How did the Aztecs dominate Mesoamerica before collapsing?
Every region of the world has an incredible history, dotted with its own civilizations, peoples, and empires. The Americas are no exception, and when we think of their pre-colonial history, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the Aztecs: a vast, mysterious empire with a legendary history, sacrifices, temples, and distinctive clothing—an entire civilization that collapsed very soon after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Yet, most of us actually know very little about this history, beyond these few clichés. So today, I invite you to explore it with me, to learn more about the birth, expansion, and fall of the Aztec Empire.
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Sources (thanks Géraud for the research):
• BIERHORST, J., The Codex Chimalpopoca: An Indigenous History of Mexico, University of Texas Press, 1992.
• CARRASCO, D., The Aztecs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2011.
• CARRASCO, D., The Toltec Heritage: From the Fall of Tula to the Rise of Tenochtitlan, University Press of Colorado, 1997.
• CLENDINNEN, I., Aztecs: An Interpretation, Cambridge University Press, 1995.
• COE, M., Mexico: from the Olmecs to the Aztecs, Tames & Hudson, 2013.
• COE, M., The first Mexicans: Olmecs, Toltecs, Aztecs..., Armand Colin, 1985.
• COWGILL, G., State and Society at Teotihuacan, Mexico, Annual Reviex of Anthropology, 1997.
• DAVIES, N., The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico, Penguin Books, 1982.
• DAVIES, N., The Toltec Empire, University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.
• DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, B., The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, The Discovery, 1987.
• DÍAZ DEL CASTILLO, B., The Conquest of New Spain, Penguin Classics, 2003.
• EVANS, S., Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archeology and Culture History, Thames & Hudson, 2013.
• HASSIG, R., Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control, University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.
• HODGE, M., Aztec city-states, University of Michigan Press, 1984.
• GRUZINSKI, S., The Aztec Empire. University of Nebraska Press, 1992.
• LEÓN-PORTILLA, M., Aztec Thought and Culture: A Study of the Ancient Nahuatl Mind, University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
• LEÓN-PORTILLA, M., The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, Beacon Press, 2006.
• LEVY, B., Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs, Bantam, 2008.
• LOCKHART, J., The Aztecs at Independence: Nahua Culture Makers in Central Mexico, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
• LOCKHART, J., The Nahuas after the Conquest: A Social and Cultural History of the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries, Stanford University Press, 1992.
• NICHOLS, D., The Oxford handbook of the Aztecs, Oxford University Press, 2017.
• SMITH, M., The Aztecs, Wiley-Blackwell, 1994.
• SMITH, M., The Aztlan Migrations of Nahuatl Chronicles: Myth or History?, American Society for Ethnohistory, 1984.
• SOUSTELLE, J., Daily Life of the Aztecs, Phoenix Press, 2002.
• SOUSTELLE, J., The Aztecs on the eve of the Spanish conquest, Hachette Littératures, 2002.
• TOWNSEND, R., The Aztecs, Thames & Hudson, 2009.
• VAILLANT, G., The Aztecs of Mexico: origin, rise and fall of the Aztec nation, Garden City, 1944.
• VAN TUERENHOUT, D., The Aztecs: New Perspectives, ABC-CLIO, 2005.
• WEAVER, M., The Aztecs, Maya, and their predecessors: archaeology of Mesoamerica, Seminar Press, 1972.
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Music:
• The music is from the playlist "Gates of Assyria": • Gates of Assyria - 1-hour of Assyrian Them...
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00:00 - Introduction
01:11 - Context
04:13 - A minor power on the rise
07:32 - The Triple Alliance and its golden age
11:57 - The wealthy city of Tenochtitlan
14:50 - The Rapid Fall of the Aztec Empire
14:35 - Conclusion