History
The history of the Aztec Empire began with migrating Nahua peoples, commonly called the Mexica. Harried by enemies, in 1325 they settled on islands in Lake Texcoco in central Mexico, founding the city of Tenochtitlán. They established large, elaborate irrigation systems and started to convert the swamp of Texcoco into arable land. Under the ruler Itzcóatl, the Aztecs formed alliances with the neighboring Texcoco and Tlacopan peoples. By 1519, they had become the dominant power in central Mexico, controlling an empire of four to five hundred states and ruling over about 30 million people. The capital Tenochtitlán, at its height, spread over five miles and housed more than 200,000 citizens. It was the largest pre-Columbian settlement in Mexico and one of the largest cities in the world at the time.
A relatively young empire, Aztec culture was still spreading and evolving, and it would have continued this trend if not for the arrival of Cortez in 1519. The combination of Spanish weapons, armor, disease, and deliberate execution of critical Aztec leaders brought the great empire to its knees[1][2].
The Aztec Empire at the height of its power.
Courtesy of Yavidaxiu. Creative Commons (BY-SA). “Aztec Empire 1519 map-pt.svg”, by Yavidaxiu is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Battles
Night of Sorrows
In 1519, Hernando Cortez of Spain landed in Mexico near the site of Veracruz. As Cortez and his men pushed further inland, the native Tlaxcalans attacked with overwhelming forces but were pushed back by the European’s firearms. After three battles in which the natives suffered catastrophic losses, a rival tribe, the Tlaxcalans, joined the Spaniards. Cortez eventually reached Tenochtitlan, then the capital of the Aztec empire, and was graciously received by the emperor Montezuma. Cortez left his Lieutenant Pedro de Alvarado in charge of Tenochtitlan so that Cortez himself could deal with a detachment of Spanish forces. The Spanish had been sent by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar to arrest Cortez for disobeying de Cuéllar’s order not to explore Mexico. Cortez subdued the Spanish soldiers, recruited them to his cause, and returned to Tenochtitlan. When he arrived, he discovered that Alvarado had massacred the Aztec nobles and started a bloody revolt against him, pinning him inside a palace at the heart of the city. Determined to rescue his Lieutenant, Cortez waited until nightfall before crossing one of the bridges that linked the island city to the mainland. Aztecs in canoes spotted his forces and attacked them on the narrow bridge. Unable to maneuver their cannons and horses, hundreds of Spanish soldiers were struck down or drowned in the lake. Cortez, a few of his soldiers, and some native allies managed to escape.[3]
Otumba
Fleeing into the jungle, Cortez and his men were tired and hungry. Sensing an opportunity, the Aztecs met them at Otumba and cornered the force. Seeing no alternative, Cortez led his men into the intense fighting. The Aztecs had rallied all their forces in the area and outnumbered the Spanish. Despite their advanced armor and technology, the Spaniards seemed close to defeat. Then Cortez mounted one of the last Spanish horses and killed the Aztec commander and his banner, disorienting and scattering the Aztec forces. Cortez and his men pursued and cut down every Aztec fighter who couldn’t escape.[4]
Battle of Otumba.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Siege of Tenochtitlan
Cortez withdrew to Tlaxcala with his Tlaxcalan allies to rest and recover from his losses—and he began preparing for the conquest of Tenochtitlan. He started by approaching the dissatisfied tributaries on the outskirts of Aztec influence and convincing them to join his cause to bring down the empire. Considering it essential to control the central lake upon which Tenochtitlan floated, Cortez ordered thirteen small landing craft to be built. They were powered by a combination of sail and oar, and each had space for a single cannon mounted in the bow.
The new Aztec emperor, Cuauhtemoc, anticipated a Spanish counterattack and was also busy with preparing his own defenses. In May 1521, Spanish forces destroyed the Aztec war canoes and advanced on the great city. When they made landfall, however, they met fierce resistance and were forced back over the causeway—which the Aztecs promptly destroyed. The next morning, the Spanish and their allies rebuilt the bridges, and the fighting resumed.
Once the Spanish had control of a street, they razed it to the ground, destroying cover and supplies before retreating back over the bridges which the Aztecs again destroyed. The next morning, the Spanish rebuilt the bridges, and the cycle repeated. By July, most of the city was in ruins, and the population was slowly dying of starvation and disease. The defenders exhibited tremendous courage in the face of certain death and the collapse of their civilization. By August, the Spaniards finally overran the city and slaughtered the remaining defenders. The Emperor was captured and killed while fleeing across a bridge. The Aztec Empire was no more. [5]
Siege of Tenochtitlan.
Courtesy of The Library of Congress. Public Domain.
