These BIZARRE Aztecs Events Will Leave You Horrified

The Aztec Empire is one of the most infamous empires in history. From their capital of Tenochtitlan, they ruled over much of Mexico in the 15th and early 16th centuries until their conquest by the Spanish conquistadores, led by Hernan Cortes, in 1521. Today, we explore some of the stranger aspects and events in Aztec history.

The Aztec Empire was ruled by the Mexica, a people from whom Mexico got its name. The Mexica migrated into Central Mexico in the early to mid 13th Century. Aztec legends claim that they came from a homeland called Aztlan. Historians believe the Mexica really came from desert areas in Northern Mexico or the Southern United States, but what or where ‘Aztlan’ was remains unknown.

Famously, the Aztecs claimed that Huitzilopochtli, the God of War and the Sun, told them to settle their new city where they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus. Later recountings of the legend claim that the eagle was eating a snake. They found this sign on the shores of Lake Texcoco, where they founded their city of Tenochtitlan, on the site where Mexico City now stands. This foundation myth is still popular today and the image of an eagle devouring a snake on a cactus remains on the Mexican flag.

The history of the Aztec Empire is difficult to recount because of how little evidence survives. There are no pre-conquest textual histories of the Empire and time has buried much of the archaeological evidence beneath modern cities or lost it to nature. As a result, we only get brief glimpses of individual events for most of Aztec history.

One of the more unfortunate rulers of the Empire was a man called Tizoc. Tizoc rose to power in 1481 following the death of his elder brother Axayacatl. His name meant “He who makes sacrifices” but this proved to be ironic. As part of his connotation war, Tizoc waged a war against the Otomies of Metztitlan, but the new tlatoani captured a mere 40 prisoners for sacrifice - an embarrassingly poor performance. This pathetic display undermined Aztec strength and Tizoc spent his brief reign desperately subduing the fringes of the Empire who had been emboldened by the weakness of their new overlord. Eventually, even Tizoc’s own family wanted him gone. Tizoc was most likely poisoned by his younger brother Ahuitzotl, who succeeded him on the throne and proved a far better warrior and leader.

#aztecs #history #aztecempire #ancienthistory

Scriptwriter: Nathan Hewitt

Video Editor & Motion Graphics: Naman Meena

Voice-over Artist: Lain Heringman

Music: Motionarray.com

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