The Aztecs

Upon researching this civilization, I realised that there was so much I didn't know about these fascinating people. I only knew of their artwork, temples and brutal blood thirsty ritual. But they were so much more than that.

Here's what I learnt about the Aztecs:

The Aztecs were an intelligent and violent tribe that lived in the 14th century in south America. They were banished to a marshy swamp land on lake Texcoco, after they sacrificed a princess of a ruling tribe by cutting out her heart while she was still alive. The princess believed she was to marry the aztec prince and as she walked up the temple to her supposedly awating husband to be she was instead lead to a large stone slab and became an offering to the aztec gods. The aztecs believed that without these offering the sun would no longer rise.

When the Aztecs started to build there new home they wanted to replicate the "city of the gods" temple that they had previously. However the lands were extremely marshy and this made building difficult as the stone would sink. The Aztecs were great engineers and valued their engineers greatly. They solved this problem by anchoring building with stakes that were drove into the ground giving them extra support and preventing them from sinking. They were surrounded by volcanic rock which they built the foundations of their buildings. In order to build this glorified temple it took 50,000 men to move just 1 stone into place.

Now another problem the Aztecs encountered was that they needed spring water which was located on the main tribes land. The Aztecs thought they could demand water from the main tribe which was simply foolish on their part considering they just murdered the main tribes princess. So the main tribe murdered the Aztec emperor by assassination. This lead to war and a 100 day siege. Finally the Aztecs broke into the city and managed to kill the main tribes kind. The Aztecs were now the dominant tribe in the area.

However they still had a problem. They still couldn't bring the spring water with them to their own land. So they built aquaducts. These aquaducts ran for an impressive 3 miles into their territory. The Aztecs were extremely clean people and the emperor of the tribe would bathe twice a day. Compare this to the people in Europe were plague was killing millions due to unsanitary conditions.

The Aztecs now started to extend their borders under the new rule of the emperor Moctezuma.

Another problem the tribe encountered was frequent flooding. The springs would flood easily especially during heavy rain and this lead to great amounts of damage. Engineers fitted a dyke which stopped flooding and protected their fresh water. They also created artificial islands in the lake to create more arable land. These were known as Chinampas. Each chinampa could produce 7 crops a year in comparison to main land which could produce 1 crop a year. This was the key to their success as a dominant and fruitful state. An average Aztec would live to around 37 years.

Next they created roads in which messengers could transport riches to main city from the tribes they dominated. There would be several messengers placed throughout the road path and this meant they could transport the treasures more quickly as the messengers wouldn't tire.

At this time the great temple to honour the gods of Rain and war was completed. It stood 15 stones high with 115 steps leading to the top. It was built with volcanic stone which was light and therefore wouldn't sink. It took the Aztec workers decades to complete the temple. Here is were the Aztecs would decapitate their victims and push their carcasses down the steps. The Aztecs believed the most precious thing thy owned was blood. If the gods didn't receive it in massive quantities the world would end. This resulted in countless people being sacrifice. The Aztecs used sacrifice as a political statement in order to intimidate their enemies.

The new emperor was known for his statesmanship and warrior skills, he was now ruler of over 25 million people. The emperor became depressed when he witnessed a comet speed across the sky over his city. He seen it as a bad omen and spent the entire night in tears. As the weeks went by he became paranoid.

Perhaps he was right. For explorers now started to venture throughout their lands. The first to explore the Aztec lands were explorers from Cuba. The tribes were astonished with these metal men and animals they have never seen before.  The tribes offered concubines to the new men. One was a chieftains daughter who the leader of the Cuban party chose for himself. She started to learn the new groups language and became a translator for him and even an adviser.

As the Spaniards made there way through the Aztecs lands, they grew closer and closer to the main city. The emperor growing more and more paranoid mobilized his troops. The Aztec warriors wore animal costumes on the battlefield in order to intimidate their opponents. The Knights wore Jaguar and eagle costumes.

Finally the Aztecs and the Spaniards met. It was peaceful. The meeting of two worlds. The Spaniards stayed for a week in a palace in the main city. However tables turned and they abducted the emperor during one of his meetings in his quarters. They made him rule with Spanish intentions. A puppet. During one of the sacrificial rituals the Spaniards attacked killing the executioners. The Aztec emperor tried to calm his people but they threw rocks at him. His lifeless body fell outside of the city walls.

The Spaniards tried to flee at night but the Aztec warriors flanked them on the causeway. 400 Spaniards died that night it became known as "The Sad Night".

The surviving Spaniards took their revenge and destroyed the Aztec city. They targeted the aquaducts first. Destroying them. This left the Aztec people with no fresh drinking water. The Fighting continued for months. Eventually however the Aztec people started to become ill with diesease brought by the Spaniards. 20 million died.

The Aztec empire had vanished.