Tactics
When the goal was to capture and kill instead of fighting for presentation, the Aztecs were brutally effective fighters. Most of their attacks started in the morning near dawn. While night attacks were uncommon, they did occur, especially among the small-scale groups like the Mixtecs, Tzapotecs, and Otomies. For large-scale battles, commanders coordinated troops by using a combination of smoke and sound. Smoke was used to convey preplanned information, like attack or assist.[6] Sounds like drums or whistles were used for short-term tactical commands, like advance and retreat. Another signal was a banner or standard worn by the unit leader (or bearer), giving their troops something behind which to rally and follow into battle. Spaniards believed that the natives fled when their standard-bearer was killed because it was an “evil omen” when, in reality, the noise of battle drowned out any audible command, and the standard was the only way of knowing if the unit was advancing or retreating. The loss of the standard was not the work of an evil god, but rather, it disrupted tactical control and blinded the Aztec soldiers, leaving them vulnerable to being cut off and captured.[7]
A depiction of four Aztec field commanders each with their own standards.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Mesoamerican warfare was carried out in an orderly and predictable way. Each army would line up facing each other and launch several volleys of projectile weapons. Once most of the ammunition had been used, the infantry would advance under the cover fire of the last barrage, and several specialists would use the throwing spear to its maximum effect, attempting to wound and disrupt the enemy as the attackers closed the distance. Each thrower probably only carried three spears and discarded the rest of their long heavy spears once they had closed to melee range. Once the melee fighting began, the infantry would use percussive and edged weapons to overwhelm the enemy. Ranged warriors, like the archers and slingers, who started the battle, likely hung back and shot at individuals opportunistically as the chance presented itself.[8]
The first warriors to enter the battle were either the king leading his men or elite warriors called cuahchicqueh. The cuahchicqueh were shock troops and were sworn not to flee even in the face of certain defeat; they acted as the first warriors used to strike a decisive blow or as a rearguard in the event of a retreat. The cuahchicqueh were so highly regarded that it was said: “once a cuahchicqueh’s foot was set in place, a hundred of the enemy could not budge him.”[9]
A group of cuahchicqueh warriors in full armor.
Courtesy of The Field Museum Library. Public Domain.
The Aztec military was well disciplined. Anyone who fled or committed hostility without the king’s permission was beaten or killed. Units were flexible and loyal; if a soldier was killed or wounded, the rest closed ranks to protect them and guard the unit’s flanks. The end goal was to surround the enemy and attack them on all sides at once. Additionally, some generals waited until the front was engaged then attacked the flank; but due to the nature of the weapons, battles were always fought between individuals on the font. Therefore, it was to the Aztec’s advantage to spread the front as wide as possible to engage their numerical superiority.[10]
A depiction of Aztec battle.
Courtesy of Kodeks Ramirez. Public Domain.
The following is a quote from Peter Martyr d’Anghera in Spain who watched a captured Aztec perform a demonstration of a native battle.
“In his right hand, he carried a simple wooden sword, without the stones which ordinarily decorate this weapon, for the battle swords, have their two edges hollowed out and filled with sharp stones fastened in with solid bitumen, so that the swords are almost at Stout in battle as our own. In his other hand he carried a native shield, made of stout reads covered with gold. The lower extremity of the shield is decorated with a feather fringe, a cubit long. The shield was lined with tiger skin, and the center of the exterior had colored feathers resembling our raw silk. Armed with his sword the slave advanced. He wore a rope of woven feathers, half blue and half red, and cotton trousers, a handkerchief was suspended between his hips and his leggins were fastened to his garments like a cuirass which is taking off without undoing the strings that fasten the leggins. He wore beautiful sandals. He then gave an exhibition of a battle, first hurling himself upon his enemies, then retreating, then he engaged another slave who serve with him and was trained to these exercises. He seized him by the hair, as they do their enemies whom they capture with weapons in the hands, dragging them off to be sacrificed. After throwing the slave on the ground, he feigned to cut open his breast above the heart, with a knife. After tearing out the heart, he wrung from his hands in the blood flowing from the wound, then besprinkled the sword and shield. This is the treatment they show prisoners.”[11]
The Aztec military also excelled in staging ambush. They tended to spring their traps in opportune locations like mountain passes and narrow canyons, or by striking at dawn or other times when opposing armies were unprepared. One of their most successful strategies was to retreat as if the other side was winning; then, when the enemy pursued, the Aztecs turned to face them as reinforcements arrived to crush the enemy. This was sometimes paired with the use of trenches and foxholes. As the enemy pursued the apparently fleeing Aztecs, more soldiers would have hidden in holes in the ground covered by straw. Once the enemy passed over them, they rose up and attacked.[12]
Weapons
Aztec weapons were primarily made of hardwood and obsidian. Knives made for war were chipped out of obsidian or flint, leaving a wicked edge that was often serrated; they required great skill to make properly.[13] While war knives were carried into battle, their primary purpose seemed to have been sacrificing enemy combatants.[14] Knives played a huge role in ceremony and sacrifice; ceremonial knives were richly adorned and imbued with power and significance. Ceremonial knives used exclusively for sacrifice could be encrusted with wealth and true masterworks of art and craftsmanship.
A ceremonial Aztec knife.
Courtesy of Simon Burchell. Creative Commons (BY-SA). “Aztec or Mixtec sacrificial knife 2.jpg” by Simon Burchell is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
The principal close quarter's weapon of the Aztecs was the maquahuitl (also spelled macuahuitl), or hardwood club with obsidian embedded in the side[15]. It was frighteningly effective, able to deliver an extraordinarily devastating slash. The Spanish Conquistadors repeatedly noted that an Aztec warrior armed with a maquahuitl could cleave through a horse’s head in a single swing. They also noted that not only did the weapons cut better than Spanish swords, but they were so well designed that the blades could not be pulled out or broken[16].
