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Gold-silver-copper alloy figure of an Aztec warrior, who holds a dartthrower, darts, and a shield. Aztec Warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions, forces, weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations of Mesoamerica, including particularly the military history of the Aztec Triple Alliance involving the city-states of ...
Aztec rule has been described by scholars as "hegemonic" or "indirect". [6] The Aztecs left rulers of conquered cities in power so long as they agreed to pay semi-annual tribute to the alliance, as well as supply military forces when needed for the Aztec war efforts. In return, the imperial authority offered protection and political stability ...
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.
Family and lineage were the basic units of Aztec society. One's lineage determined social standing, and noble traced their lineage back to the mythical past, as they were said to be descended from the god Quetzalcoatl. [9] Prestigious lineages also traced their kin back through ruling dynasties, preferably ones with a Toltec heritage.
The warriors used a number of weapons, including an atlatl, spears and daggers. The Aztec blades were made by setting obsidian within wood. Firestones were flung at enemies using slings made of wool. Most Aztec weapons were intended to stun and capture opponents rather than to kill them.
The Aztecs were conquered by Spain in 1521 after a long siege of the capital, Tenochtitlan, where much of the population died from hunger and smallpox. Cortés, with 508 Spaniards, did not fight alone but with as many as 150,000 or 200,000 allies from Tlaxcala , and eventually other Aztec tributary states.
A drawing from the Catalog of the Royal Armoury of Madrid by the medievalist Achille Jubinal in the 19th century. The original specimen was destroyed by a fire in 1884. The maquahuitl (Classical Nahuatl: māccuahuitl, other orthographic variants include mākkwawitl and mācquahuitl; plural māccuahuimeh), [4] a type of macana, was a common weapon used by the Aztec military forces and other ...
However, in flower wars, the Aztecs did not use ranged weapons and instead used weapons such as the macuahuitl [9] that required skill and close proximity to the enemy. [8] The use of these kinds of weapons allowed the Aztecs to display their individual combat ability, which was an important part of the flower war. [8]