The Aztec Empire
After conquering an area, the Aztecs demanded _______________ from the people living there.
Tribute
To administer their religion, the Aztecs had a large class of ___________________ and built huge temples in the shape of ___________________.
Priests, Pyramids
Moctezuma I
(1398 CE - 1469 CE) The Aztec emperor and king of Tenochtitlán. He greatly increased the size of the Aztec Empire through conquest.
Aztec Empire
(1428 - 1521) A Mesoamerican empire that formed as a result of an alliance between three major cities in the Valley of Mexico. The Aztec people had occupied the Valley of Mexico since at least the 13th century. Tenochtitlán, which was founded in 1325, became the capital city of the Aztec Empire.
Which of these characteristics applied to architecture in Tenochtitlán? - A large pyramid - Raised roads - Public bath houses - Circular roads and canals - Floating gardens
- A large pyramid - Raised roads - Floating gardens
Which of these characteristics applied to rulers in the Aztec civilization? - They lived far away from Tenochtitlán in private palaces. - They were members of earlier rulers' families. - Their social status was equal to that of nobles. - They appointed governors to manage the Aztec government. - They had complete control over the Aztec government. - They tried to limit the power of religious leaders.
- They were members of earlier rulers' families. - They appointed governors to manage the Aztec government. - They had complete control over the Aztec government.
Which of these exchanges would be considered tribute?
A conquered nation gives the conquering nation slaves and luxury goods in exchange for peace.
How Was Aztec Society Structured?
A king in the Aztec Empire was only one part of a complex social hierarchy. Aztec culture had five social classes: the king, nobles, commoners, peasants, and slaves.
Which of the following actions is most similar to city-planning techniques developed by the Aztecs?
A university designs a new building to ensure that astronomers will be able to easily observe the night sky.
To conquer surrounding areas, the Aztecs formed _______________ with other groups.
Alliances
Weaknesses of the Aztec Empire
Although the Aztec Empire dominated the Valley of Mexico for several centuries, its decline happened rather quickly. It began in 1519 with the arrival of Spanish explorers led by the conquistador Hernán Cortés. When Cortés arrived in Mexico with his army, groups of natives whom the Aztecs had conquered joined forces with the Spanish to help overthrow the Aztec Empire. Confronted with superior European weapons powered by gunpowder, the Aztecs were at a severe military disadvantage. The Aztecs were also weakened by exposure to diseases Europeans brought with them to Mexico. One of the most devastating diseases was a virus called smallpox.
Which of Moctezuma I's tactics promoted harmony between the Aztecs and other Central American civilizations?
Dividing conquered lands and wealth fairly among his allies
All around Tenochtitlán, the Aztecs created new land for agriculture by building __________________.
Floating gardens
What was one of the main uses of the tributes the Aztecs demanded from conquered peoples?
The tributes supported many Aztec leaders, including priests and government officials.
Which statement best explains how the Aztecs were able to control so much land surrounding their capital?
In 1428, the Aztecs formed a triple alliance with two neighboring cities, and through this alliance they invaded and conquered many lands.
How was life in Tenochtitlán similar to and different from life in a modern American city? Give at least one example of each.
Like Tenochtitlán, modern cities have public markets where people socialize and shop; modern cities also have places where athletes gather to compete in games. In Tenochtitlán, however, these games sometimes ended with human sacrifices; this does not happen in modern American cities.
During the rule of ____________________, the Aztec Empire became one of the largest and wealthiest in the Americas.
Moctezuma I
An Aztec woman keeps an official record of the crops planted and harvested throughout a city. This woman is most likely from which social class?
Noble
The ________________ provided a cultural foundation for later Mesoamerican civilizations, including the Aztec Empire.
Olmecs
What are three ways that religion affected the daily lives of the Aztec?
People could become priests serving Aztec gods. People made and displayed sculptures and other artworks to worship the gods. The losers of a tlachtli match were sometimes sacrificed to the gods.
The Aztecs were ____________________, worshipping ____________________ such as Huitzilopochtli and Quetzalcoatl.
Polytheists, Gods
The Aztecs built the city ____________________ of on an island in _________________________.
Tenochtitlán, Lake Texcoco
What was an allied state with the Aztec Empire
Teotitlán
Supporting the Aztecs
The Aztec Empire grew rich on the tributes its rulers received from conquered regions. Aztec storehouses were filled with corn, beans, and cotton cloaks, as well as more luxurious items such as feathers and jade. Some of these goods supported the thousands of people who lived in Tenochtitlán. Priests, government officials, and other workers were often paid in tribute goods. Other goods were traded for items from distant regions.
What Groups Laid the Foundation for the Aztec Empire?
The Aztec culture was not the first civilization to emerge in the valleys and plateaus of southern Mexico. Over thousands of years, several large civilizations had risen and fallen, including the Olmec civilization, the Toltecs, and the Maya civilization. Their peoples left rich cultures — including magnificent cities such as Teotihuacán — that influenced later groups like the Aztecs.
In your own words, explain how the Aztecs were influenced by the Olmecs, Maya, and Toltecs?
The Aztecs built pyramids like the Olmecs, and they developed a calendar like the Maya. The Aztec and Toltec languages were similar.
Creating the Aztec Empire
The Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlán, on an island in Lake Texcoco around 1325. Over the next few centuries, they formed an alliance with two other tribes and invaded neighboring areas. By about 1500, the Aztecs had conquered an area of central Mexico that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The Aztecs did not govern the lands they had conquered. Instead, the Aztecs allowed conquered people to pay tribute to coexist in peace. When a conquered group did not pay tribute, the Aztecs would take captives as slaves. As you might imagine, most groups paid tribute. And as a result, the Aztecs became wealthy, and Tenochtitlán grew to be one of the richest cities in the world at the time.
Why did most of the people the Aztecs conquered agree to give the Aztecs valuable goods as tribute?
The Aztecs enslaved those peoples who refused to pay them tribute.
Which statement best explains the decline of the Aztec Empire?
The Aztecs fell victim to European weapons and diseases.
Why would some Mesoamerica societies have allied with the Spanish conquistadores against the Aztecs?
The Aztecs had conquered their territories and forced them to pay tributes.
Why did the Aztec build floating gardens in their capital city of Tenochtitlán?
The Aztecs wanted to be able to plant crops on rich soil found in lake beds.
How did the Olmec and Maya civilizations differ in their influences on the Aztec civilization?
The Maya influence was more direct than that of the Olmecs because the Maya civilization thrived only a few hundred years before the Aztecs.
Which answer lists pre-Aztec civilizations in the correct chronological order?
The Olmecs were dominant first, followed by the Maya, followed by the Toltecs.
Why do you think the Aztecs were influenced more directly by the Toltecs than by the Olmecs or Maya?
The Toltecs lived around the same time and in roughly the same region as the Aztecs. In contrast, the Maya lived farther east, and the Olmecs had disappeared more than 1,000 years before the Aztecs arrived in southern Mexico.
Which statement best describes how people at an Aztec market conducted business?
The buyer and seller bartered goods.
What was one difference between the role of the king and that of the nobles in Aztec society?
The king could decide to go to war, while the nobles could not.