What Is Ancient Aztec Civilization

The Aztec's back then had a very stunning capital. Hernàn Cortès, the Spanish conquer, was very awed by the Aztec's capital. He said "there is one square....where their are more than 60,000 souls, buying, and selling". Tenochtitlàn was pretty advanced for its time

The Aztec military was centered around organization, but no one really knows exactly how they were organized; it has been discussed in history but never agreed upon. The ranks of the military were very similar to many militaries around the world; including a general, officers, doctors, etc. However, the social rank the people held had little correlation to their position in the military, but rather had more to do with their work ethic and strength. This was also true the other way around, such that, the individual's ranking in the army did not contribute to where they stood on the social hierarchy when they returned from war. Though this held true, the military was primarily made up of commoners, so there was little distinction between social

During this time the social class depended on how much land you owned. Royalty in your Kings and Queens was part of the upper class; the noble lords and vassals followed the

     According to the famous legend, the Aztecs finally settled at a spot where an eagle sat upon a cactus eating a snake. This was a sign foretold by their patron god. The sign, found by the priests, finally appeared on a small island in Lake Texcoco. By 1325, on the island, the Aztecs built a temple to Huitziposhtli and began to construct the city of Tenochtitlan, the "Place of Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit." Over the next 200 years, the city slowly became one of the largest and most powerful cities of the world, and was the giant heart of the Aztecs Empire .

Tenochtitlan: Capital of the Aztecs and the center of a rigidly stratified society composed of hereditary classes of warriors, merchants, priests, common folk, and slaves.

Their society was based on infrastructure because the nobility was the highest, then there were the commoners and lastly the slaves. The

1. “The particular cultures and societies of Africa and of the Americas discussed in this chapter

In the most basic sense, the increasing size and grandeur of the temple reflected the growing power of the empire, until its fall at the hands of the Spaniards. But a religious reason also reinforced the construction of the Templo Mayor and its significance in the Aztec empire. The Aztec creation story, greatly condensed, included the creation the deities of death, the heavens, the waters, and the alligator-fish Cipactli at the hands of the gods Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl. From Cipactli, the earth, or Cemanahuac, was formed. Aztec myth also states that Tenochtitlan was founded after early Mexica-Aztecs saw an eagle with a bird in its talons standing above a prickly pear cactus. The eagle was a representation of Huitzilopochtli, their main god. Connecting these two legends, the Aztecs called their capital, Tenochtitlan, Cemanahuac as well, to express their belief that they too were at the center of the universe like earth. To further imitate the universe, which was divided into four parts in Aztec myth, Tenochitlan was dived into four as well. Beginning from the Templo Mayor, which was the city’s center, four lines divided the city into north, south, west, and east barrios. By using Tenochitlan, and even more directly, the Templo Mayor, the Aztec empire declared that they were the chosen-people of the

Many years after Tenochtitlan was first built by the Mexica, they formed a three way alliance with two other cities Texcoco and Tlacopan. These three cities were to rule the Valley of Mexico. Over time Tenochtitlan became the dominant city of the Alliance and its ruler became the supreme “high king”. Tenochtitlan became the capital of the Aztec empire, the heart of the Aztec civilization and countless other cultures.

The Aztecs settled in the Valley of Mexico in 1250 c.e. They were forced to build on an island that was in the middle of a swamp. With water all around it should've been easy to attack the Aztecs. But the water protected the island and made it easier to get water for drinking and crops. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec empire. Tenochtitlan had many temples, that were dedicated to their gods. There were many waterways that were used for trading goods and transporting people. More than 200,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan. There were three main groups in the Aztec society. The Macehualtin

The Tlacatecuhtli also known as "chief of men” has authority over its religious ceremonies and also the military leader. Under The Tlacatecuhtli were a group of religions and other offices which included military generals. Priests and priestesses were considered highly important in Aztec society. They played the role of doctors. Priests also taught science, art, writing, music, dance, history, and counting. They also had great knowledge in astronomy and astrology, performing difficult ceremonies.

The heart of the Aztec Empire was known as the Tenochtitlan, founded in 1325 AD. In this Empire there was a paved area known as the Sacred Precinct. The Sacred Prescient consisted of seventy-eight buildings. Among those buildings were a Tzompantli (a skull rack) and a ball court. The building that dominated the Sacred Precinct was known as the Temple Mayor or the Great Temple. It was a double sided temple with twin staircases leading up to the temple doors. The two sides worshipped two different deities, Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc.

The location for Tenochtitlan is very interesting to say the least. The city was located in the valley of Mexico, so it was surrounded by mountains. The actual location was on Lake Texcoco, which made it difficult for any civilization to live in the area. The Aztecs built the city on elevated platforms, and used canoes as a form of travel. In the event of an attack, the Aztecs would raise up the platforms to make it more difficult for invaders to enter the city.

I believe the best civilization to live in would be Aztecs. I believe this because the civilization had the best innovations and had great tools to help them succeed unlike the other civilizations. The Aztecs had canals for transportation by boat to transport supplies and goods. The Aztecs survived 452 years, longer than the others. They were very advanced considering the era they were developed.

The commoner class was made up of farmer, merchants, artisans and low level priests. Commoners would usually live in calpulli or neighbourhood ward lead by a single noble or group of commoner elders. The merchants and artisans had it the best of all of those in this class with more freedom and wealth than those around them.