History of Aztecs
AZTECS
-Indian people, who came from the north in XIII century (from a myth pre-fatherland of Aztlans, that gave the name 'Aztecs') and settled down in the Valley of Mexico, where founded a shelter on the boggy soil around the lake. In generous, the name of Aztecs were given to the all people of Empire, especially to the societies of Mexica from Tenochtitlan, Acolhua of Texcoco and Tepaneca of Tlacopan.
Using an inheritance of previous middleamerican civilisations (mainly Toltecas) they created a new phase of it, called aztec phase. Characteristical for it was an apotheosis of the war, recognized as the general principle for the existence of the world, what touched not only social and political life but also mythology and religion (bloody sacrifices of people, in particular war captives, were a basis elements of religious cult) or art (death motif present everywhere).
The name Aztecs used in this sense don't embrace all the Nahua people of preconquest period (Mexicas and Acolhua), nor today's Nahua Indians, living mainly in Mexico.
In XIVth. century Aztecs created their own political organism, so called city-country (Tenochtitlan), firstly dependent on the neeighbours, Tepanecas of Azcapotzalco, then independent from 1428.
Between 1428-30 a coalition of Texcoco and Tlacopan was formed to start an military expansion, that was a beginning of Aztec Empire. At the end of XV cent. empire embraced nearly all central, eastern and south Mexico. It was builded from more than 500 city-countrys, who's people were forced to pay a tribute: gold, jewel stones, clothes, feathers and corn flew to Mexico.
Above ethnic, noble class was an unifying factor despite of a military terror.
Consolidation processes inntensification was noticed in early XVI century, when Mexicas were dominating their allies and an emperor of Tenochtitlan, Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, proclamed himself as one and only emperor.
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