Who held the largest and most powerful empire in the Americas?

Answer: When Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico, the Aztecs held the largest and most powerful empire in the Americas. Because the Spanish had horses, some Aztecs thought Cortes might be a god. The Aztec king, Montezuma II , invited Cortes to enter his capital city of Tenochtitlan.

Who held the highest position of power in the Aztec empire?

These social risers were known as cuauhpipiltin or ‘eagle nobles’. One level above the pipiltin was the teteuhctin, who held the highest positions in the state apparatus such as city and regional governors.

Were the Aztecs the most advanced?

The Aztecs were very advanced scientific thinkers and mathematicians. The Aztec number system was far more advanced than other cultures at the time. … Aztec astronomy was also an important component of their calendar, which reflected heavily on their gods. The Aztecs were also advanced in the development of medicine.

What was the size of the Aztec empire?

Between A.D. 1345 and 1521, the Aztecs forged an empire over much of the central Mexican highlands. At its height, the Aztecs ruled over 80,000 square miles throughout central Mexico, from the Gulf Coast to the Pacific Ocean, and south to what is now Guatemala.

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What made the Aztecs so advanced?

Their relatively sophisticated system of agriculture (including intensive cultivation of land and irrigation methods) and a powerful military tradition would enable the Aztecs to build a successful state, and later an empire.

Are Mexican Aztecs?

Aztec, self name Culhua-Mexica, Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. The Aztecs are so called from Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northern Mexico.

How long did the Aztec empire last?

The Aztec Empire flourished between c. 1345 and 1521 CE and, at its greatest extent, covered most of northern Mesoamerica.

Do Aztecs still exist?

Today the descendants of the Aztecs are referred to as the Nahua. More than one-and-a-half million Nahua live in small communities dotted across large areas of rural Mexico, earning a living as farmers and sometimes selling craft work. … The Nahua are just one of nearly 60 indigenous peoples still living in Mexico.

What race are Aztecs?

When used to describe ethnic groups, the term “Aztec” refers to several Nahuatl-speaking peoples of central Mexico in the postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology, especially the Mexica, the ethnic group that had a leading role in establishing the hegemonic empire based at Tenochtitlan.

Did the Aztecs invent chocolate?

The history of chocolate began in Mesoamerica. Fermented beverages made from chocolate date back to 450 BC. The Mexica believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, and the seeds once had so much value that they were used as a form of currency.

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Who defeated the Aztec empire?

Cortés’s army besieged Tenochtitlán for 93 days, and a combination of superior weaponry and a devastating smallpox outbreak enabled the Spanish to conquer the city. Cortés’s victory destroyed the Aztec empire, and the Spanish began to consolidate control over what became the colony of New Spain.

Who was the Aztecs God?

Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli, also called Xiuhpilli (“Turquoise Prince”) and Totec (“Our Lord”), Aztec sun and war god, one of the two principal deities of Aztec religion, often represented in art as either a hummingbird or an eagle.

Who destroyed the Aztec empire in 1521 CE?

During the Spaniards’ retreat, they defeated a large Aztec army at Otumba and then rejoined their Tlaxcaltec allies. In May 1521, Cortés returned to Tenochtitlán, and after a three-month siege the city fell. This victory marked the fall of the Aztec empire.

What did the Aztecs use for weapons?

Weapons & Armour

Aztec warriors, who were taught from childhood in weapons handling, were expert users of clubs, bows, spears, and darts. Protection from the enemy was provided via round shields (chimalli) and, more rarely, helmets. Clubs or swords (macuahuitl) were studded with fragile but super-sharp obsidian blades.

What did the Aztecs call themselves?

The Aztecs called their city Tenochtitlán after a name the Aztecs used for themselves, Tenochca. The other name they used for themselves was Mexica.

What language did the Aztecs speak?

Nahuatl language, Spanish náhuatl, Nahuatl also spelled Nawatl, also called Aztec, American Indian language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in central and western Mexico. Nahuatl, the most important of the Uto-Aztecan languages, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations of Mexico.

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