Write An Essay On The Aztecs

The Aztecs went to war to achieve territory, resources, quash rebellions, and to capture their enemies and sacrifice them to honour their gods. The Aztecs were very accomplished in battle,they forged a very powerful empire and at its highest they extracted tribute from 371 cities across 38 provinces.

The Aztecs Believed that the god Huitzilopochtli (god of sun and war) had been ready for war from the moment of birth. They believed his first act of war was to kill without mercy his 400 siblings. In mythology the 400 siblings dead bodies became the moon and the stars. The Aztecs believed that the Battle between Huitzilopochtli and his Siblings reoccured everyday as it symbolised the contest between the Sun and Moon every 24 hours.

Aztecs believed that all males were to take part in Warfare. Males were trained from a young age. They were trained in special military compounds. They were taught how to use their weapons and different tactics. The young males were also entertained with tales of battles from highly skilled warriors. When they took their first captive, they finally became warriors and they were able to cut off their piochtli. It was hair lock at the back of their necks which they had worn since the age of ten. The boys were now considered men and ready to fulfil there purpose. Aztecs believed that males purposes to fight gloriously in battle and return as hummingbirds.
Fighting was preceded by diplomatic missions, ambassadors would remind their enemy the price of losing a battle and tried to persuade a more peaceful way of reasonable tribute and acceptance of the superior Aztec gods.
Spies could also be sent into a target area disguised as merchants or dressed in a traditional costume. If diplomacy failed, war was necessary and the enemy was defeated. The city was then considered
conquered.

On the field fighting usually happened by armies shouting at each other with the background noise of beating drums, conch- shell trumpets and bone flutes. The Aztecs positions there armies so that they could take advantage of the features of there homeland. The Aztecs set an example by throwing themselves into battle. While both armies were battling, big and heavy stones were thrown closely followed by more dangerous darts. After that the hand-to-hand combat started. All oder would become lost and the Aztecs would would try to capture their opponents alive. Assistance followed with ropes so they could truss up the defeated opponents for sacrifice. An interesting strategy was the aztecs would pretend to flee the battlefield or hide to ambush their enemy. Winning the battle came when the enemies temple had been destroyed.

The concept of TheFlowery Wars was that The Aztecs wanted to acquire sacrificial victims. Both sides would agree to battle and that the losers would provide warriors for sacrifice. The Aztecs believed that the blood of sacrificial victims would feed the god Huitzlopochtli. After battle the victims would have their hearts removed and the corpse was skinned, dismembered and decapitated. The corpse was then sacrificed to the god Huitzlopochtli. The Flower wars were a reminder of who the rulers were.

Aztec Warfare was important because to the Aztes because warfare was political and Religious. It was political because it helped the Aztecs obtain Land and it was Religious for Sacrificial purposes as they would use captures from their battles as sacrificial victims.