Compare And Contrast Inca And Aztecs

The Aztec and Inca empires grew rapidly during the fifteenth century and were far superior than the other Indigenous groups in their land. While these two empires expanded differently they both prove to be the most power empires to have existed in Mesoamerica. The Mexica, who were the Aztecs, and Incas became powerful through their military successes, and reformed religious ideologies. While both of these empires proved to be successful in growing their empires where they both experienced power struggles before the Spanish conquest. Civil wars and over ambitus expansionism lead to the empires power to be in jeopardy however, the empires would eventually fall due to the Spaniards conquering the land. The empires grew to prominence …show more content…
The land was controlled by other indigenous groups like the Colla and Lupacas. However, they would eventually become the most powerful empires in the Andean world. “The Inca would eventually become the master empire-builders of the Andean world. They would push the frontiers of Peruvian Civilization far beyond it pervious limits” (Conrad and Demes,96). They would become successful due to their military success. Under their social structure the leaders where known as sinchios, “war leaders who derived their power and prestige from personal prowess” (Conrad and Demes,99). This leadership allowed the Inca to compete with other indigenous powers. The sinchio were warriors and had strong knowledge in politics which allowed them to take down the Channca and allying themselves with the Lupca (Conrad and Demes, 107). However, in 1438 the Chanca attacked the Inca in hopes of gaining their territory, but they were defeated by Cusi Inca Yupanqui who was the son of the old emperor. Also, like the Aztec the Inca had strong religious beliefs and social changes made them gain territories continuously. One belief and change was split inheritance; which is when the land conquered by the pervious emperor would still remain his control even in the afterlife. The next emperor who was the son of the pervious would have to continue to grain land for his empire. This in turn caused the Inca to …show more content…
Both the Inca and Aztecs used their religious ambitions to justify the use of warfare as a means to expand their land. The Aztecs religious beliefs began to change and was seen most notable during the change of power to the Triple Alliance. Mentioned earlier, the sun god Huitzilopochtli became the dominate god of the people. The new comitology required more human sacrifices than ever seen before. “…Not only was the need for human sacrifice more pronounced, but there could now be no limits to its scale: the greater the number of captives offered on the sacrificial alter, the greater would be the strength of the gods” (Conrad and Demes, 44). The Triple Alliance used this change of cosmetology to benefit themselves and the empire. By the fifteenth century the Aztec empire new ideology would set them apart from their neighbors where the need for human sacrifices drove the Mexica to become a dominate force in Mesoamerica. The new ideology also gave the Mexica an identity and became intertwined with their political and economic structure. “The Mexica’s sacrificial cosmology gave them the competitive edge needed for such victories: fanaticism” (Conrad and Demes, 47). In both empires the noble warrior gained the most wealth through military expansion. However, in the Aztec empires there was social mobility that allowed commoners to move up in the hierarchy. This was achieved by