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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.
At their peak, the Valley of Mexico where the Aztec Empire presided, saw a population growth that included nearly one million people during the late Aztec period (1350–1519). [ 57 ] Their capital, Tenochtitlan , is the site of modern-day Mexico City .
Although hard-pressed, the Spanish infantry was able to hold off the overwhelming numbers of enemy warriors, while the Spanish cavalry under the leadership of Cortés charged through the enemy ranks again and again. When Cortés and his men killed one of the Aztec leaders, the Aztecs broke off the battle and left the field. [49]: 303–05
It took nearly another 60 years of war before the Spaniards completed the conquest of Mesoamerica (the Chichimeca wars), a process that could have taken longer were it not for three separate epidemics, including a rare strain of paratyphoid fever, [8] that took a heavy toll on the remaining Native American population.
Map of Pre-Columbian states of Mexico just before the Spanish conquest. The pre-Columbian (or prehispanic) history of the territory now making up the country of Mexico is known through the work of archaeologists and epigraphers, and through the accounts of Spanish conquistadores, settlers and clergymen as well as the indigenous chroniclers of the immediate post-conquest period.
This united the Mexica, Apulteca, and Chichimeca people through marriages. The Aztec armed forces were typically made up of a small number people ranging from 10-15 people of commoners (yāōquīzqueh [jaː.oːˈkiːskeʔ], "those who have gone to war") who possessed extensive military training, and a smaller but still considerable number of ...
1479 - Treaty of Toledo ends the War of the Castilian Succession. Portugal won the exclusive right of navigating, conquering and trading in all the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands, forcing Spain to sail west to India. before 1492 – Population estimates in the New World before European contact may be as high as 112 million people.
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 ...