The Aztec Empire
Objective • SWBAT explain how the Aztecs controlled their empire
Growth • Tenochtitlan began as simply the Aztecs’ home city • After the Aztecs and their allies defeated the Tepanecs in 1428 CE, the city became the capital of a growing empire • Under Montezuma I in the mid 1400s, the Aztecs extended their empire to faraway regions • By the early 1500s, the Aztec Empire stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean • At its height, the empire included more than 5 million people
Checks for Understanding • What did Tenochtitlan first start out as? • The Aztecs’ home city • What did it become after 1428? • The capital of a growing empire • Where did the empire stretch by the early 1500s? • From the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean • How many people did the empire include at its height? • 5 million
The Aztec Empire • Unlike other empire builders, the Aztecs did not start colonies • They also did not force conquered peoples to adopt their ways • Instead, the Aztec Empire was a loose union of hundreds of city-states that were forced to pay tribute to the Aztecs • The Aztec Empire was different than all empires we have discussed, they just wanted money and gifts!
Checks for Understanding • What did the Aztecs not do with their empire? • Start colonies • What did they not make the people they conquered do? • Adopt the Aztec ways • What was the empire? • A loose union of hundreds of city-states that were forced to pay tribute to the Aztecs
Tribute • Collecting tribute was the empire’s most important business • The Aztecs relied on tribute to support Tenochtitlan’s huge population • Tribute took the form of whatever valuable items a city could provide • Cities might pay in food, cacao, gems and stones, cotton, cloth, animals etc. • Tax collectors stationed around the empire made sure that cities paid regularly
Checks for Understanding • What was the empire’s most important business? • Collecting tribute • What did they rely on tribute for? • To support Tenochtitlan’s huge population • What was the tribute? • Valuable items a city could provide • How did they make sure city-states paid regularly? • Tax collectors were staged all around the empire
Warfare • The demands of the empire made war the center of Aztec life • Successful battles allow the Aztecs to increase their sources of tribute • They also gained more territory, laborers, and sacrificial victims • They took as many prisoners as possible to use in sacrifices to please Huitzilopochtli, the god of war
Checks for Understanding • Why was war the center of Aztec life? • Because of the demands of the empire (feeding the population) • What allowed the Aztecs to gain more tributes? • Successful battles • What else did the Aztecs gain? • More territory, laborers, and sacrificial victims • Why did they take as many prisoners as possible? • To sacrifice them
Battle • Every male Aztec was trained to be a soldier • First, the Aztecs asked a city to join the empire as an ally • The city had 60 days to agree, if the ruler refused, the Aztecs declared war • The battle began when thousands of Aztec warriors descended upon the city • As the armies faced each other, a general gave the signal to attack
Checks for Understanding • What did every male Aztec have to be? • A soldier • What was the first step of the battle? • The Aztecs asked a city to join them as an ally • What happened after 60 days and the city did not accept the offer? • The Aztecs declared war • When did the battle begin? • When 1000s of warriors descended upon the city
Aftermath • Aztec warriors excelled at hand-to-hand fighting and most wars ended after one battle, usually with an Aztec victory • After the city had fallen, the Aztecs brought their captives to Tenochtitlan • Some became slaves, but most were sacrificed to Huitzilopochtli • The Aztecs would then make a few demands on the defeated city
Checks for Understanding • Why did most wars end after one battle? • Because the Aztecs were awesome warriors • What did the Aztecs do with their warriors after the battle? • They brought them to Tenochtitlan • What happened to them? • Some became slaves, but most were sacrificed
Defeated Cities and People • The defeated people had to pay tribute and honor Huitzilpochtli, and promise obedience to the Aztec ruler • Otherwise, conquered cities remained independent (kept religion, customs, and languages) • These lenient conditions made it easy for the Aztecs to rule • However, most conquered people didn’t view themselves as Aztecs, and there was never a sense of unity in the Aztec Empire
Checks for Understanding • What happened to the defeated people? • They had to pay tribute and honor Huitzilpochtli and promise obedience to the Aztec ruler • How did conquered cities remain independent? • They kept their religion, customs, and languages • What did this allow for? • Easy rule by the Aztecs • What problem arose? • The empire wasn’t truly unified
