacan, a new Toltec period followed. The emergence of this period was also formed after a long period of cultural exchanges and population mixing. The founders of these civilizations inherited the characteristics of the Teotihuacan civilization and established a new civilization in the Valley of Mexico. The Toltecs were mainly composed of foreign tribes who came to Culhuacan around the ninth century AD and established their capital in Tula.

The Aztecs later inherited the Toltec civilization and combined it with their own creations to establish the last Indian civilization in the ancient Mexico Valley. This is a process of cultural change. There is an interesting legend about the settlement of the Aztecs. Inspired by their patron god Villopochetli (god of war), they went in search of an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth, where they should build a city. The Aztecs found this eagle on a small island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, so they established "Tenochtitlan" here, which later became the famous ancient Indian capital. That is, "Cactus Land." Today's national emblem of Mexico is based on this legend.

Although this is just a legend, it shows that the Aztecs were not the original inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico. They were a hunting people with no fixed settlement in the barren north. They later invaded the Valley of Mexico and conquered the original inhabitants, the Toltecs. Before the Aztecs, many Indian tribes settled in this unique place.

The Aztecs were not the original inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico, they were a nomadic people. Around 1276 AD, the Aztecs entered the Valley of Mexico and settled in Chapultepec. And because of their warlike nature, they constantly harassed neighboring tribes, making their neighbors angry. So they joined forces and launched a crusade. The result of the war was that the Aztecs were defeated, most of them were captured, and a small number fled to the island. The captured Aztecs were taken to Culhuacan, a dynasty composed of Toltec descendants, and lived under the watchful eye of Culhuacan's chief, Coxcox. Later, his reputation soared due to his meritorious service in a battle at Culhuacan. Around 1325 AD, these Aztecs moved to live on a small island in Lake Texcoco and joined those who had fled here before. Later the island developed into the city of Tenochtitlan.

After the establishment of Tenochtitlan, the Aztecs formed an alliance with the Tepanix state under the rule of Tezozomoc. With the help of the Aztecs, Tepanix gradually became a small empire. Until then, the Aztecs had no legitimate monarch. In 1372, a Cuhuacan-Aztec king named Acama Picchitili came to the throne. While the Tepanix and Aztecs were expanding, the Acohua State in the eastern part of the Valley of Mexico gradually became stronger. War broke out between the two countries, and the Aztecs played a crucial role. At this time, Tenochtitlan also became a large city. In 1426, the king of Tepanix, Tezozomoc, died, and the country of Tepanix fell into civil strife. The Aztecs supported their first choice, Tayaha'u, to take the throne, but Tezozomoc's brother Maxtla usurped the throne and turned against those who opposed him, including Aztec. Ztec monarch Chimalpopoca. Chimalpopoka died soon after (possibly killed by Mastra).

In 1428, Chimalpopoca’s uncle Itzcóatl succeeded to the Aztec throne and had an affair with Nezahualcoyotl, the former ruler of Lake Texcoco. (Nezahualcoyotl) formed an alliance and attacked Atzka Pocharco, the capital of Maxla, and the Tepanic War broke out; 100 days later, Mastra surrendered and was exiled.

After the war, Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan formed an alliance and gained control of the Valley of Mexico. The territory of the original State of Tepanix was divided into three parts, belonging to three countries respectively. The treasury of the State of Tepanix was also divided, with Tenochtitlan receiving 40%, Descoco receiving 40%, and Tlacopan receiving 20%. The alliance formed by these three countries would dominate the Valley of Mexico and expand to the coast for the next 100 years. During this period, Tenochtitlan gradually became the dominant force in the alliance.

Shortly after the alliance was established, both Itzcoatl and Tracall carried out drastic reforms in Aztec politics and religion. Tracall ordered the burning of books in civilian homes, claiming that "the books contained false information." Lies, not every Aztec was going to understand those pictures.” He tampered with the history of the Aztecs and elevated the status of the Aztecs in history before allowing civilians to learn.

Itscoatl's nephew Moctezuma I ascended the throne in 1440 and expanded his territory. In order to consolidate his rule over the conquered cities, he also carried out a series of reforms. He established a new method of paying tribute, which greatly improved the country's economy. The empire also formulated a new land policy for the former Akohua country, reducing the chance of rebellion. Montezuma I also enacted additional laws regarding the death penalty, stipulating that commoners were not allowed to marry nobles. The empire also established a series of educational policies and established schools in every residential area. Montezuma also awarded civilians with outstanding military or civil performance.

In order to obtain human sacrifices, Montezuma I also invented the Crown of Honor War, which also increased the Aztec military strength on another level. Before the Crown of Glory war, we had already completed communication with the enemy about the sacrifices, so there were basically no casualties in this kind of war. A great famine caused by drought occurred from 1450 to 1454. For this reason, Montezuma continuously launched wars of glory to obtain prisoners to sacrifice to the gods. After the fall of Tepanix, the Aztec Empire consolidated its position in the Valley of Mexico. The first imperial expansion targeted the Coyoacan in the Valley of Mexico and the Kaunahuac and Huacostipec peoples in today's state of Morelos, Mexico. After these countries were conquered, the empire received large amounts of agricultural products as tribute. During the reign of Moctezuma I, the Aztecs experienced a great famine and he reoccupied the country in what is today the Mexican state of Morelos that had rebelled during the famine. Montezuma I expanded his territory to the Gulf of Mexico in the east and as far south as the present-day state of Oaxaca, Mexico.

