Thesis: There is more to the Aztecs than the savage society for which they are known.

Most people know the Aztecs as the brutal savages, who killed thousands, but few know the reason why and the great empire they built. The Aztecs are actually all of the people who spoke the Nahuatl language in Mexico. The tribe of the Mexica, known as the Tenochca, is the Aztecs that we all know. They were fearless warriors and pragmatic builders, who created an empire during the 15th century that was surpassed in size, in the Americas, only by that of the Incas. The Aztecs sacrificed many of their own and enemies, to appease their gods. They went on to be one of the greatest empires in history, building the great city of Tenochtitlan, where 300,000 lived.

The Aztecs migrated from the north into the valley of Mexico, around the twelfth century as told by Gruzinski, in The Aztecs Rise and Fall of an Empire. They adopted the cultural patterns of the Teotihuacan, and based their urban culture around them in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. There are three legends of their origin: they came from the island of Aztlan, they came from the caves of Chicomoztoc, and they came from the mountains. The Az

tecs war god, Huitzilopochtli, commanded them on a journey south to find the sacred city, and they arrived in the valley of Mexico in 1248. After a 130 years of searching, the Mexican (Aztecs) saw the holy sign of an eagle sitting on top of a cactus. It

religious functions were closed off to women. Aztec laws were simple and harsh; crimes from adultery to stealing were punished by death. Other crimes would call for severe corporal punishment or mutilation. Such as slandering, the loss of one’s lips would be the punishment. Slavery was common among the Aztecs, but it was not racial or permanent. Being sold by one’s parents, committing crimes, volunteering, or by being captured in a war were the causes of slavery. If one was captured in war slavery might be a better an option than the other, being sacrificed.

Human sacrifice was a major part of the Aztecs religion. This was done throughout

Honduras, as stated y Glen Welker in The Aztecs/Mexicas.

was poised between conflicting creation and destruction, and humans could influence this balance through the practice of sacrifice.

Some topics in this essay:
Oaxaca Sacrifices, Mexico Overview, Aztecs Mayan, Hill Star, Religion Aztec, Rain Tlaloc, Fall Empire, Aztecs/Mexicas Aztecs, Mayan Enigma, Moctezuma II, valley mexico, moctezuma ii, world destroyed, captured war, morley brainerd talk, chinampa method, sacrifice aztecs, aztec empire, city tenochtitlan, thrown fire, aztecs believed, brainerd talk ancient, talk ancient maya,