Aztec Empire Research Paper

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Miguel Diaz ANTH 319 12/2/14 Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Aztec Empire Throughout the history of humanity there have been many a great society. Often the reason for their greatness is due to unrelenting violence to conquer their enemies and keep their empire under control. Some cultures increased the level the violence by glorifying it and turning into sport and spectacle, such as the ancient Romans with their gladiator fights. No other society has embraced violence and integrated it into such an important aspect of their culture as the Aztecs. This paper will talk about the prominent role that violence played throughout the history of the Aztec empire, from the glorious beginnings to the bitter end. Substantiating and quantifying this violence has proved quite difficult as there are no remaining historical documents and accounts from both the Aztec and Spanish at the time tend to be exaggerated. Figures such as 20,000 children a year, one in every five children, 80,400 men in four days, one percent of the population per year, are such attempts at placing a numerical value on the amount of human sacrifices conducted by the Aztec this is according to an article in Historical Social Research journal. (Pennock 2012, 280) It is thought that the main reason for sacrificing is to feed the gods their blood meal, the gods would then…show more content…
The Mexica wanting to be free and rebel against the Tepanec joined forces with the rulers of Texcoco and the city of Tacuba to form the Triple Alliance which would later be known as the Aztec Empire. Together they defeated the Tepanec Empire and began their rule of the Valley of Mexico. (Fitzsimmons 2009, 288) All this is according to the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Global Medieval Life and Culture. The Aztec propensity for violence and their fighting ability directly lead to the rise of the Aztec

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