Aztec Empire

HistoryMigrate from North America in 1168 to Mexico Valley where they built the capital of Tenochtitlan near Lake Texcoco. This marks the site where they had seen a sign in the form of an eagle perched on a cactus. In 1521 the Aztecs fell to Hernan Cortes, the Spanish and their allies

Territory

Home, religion and school

• Houses were built of stone or brick (rich), the poor mostly lived in huts

• Babies were celebrated for the new life in the world

• All children had mandatory attendance in school to learn behavior, engineering, building, and trade

• Ate corn, beans, squashes, potatoes, tomatoes, avocadoes, fish, rabbits, armadillos, snakes, coyotes and wild turkey

• Their religious practices were similar to that of the Mayans

Appearance

• Upper class – decorated with fans and feathers

• Commoners – dressed more plan, killed if had a fan or feather

Social Structure

• Nobles had slaves• In free time:• Wrote poetry about love, war and religion • Played a ball game similar to basketball

• 20 year old men married women about age 14-15• Could marry as many as they could afford• Used matchmakers

Government

• In 1428 they formed an alliance with Texcocans and the Tacubans

• They were ruled by an Emperor, usually with military power

• At its height the empire had up to 6 million people