Aztec Empire

WHS related to the Aztec Empire. The Aztec Empire was an alliance of city-states that ruled the area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until their defeat to the Spanish in 1521. At its height, the alliance controlled most of central Mexico as well as some more distant territories within Mesoamerica. Aztec rule has been described as "indirect".

Connected Sites

Site	Rationale	Link
El Tajin	"The end for El Tajin came around 1200 when a marauding Aztec army of eagle and jaguar knights invaded and pillaged the area. In the aftermath of the battle, the city was completely abandoned. Fearing further attack, the population quickly surrendered to the Aztecs and became a subjugated people. The reign of the Aztecs over the dispersed descendants of El Tajin was so brutal that when the Spanish arrived on the shores of Veracruz in 1519, the Totonac and Huastec peoples joined with the conquistadors to exact revenge for their oppression." (Atlas Obscura)
Mexico City and Xochimilco	"Built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the old Aztec capital .. .. The monumental complex of the Templo Mayor (Main Temple) bears exceptional witness to the cults of an extinct civilization" (Official description); "Tenochtitlan succeeded in conquering Xochimilco in 1430, while it was ruled by Tzalpoyotzin. Shortly thereafter, Aztec emperor Itzcoatl built the causeway or calzada that would connect the two cities over the lake." (wiki)
Oaxaca and Monte Alban	Oaxaca City: "Under Ahuitzotl, the Aztecs temporarily pushed the Zapotecs into Tehuantepec and established a permanent military base at Huaxyacac (Oaxaca city)." (wiki) Monte Alban: "Monte Albán is an outstanding example of a pre-Columbian ceremonial centre in the middle zone of present-day Mexico, which was subjected to influences from the north - first from Teotihuacan, later the Aztecs" (OUV)
Teotihuacan	Earlier site, but with religious significance for the Aztecs and it fell within their territory: "The later Aztecs saw these magnificent ruins and claimed a common ancestry with the Teotihuacanos, modifying and adopting aspects of their culture." (wiki) "The Aztec name of Teotihuacán means "the place where gods were created". According to writings from the 16th century, the sacrifices practiced by Moctezuma every twenty days on the site attested to the persistence of beliefs, which made Teotihuacan a sacred place of exceptional value." (Crit vi OUV)
Tlacotalpan	"..the names of the river Papaloapan (Butterfly River) and other settlements nearby are Nahuatl, which suggests that it was under Aztec domination" (AB ev) "In 1461, Moctezuma Ilhuicamina began the Aztec's first efforts to expand here, then controlled by the Cotaxtlan dominion. In 1475, Axayacatl conquered it along with Coixtlahuaca, Tochtepec and Cosamaloapan, giving all these areas their current names." (wiki)

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Aztec Empire

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