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The Aztecs [a] (/ ˈ æ z t ɛ k s / AZ-teks) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
The Aztecs, apparently, saw this vision on the small island where Tenochtitlan was founded. Another Mexica group settled on the north side of this island: this would become the city of Tlatelolco. Originally, this was an independent Mexica kingdom, but eventually, it was absorbed by Tenochtitlan, and treated as a "fifth" quadrant.
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance (Classical Nahuatl: Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, [ˈjéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥]) was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan.
[6] Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325, but other researchers and anthropologists believe the year to be 1345. [6] The city was described by conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo as a grand, well-ordered metropolis. [15] A dissident group of Mexica separated from the main body and built another city on an island north of Tenochtitlan in 1337.
Itzcoatl also continued the building of Tenochtitlan: during his reign temples, roads, and a causeway were built. Itzcoatl established the religious and governmental hierarchy that was assumed by his nephew Moctezuma I upon his death in 1440. Map showing the expansion of the Aztec empire showing the areas conquered by the Aztec rulers.
The revolt was successful, and the Aztecs became central Mexico's rulers as the Triple Alliance leaders. The alliance was composed of the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. At their peak, 350,000 Aztecs presided over a wealthy tribute empire comprising 10 million people, almost half of Mexico's estimated population of 24 million.
The Aztecs believed that they were in the Fifth Sun, and like all of the suns before them, they would also eventually perish due to their own imperfections. Every 52 years was marked out due to the belief that 52 years was a life cycle and at the end of any given life cycle, the gods could take all they had, and destroy the world.
The Aztec religious year was connected mostly to the natural 365-day calendar, the xiuhpohualli ("yearcount"), which followed the agricultural year. Each of the 18 twenty-day months of the religious year had its particular religious festival—most of which were connected to agricultural themes.