por Little is known about the major aztec cities despite being part of one of the most splendor empires in history. A civilization that was the protagonist of great conquests in the Mesoamerican era and an example of social, economic and military structures.
The beginning of this civilization is really mysterious. It is believed that he was a culture from the north of present-day Mexico and that he resided in «Aztlán» a city near the current border of Mexico with the United States, probably what is known today as Tepic, Nayarit.
The people of Aztlán, hence the origin of their name «Aztec», were guided, by a vision of their ruler, to «the promised land» which was nothing more and nothing less than the place where they would find an eagle standing on 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 Lake Texcoco, a place where they adopted the name of Mexicas and from which the name of the country would later arise, Mexico. .
The Mexicas were known to ally themselves with two other tribes, Texcoco and Tlacopán, with the help of which they defeated another tribe from Azcapotzalco. Later they continued to conquer neighboring territories until they dominated the entire central area of the current country of Mexico, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California.
Due to the great extension of the conquered territory, the Aztecs instituted «capitals» or important cities, in which the tributes of the areas were collected and later sent to Tenochtitlán, the maximum capital of the empire.
The 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 its strategic location, the city was in a privileged place to defend itself from attacks, and the nearby lakes provided large crops. that allowed the rapid growth of the population.
This city received 2/5 of the tribute collected from the dominated towns and its importance was based on the fact that it was the center of commerce and barter of the empire, also there the meetings of the lords who made war decisions and tributes were held.
Despite the fact that this culture is admired for the beautiful pyramids that remain as a vestige of its existence in present-day Teotihuacán, it is necessary to mention that it was not this civilization that built these monuments, but the Teotihuacanos, who, for unknown reasons, abandoned the city. centuries before the Mexica found and reoccupied it.
2- Texcoco
It was founded in 1337 by peoples of Chichimeca origin, but fell to the Tepanec Empire, who murdered its tlatoani. He changed the name of the city to Azcapotzalco and cruelly dominated the town, with tributes that barely allowed them to survive in order to avoid 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 his father’s death.
From these events the city was called Texcoco, one of the 3 heads of the Aztec lordship, which received 2/5 parts of the tributes of the conquered peoples.
Texcoco was the second most important city in the empire, known as the cradle of knowledge, since Nezahualcoyotl appreciated culture and education, so its importance lay in the temples dedicated to learning science, art, astronomy, divination, and commerce.
3- Tlacopan
It means «city on the rods», currently known as Tacuba in Mexico City.
This town was also dominated by the Tepanecs, who exercised a bloody and oppressive government, so the town allied with the Aztecs to free themselves. This made it part of the Aztec lordship trinity.
Despite their alliance, the people of Tlacopan only received 1/5 of the tributes of the conquered peoples. This led to the fact that, according to historical studies, they were dissatisfied with the empire, because despite being an alliance, the Mexicas predominated in their power and size of the population.
Other major cities
After the capitals of the lordships, 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 they could offer.
4- Mazatlan – land of deer
Located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, it supplied deer meat and skins, and sea products such as shellfish, fish, shells, and pearls.
5- Tochtlan – land of rabbits
Located on the coast 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 precious seasoning. Despite the power and influence of the Aztec Empire, it was conquered by the Spanish, who allied with the peoples dominated by the empire 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 February 26, 2014, retrieved from ancient.eu.