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Tenochtitlan Empires

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Throughout human history, people have come together to form small, independent city-states or large, expanding empires. From the Egyptian Empire in the 16th century BC to the British Empire in the 19th century AD, humankind has seen large and small empires rise and fall. Some empires have been more conventional to the Western understanding, such as the Roman Empire where there was a central capital that had direct control over other territories in which it conquered. Other empires consisted of a more complex system, like the Aztec Empire which consisted of a capital, Tenochtitlan, but had very loose control over its conquered territories. The Aztec Empire and Tenochtitlan rested upon as very complex and important social structure that provided …show more content…

The state of Tenochtitlan was astonished the Spanish when they first arrived to the city. Tenochtitlan was one of the largest, cleanliest, and prosperous cities in the world. The prosperity of Tenochtitlan was largely attributed to its social structure in which reflected the formation of the city. Tenochtitlan was built on a small island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, a salt water lake in the middle of Central America. The Mexica founded the city after escaping from conflict with their former ally, the city of Culhuacan. The Mexica eventually won the battle and formed one of the greatest cities the Americas has ever seen as technological advances were made to create a fresh water lake around them and a complex agricultural system to grow corn. The Mexica officially established themselves as a state by becoming independent when they formed the Triple Alliance with the states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. The Mexica eventually created their own social structure to maintain the functions of day to day life within the city. The Mexica divided themselves into the nobility, those who identified themselves with the original Mexica ruler Acamapichtli, to commoners who …show more content…

With the capital city of Tenochtitlan founded upon a small island that became one of the biggest cities in the world of its time to the spread of the Aztec conquest throughout Central America, the Aztecs questioned the conventional definition of what makes up a city and an empire. New ideas of culture, social organization, and military conquests developed because of the Aztec Empire. The Aztec Empire however, eventually fell because of its flaws within the empire like the lack of fast travel and the lack of loyalty among the commoners of the conquered city

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