Aztecs Control Central Mexico

1. Aztecs Control Central Mexico Vocab : Triple Alliance, Montezuma II

2. The Valley of Mexico • 7000 feet above sea level. • Large shallow lakes. • 1st major civilization of central Mexico was Teotihuacan. • At its peak, 125,000 people lived there. • At the center of Teotihuacan stood a 200ft tall pyramid that was at its base larger than the Great Pyramid in Egypt.

3. Valley of Mexico

4. Teotihuacan • Become a large thriving trading center that stretched to Central America. • Obsidian was its most valuable trade item. • Obsidian was used to make weapons. • By 750 Teotihuacan was gone.

5. Toltecs • 900 rose to power. • Next 300 years ruled central Mexico. • Their capital was at Tula. They also built pyramids and temples. • Extremely warlike people. • Like the Mayans they did human and blood sacrifice(s).

6. Toltecs • Through trade and power the Toltecs spread to the Yucatan. • By 1200 Toltec rule was over. • Quetzalcoatl (god of peace) merged with an early Toltec king named Topiltzin. People did not like this and Quetzalcoatl was exiled. • Legend was that he would return one day and bring in a kingdom of peace and light.

7. Aztecs build an Empire • Arrived in the Valley of Mexico around 1200. • Aztecs were called Mexica at the time. • They were a poor nomadic people from North Mexico. • Became soldiers for hire by the local rulers. • Legend has it that the Aztec sun god Huitzilopochtli told them to build their own city.

8. Aztecs Build An Empire • Found a place to build at Lake Texcoco • Built Tenochtitlan in 1325. • 1428 joined two other city –states Texcoco & Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance. • Became the leading power in the region and Mexico. • 1500’s , the empire was from central Mexico to the Atlantic & Pacific coasts to Oaxaca.

9. Aztec Empire • Based on tribute and military conquest. • Let local rulers govern their own regions. • Tribute was paid in gold, maize, cacao, cotton and jade. • If the tribute was not paid then the villages were destroyed & the villagers were killed.

10. Nobles Rule Aztec • Military leaders held great power in the Aztec Empire. • Govt officials & priests made up the rest of the nobility. • Commoners and slaves made up the rest of the society. • Commoners were merchants, artisans,soldiers & farmers.

11. Trade • Center of the Aztec trade was the capital of Tenochtitlan. • The market of Tlatelcoco was the main market. • Most of the products were grown on farm plots called chinampas.

12. Tenochtitlan • 1500 ‘s was a city of 200,000 people. • Located on an island. To get to the island causeways were built over the water and marshlands. • Palaces, temples, markets and residential districts were connected by streets and avenues. • Center of the city was a walled complex . The Great Temple

13. Religion • Major role in Aztec society. • Many temples related to the gods. • Adapted many of their beliefs from the Toltecs. • Most important ritual was for the sun god Huitzilopochtli. Required blood sacrifices. • Human sacrifices were carried out daily. • Carved out the hearts of their enemies.

14. Huitzilopochtli • Aztec priests used Obsidian to cut out the hearts of the prisoners. • Aztec battle tactics were not just to defeat the enemy but to have a steady amount of prisoners for the human sacrifices.

15. Problems • 1502 Montezuma II became ruler. • The empire became weaker. The empire was growing and demanding more tribute and sacrifices. • Many provinces began to rebel against the Aztecs. • Montezuma reduced the number of officials and sacrifices.

16. Problems • Enemies of the Aztec banded together with the Spanish to fight the Aztecs. • Religious beliefs led to more war and need for human sacrifices which led to open rebellion. • Smallpox from the Spanish killed many Aztecs.