The Aztecs

Did you know that the word Aztec was given to them by Europeans ? They actually called themselves Mexica which is where the name Mexico comes from . Westerners that visited the lands called them Aztec due to the original place named Aztlan that they had visited many centuries ago.The Aztec empire was one of the most powerful civilizations in Mesoamerica at the time. The pyramid of Tenochtitlan means “the city of where the gods were created” .The city was constructed on top of a lake which it no longer exist due to the drainage that was done to create Mexico City.Till this day studies have not found who was responsible for the mapping and grid plans to the old city of Tenochtitlan. The great pyramids of Tenochtitlan is now located around thirty …show more content…
Before the Spaniards arrived they had never seen horses or iron/guns. They were disconnected from the southern and northern parts of their empire.What this means is that this left the Aztec people to be unfamiliar to new knowledge Asian,Africa, and Europe had to offer culturally . In the eyes of every Aztec native they believed that their sole duty in life was to fight and die for the gods they worshipped. They would invest their full body and mind into looking for signs of high powers to make their next move in life.Progression in lifestyle could only be achieved if there emperor Moctezuma said it was okay to do so.To the Aztec people human only played a small role in their conquest to sacrifice their lives for the heavens above. They thought that the gods above had already chosen their futures .However if they were pass away either in combat or illness that the gods would take care of them.This belief can still be seen today in various religious around the world in which people believe in a better afterlife and heaven. The Aztec people had a mindset such as: you do good and you will receive good towards you.Their religious belief went beyond just worshipping gods they believed that everything in nature was divine and spiritual . This society believed that they were the Huitzilopochtli’s chosen people . Which meant that they believed that it was their responsibility to keep the balance on earth and keep the sun from dying . They would worship many different gods from all shapes and forms male or females. Each god had their own role and personality .They believed that the gods were neither pure or evil but somewhere in between .They believed