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Aztec hierarchy by this understanding was not of the type "where a unit of one type – the capital – controls subordinate units of another type" [8] but instead a type where the main unit is composed out of several constituent parts.
It was ethnically very diverse like most European empires but was more a system of tributes than a single unitary form of government unlike them. In the theoretical framework of imperial systems posited by American historian Alexander J. Motyl , the Aztec empire was an informal type of empire in that the Alliance did not claim supreme authority ...
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.
Portrait of Acamapichtli, the first Aztec King. Ruling positions were not hereditary, but preference was given to those in the "royal families." Originally pipiltin status was not hereditary, but as the sons of pillis had access to better resources and education it was easier for them to become pillis. Later, the class system took on hereditary ...
In the 21st century, the government of Mexico broadly classifies all Nahuatl-speaking peoples as Nahuas, making the number of Mexica people living in Mexico difficult to estimate. [4] Since 1810, the name "Aztec” has been more common when referring to the Mexica and the two names have become largely interchangeable. [5]
The Aztec emperors who ruled much of the land that became Mexico were defeated by a Spanish-led force that seized the city on August 13, 1521. Mexico City marks fall of Aztec capital 500 years ago ...
In 1521, the Aztec Empire was conquered by the Spaniards under Hernán Cortés and a large number of Mesoamerican allies. Tenochtitlan was destroyed and replaced by Mexico City, though the Spanish colonial authorities continued to appoint tlatoque of Tenochtitlan until the office was abolished in 1565.
It is said that the Aztec god, Huitzilopochtli, instructed the Aztecs to found their city at the location where they saw an eagle, on a cactus, with a snake in its talons (which is on the current Mexican flag). The Aztecs, apparently, saw this vision on the small island where Tenochtitlan was founded.