Aztec Success Essay Research Paper Aztec SuccessThe

Aztec Success Essay, Research Paper

Aztec Success

The Triple Alliance was a bond formed in 1482 between the cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tacuba. We know the empire they created as the Aztec Empire. Their reign included the conquest of many neighboring communities. The immense amount of land and people they reigned over caused many problems because of the enormous distances and rudimentary means of communication. This led to a special kind of rule where the remote cities received preferential treatment to guarantee their loyalty. The tribute system the Triple Alliance set up was the backbone of their Empire, and it financed the important religious festivals and the luxuries of the ruling class. The tribute was collected from conquered lands and consisted of everything Mexico could produce and consume. The system was quite flexible and adaptable to the problems of transport and the lack of an alphabetical writing system which made rapid communication troublesome. The ever-expanding conquests created “a bureaucratic and economic machine of enormous complexity that fed on a diet of tribute, trade, and a constant supply of sacrificial victims from near and distant lands” (Fagan, 95). The success of the Triple Alliance, in such a short period, came from the unique government it created, which incorporated a tribute system capable of combining the religious, political, and social values of the time.

The development of the Aztec Empire occurred in an amazingly short period. The Mexica were the last group to migrate to the valley of Mexico toward the beginning of the thirteenth century (van Zantwijk, 40). Their late migration left them low on the social scale forcing the Mexica to wander for many years trying to find a permanent settlement (Duran, 13). They lived off the western shore of Lake Texcoco, at Chapultepec for a short time, but this land belonged to the Tepanec people. In 1299 the Tepanec forced the Mexica to take refuge to the south of the lake, on the outskirts of Culhuacan (Leon-Portilla, 88). The Tepanec sent them there hoping the poisonous snakes of the area would kill them. Instead, the Mexica ate the snakes. The Tepanec again chased the Mexica out in 1323 and so the Mexica founded the site of Tenochtitlan, which was to become a great capital. Meanwhile, the Tepanec were building a great empire in nearby Azcapotzalco. The Mexica strived to become privileged members of the Tepanec empire. Although Tepanec confined them to secondary roles, they managed to take advantage of this time to train themselves (Gruzinski, 26). In 1426, Tezozmoc the leader of the Tepanec empire was succeeded by his son Maxtla, who hated the Mexica. Soon war broke out between the two groups (Duran, 61). Texcoco, a neighboring city, also was at odds with the Tepanec, and so the Mexica, the Tecocan and Tlacopan formed the Triple Alliance against the Tepanec. The Triple Alliance formed what is today known as the Aztec empire. The power of these three cities defeated the Tepanec and took control of their land after a siege lasting 114 days. Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, controlled the military and tribute payments while Texcoco held authority over juridical and cultural affairs. Tlacopan became a subsidiary to Tenochtitlan and dealt mostly with external relations, like presenting official declarations of war for the empire (Van Zantwijk, 111).

After only a little more than one hundred years in the Valley of Mexico, the Mexica became great leaders. In 1440 the emperor Moctezuma I came in to power. He was to be known as the father of the Aztec Empire (Gruzinski, 31). Moctezuma knew the importance of conquering neighboring lands to expand the power of the Aztecs. The perpetual battles that Moctezuma I began laid the groundwork for the success of the empire. The conquering of neighbors’ land was very important to the survival of both the Aztec Empire and the world (Davies, 42). The tribute payments gained by conquering supported the government economically and provided the victims for the sacrifices which the Aztecs’ believed fueled the world. The conquest of new lands was important to Aztec religion and society because of the growing need for humans to sacrifice. The Aztecs believed that someday this world or Sun would have to end. The only way to avoid the death of the sun was by giving it vital energy enclosed in the chalchiuhatl or “the precious liquid” which keeps humanity alive, blood. This called for a continuous supply of sacrificial victims, whose hearts and blood would be offered up to the sun, giving the sun the nourishment necessary to prolong its life indefinitely (Leon-Portilla, 101).

To make this possible, the Aztecs started a practice known as the “flower wars,” periodic battles whose purpose was to capture potential sacrificial victims. The Aztecs fought these pseudo wars with the people of Texcoco, Tlacopan, Tlaxcala, and Huexotzinco. Soldiers did their best not to kill opponents but rather to take them alive for sacrifice (Duran, 348). The Aztecs believed the continued existence of the universe depended on them, if they did not feed the sun the dark forces of the night would destroy it. This gave the Aztecs a justification for all their conquests. By subduing other people and reducing them to tributaries, they were realizing a supreme mission (Leon-Portilla, 102). The Aztec state was thus devoted to the notion of perpetual war (Davies, 51). Due