In 1468, Moctezuma I's son Axayácatl succeeded to the throne. He spent 13 years quelling the local resistance caused by his father's expansion. At the same time, the State of Tarasco in western Mexico was also expanding rapidly. In 1455, the State of Tarasco invaded the Toluca Valley. In 1472, the Achaya cartel reoccupied it and successfully resisted the invasion of Tarasco. In 1479, the Alhaya Cartel dispatched 32,000 soldiers to attack the mainland of Tarasco. But just when 50,000 soldiers entered the border, the State of Tarasco discovered the army and defeated it. This was the first disastrous defeat the empire had ever suffered. Ahaya Cartel fled back to Tenoch in embarrassment. Titlan, he then reconquered the Huastec region, and the Aztecs and Tarasco never fought again.

In 1481, Tízoc, Alhayacatl's brother, briefly ruled the country. He did not carry out any decent expansion and was considered cowardly by the common people. It was for this reason that he was subsequently replaced by Auítzotl. The early years of Oizot's reign were spent, like those of his predecessors, on quelling rebellions. Then Oizot began a new round of expansion. Under Oizote's rule, the Aztec Empire reached its most prosperous period, with the Aztecs controlling 371 tribes in 33 provinces. The capital, Tenochtitlan, was once home to 250,000 people and was one of the largest cities in the world at the time.

Montezuma II, the son of Achayacatel, ascended the throne in 1502 and began to launch a war against Tlaxcala in 1504. The scope of Aztec rule continued to expand. The Spanish began colonizing the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coast very early. Around 1518, some Spanish colonists heard some information about the Aztec Empire on the coast of Mexico. Velasquez, the Spanish governor of Cuba, yearned for that paradise full of gold, and decided to send Cortez to serve as an agent. Cap's conquest of Mexico. Cortes was a Spanish nobleman who invaded Cuba with Velasquez. He was a man of great ambition. After receiving this order, Cortez immediately gathered his troops and spent all his property on the expedition. Velazquez saw his ambition and was afraid that Cortes would be difficult to control once he became fully fledged, so he withdrew his order, but Cortes ignored it and forcibly set sail to sea in February 1519.

After Cortez landed, he quickly defeated the resisting Indians along the Mexican coast and obtained an Indian woman. This woman was the daughter of an Aztec chief. She understood Mayan and Aztec languages, and later changed to A Catholic and named Marina, she quickly learned Spanish and became Cortes' translator during the conquest.

In April 1519, Cortes sailed north along the coast and arrived in the Aztec Kingdom two days later. The Aztec King Montezuma II had already known his whereabouts, so he sent some Indian chiefs to provide Cortes with food and lodging along the way, and sent people to send gold and various gifts, hoping that this would stop Cortes. Ertes invades Tenochtitlan. However, these gifts not only failed to eliminate Cortes' plan to attack, but instead fueled his ambition to invade the Aztec Empire and his desire to plunder property. On November 8, 1519, Cortes entered Tenochtitlan with dignity and was welcomed by the Aztecs. After entering the city, the Spanish captured King Montezuma II on the pretext that several Spaniards had been killed by the Aztecs, and plundered a large amount of treasure in the basement of his palace. During an Aztec religious event in 1520, the Spanish massacred the Aztecs, but the Aztecs resisted and surrounded the Spanish residence. According to Spanish records, Moctezuma II was stoned to death by his own people; according to Indian history, he was strangled to death by the Spanish. After Moctezuma II's death, Cuitlahuac succeeded to the throne, but died of smallpox a month later. On the night of June 30, 1520, Cortes organized a breakout and escaped from Tenochtitlan in embarrassment, losing more than half of his troops. On April 18, 1521, Cortes besieged Tenochtitlan again, and the Aztecs put up a heroic resistance under the leadership of their new leader Cuauhtemoc. In August, the Spanish colonists invaded the city of Tenochtitlan and wreaked havoc, burning, killing, and looting, destroying this famous Indian city. Four years later Cuauhtémoc was hanged by the Spanish. Six months later, Cortez's general Alvarado massacred more than 600 Aztecs, and thousands of Aztecs gathered to besiege the palace. Cortes sent Moctezuma II to pacify the people. During the chaotic assembly, Moctezuma II was hit by stones thrown by the angry people and was seriously injured. Soon, news of Montezuma II's death spread. The Spanish claimed that he died of his wounds, but the Aztecs preferred to believe that the Spaniards had killed their emperor. This news completely angered the Aztecs. The Spaniards realized that danger was approaching and decided to break out that night. The conquistadors, laden with looted treasures, tried to sneak away along a dike road, only to be discovered. The Indian boats surrounded the Spaniards, and a fierce battle began. Many Spaniards were forced to throw the treasures they carried into the water to lighten their burdens. Many others, because they had gold on them, fell into the water during the melee and were buried under the water together with the gold. On this night, more than 1,000 Spaniards and a larger number of indigenous people died in battle. Later generations called it the "miserable night."