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Aztecs: Cities
built 614 days ago
Eventually... the servant Aztecs rebelled against their masters, and seized power themselves. Acting on a tribal prophecy, they began building a city on the island after seeing an eagle perched on a cactus. The city, called Tenochtitlan, soon became the capital of a vast empire that blossomed in the early 1300s. It boasted grand canals, enormous market squares, and gaudy temples, and was inhabited and fueled by a wealthy class of priests, warriors, traders, and tax collectors, who directed a highly organized society. More than 300,000 people lived in the city alone.
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The Aztecs began their reign in 1427 after the leader, Itzcoatl, with the assistance of surrounding cities, defeated the Tepanecs and gained control of the Mexican basin. Leadership of the nation was passed on from brother to brother and then to the eldest son of the eldest brother. Leaders were then chosen by religious leaders and people of political power, based on their skills on the battlefield and their ability to speak eloquently.
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In pre-Columbian America, both the Incas and Aztecs channeled water to their cities and religious centers. The Incas built an elaborate system of aqueducts, some of cut stone, which wound through hills and valleys to bring water from the mountains.
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Many of these communities despised the Aztecs and wanted freedom from their rule. Cortes saw this and exploited it to its fullest. By gathering up more than 150,000 of these native peoples and 9,000 of his own troops, he completely dismantled the Aztec Empire and in the process gained control of those who were fighting for their own freedom. Finally, after the city of Tenochtitlan became infected with the small-pox epidemic, and half of the city was wiped out, Cortes seized the city and laid it in ruins. By August 13th, 1521, the Aztec empire was decimated and Spanish rule soon spread throughout the newly gained land.
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