Little is known about Most important Aztec cities Despite being part of one of the most splendid empires in history. A civilization protagonist of great conquests in the time of Mesoamerica and example of social, economic and military structures.
The beginning of this civilization is really mysterious. It is believed to be a culture from the north of present-day Mexico and resided in"Aztlán"a city near the current border of Mexico with the United States, probably what today is known as Tepic, Nayarit.
The town of Aztlán, hence the origin of its name"Azteca", was guided, by a vision of its ruler, to"the promised land"that was nothing more and nothing less than the place where they would find an eagle stopped in a Nopal while devouring a snake.
After a pilgrimage of years, the tribe found the"sign"indicated by the gods and settled in what is now the lake of Texcoco, where they adopted the name Mexicas and from which the name of the country Mexico .
The Mexicas were known to ally with two other tribes, Texcoco and Tlacopán, with the help of which they defeated another tribe of Azcapotzalco. Later they continued conquering neighboring territories until dominating all the central zone of the present country of Mexico, from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of California.
Because of the great extent of the conquered territory, the Aztecs instituted"capitals"or important cities, where the tributes of the areas were collected and later sent to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the empire.
Top 3 most important cities of the Aztec Empire
1- Tenochtitlan
It was the capital of the Aztec Empire and was founded on one of the islands of Lake Texcoco on December 12, 1325. Due to the strategic location, the city was in a privileged place to defend against attacks, in addition the nearby lakes provided large crops Which allowed for the accelerated growth of the population.
This city received 2/5 of the tribute charged to the dominated peoples and its importance was based on that it was the center of commerce and barter of the empire, in addition there were carried out the meetings of the gentlemen who took decisions of war and tributes.
Although this culture is admired by the beautiful pyramids that remained as vestige of its existence in the present Teotihuacán, it is necessary to mention that it was not this civilization that constructed these monuments, but the Teotihuacanos , Who, for unknown reasons, left the city centuries before the Mexicas found and reoccupied.
2- Texcoco
It was founded in 1337 by towns of Chichimeca origin, but it fell before the Tepaneca Empire, that assassinated its Tlatoani . It changed the name of the city to Azcapotzalco and dominated to the town cruelly, with tributes that hardly allowed them to survive with the objective of avoiding a rebellion.
10 years later, the son of the murdered tlatoani, Nezahualcóyotl, allied himself with the Mexicas of Tenochtitlán (Aztecs), defeated the Tepanecas and avenged the death of his father.
From these events the city was called Texcoco, one of the 3 headwaters of the Aztec lordship, that received 2/5 parts of the tributes of the conquered towns.
Texcoco was the second most important city in the empire, known as the cradle of knowledge, because Nezahualcoyotl appreciated culture and education, so its importance lay in temples dedicated to learning science, art, astronomy, divination and commerce.
3- Tlacopan
It means"city on the varas", now known as Tacuba in Mexico City.
This town was also dominated by the Tepanecas, who exercised a bloodthirsty and oppressive government, so the people allied with the Aztecs to free themselves. This made it part of the trinity of Aztec lordship.
In spite of their alliance, the town of Tlacopan only received 1/5 of the tributes of the conquered towns. As a result of their studies in history, they were discontented with the empire, because despite being an alliance, the Mexicas predominated in their power and size of population.
Other major cities
After the capitals of the dominions, the most important cities of the empire were those that were strategically located according to the trade routes, the importance of their products or the amount of tribute that could offer.
4- Mazatlan - land of deer
Located on the Pacific Ocean coast, it provided deer meat and skins and seafood such as seafood, fish, shells and pearls.
5- Tochtlan - land of rabbits
Located on the shores of present-day Veracruz, it mainly supplied marine products and was a strategic point for trade with the Yucatan peninsula.
6- Ixtapan - land or house of salt.
As its name says, its main contribution was the prized condiment. Despite the power and influence of the Aztec Empire, it was conquered by the Spaniards, who allied themselves with the empire-dominated peoples to overthrow them, hoping to regain their independence.
References
- THE RISE OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE By John P. Schmal, An educational project of the Houston Institute for Culture, retrieved from houstonculture.org.
- Aztec Civilization by Mark Cartwright, published on 26 February 2014, retrieved from ancient.eu.
- The Aztec world, a kingdom of blood, Copyright © 2008-2016 ushistory.org, owned by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, founded 1942.
- Prescott, William Hickling. History of the conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the ancient Mexican civilization, and the life of the conqueror Hernand Cortez. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Company, 1867. Retrieved from khanacademy.org.
- The lives of the Aztec common people By Michael E. Smith on January 1, 2005, retrieved from scientificamerican.com.
- The Aztec empire by Raphael Chijioke Njoku, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WESTERN COLONIALISM SINCE 1450 pages 119 - 122, retrieved from history.furman.edu.