A fresco of Aztec warriors wielding macuahuitls.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
A modern reproduction of a macuahuitl for training.
Courtesy of Purpleheart Armory. All Rights Reserved.
Ranged weapons comprised of the throwing spear, bows and arrow, and slings. The spear, called a dart, was often thrown with the help of a throwing stick (atlatl) to achieve greater ranges and force than could be managed by hand; they could prove devastating even to a fully-armored Spaniard.[17] The darts were usually made of fire-hardened oak with feathered butts. Sometimes the tips were barbed, forcing wounded Spaniards to cut out the head, rather than simply pull it.[18]
This video demonstrates how much more effective an atlatl makes a spear throw.
Aztec bows, called Tlahuitolli, were made with sinew or deerskin-thong bowstrings and had a simple five-foot construction. War arrows had shafts of fire-hardened reeds and were usually tipped with fishbone, flint, or obsidian. Rough estimates place about twenty arrows into each archer’s quiver.[19] Despite the claims to the contrary, Aztec arrows were not poisoned—but fire arrows were used against buildings.[20] Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo stated that the archers at Tenochtitlan could shoot three simultaneous arrows, as well as most Europeans, could shoot a single arrow, and that the people at Cimatlan could fire an arrow through a double thickness of well-quilted cotton armor. Experimental tests place the maximum range of these bows around three hundred to six hundred feet.[21]
Slings made of maguey fiber could fling handmade stones to great effect. Comparative studies of other sling-using cultures showed Greeks could throw led pellets in excess of 1320 feet; Roman sling throwers could price chainmail at five hundred paces.[22] Diaz del Castillo commented that the rain of rocks from Aztec slingers could be so intense that even fully-armored Spaniards could be wounded.[23] In his eyes, the archer and the slinger were equals.
This video shows the power and accuracy of the sling.
Blowguns were used, but only for hunting birds as they were not intended for war.[24]
A South American sling.
Courtesy of Neal Grout. Public Domain.
Aztec war shields, called yaochimalli, were sturdy and made of hide with a wood backing and rich decoration.[25] One conquistador described a shield with a strong woven wood with a thick double cotton backing. Earlier shields were made of woven slates of bamboo secured with fiber, and reinforced with thick bamboo, and covered in feathers. Some, like the Cuaubchimalli, were made of wood with a feather facing and an overlay of thin copper; there was even an innovative thin shield that could roll up when not in use.[26]
Armor
Ichcahuipilli was body armor that consisted of tightly woven cotton sandwiched between heavy cloth and a thick leather border. The armor was so effective neither arrow nor throwing spear could penetrate it.[27]
War armor called a Tlahuiztli suit, covered the torso, arms, and legs with long sleeves and leggings that had feather backings and skin fronts. The torso had the same cotton backing as the Ichcahuipilli, and while the limbs lacked reinforcement, legs were not usually targeted in warfare. It is possible that these suits predated the Aztecs’ as a jaguar suit of similar design was depicted at the city of El Tajin[28], which flourished from the 9th century to the early 13th century.[29]
Some nobles and cuahchicqueh wore other body armor—like arm and leg guards made of wood, bark, or very thin gold. Regardless of the base material, they would be covered in leather and feathers.[30] Helmets were made of wood and bone, while others were made from the preserved pelts of wild animals placed over a wooden frame so that the wearer looked out of the animal’s open jaw, giving the cuahchicqueh armor its distinctive look.[31]
Folio 65r of the Codex Mendoza, a mid-16th-century Aztec codex that shows the daily lives of the Aztecs. A warrior's progression is shown with the lowest rank in the upper left-hand corner and the final rank of cuahchicqueh in the lower right-hand corner.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Specialty: Human Sacrifice
The common image of the Aztecs reveling in bloody human sacrifices is an exaggerated one that often lacks context. Human sacrifices did occur in Aztec cultures, with most sacrifices being prisoners of war or slaves.[32] While there are many differing interpretations, many scholars believe that it was done in service to the gods—a form of repentance or expiration. Sacrifice was very diverse and took many forms.
“Humans were put to death not only by excision of the heart (usually followed by decapitation) but also by decapitation (sometimes followed by heart extraction), having the throat cut, being thrown into fire (mostly followed by heart extraction), being scratched, followed by heart extraction and flaying in the so-called gladiatorial sacrifice, being shot with arrows (usually followed by heart extraction), drowning, being buried alive, and being hurled down from the top of a pole or a pyramid. Less common were deaths by bludgeon strokes, stoning, impaling, tearing out the entrails, having the roof of a house falling down on victims, and squeezing them in a net.”[33]
While the Aztecs believed that some of these sacrifices helped the cosmos continue to function, other motivations were far less dramatic, like good crops or to consecrate a new altar.[34] Captive warriors were a primary source of sacrifice. Some scholars argue that the Aztecs conducted show wars for the express purpose of getting enough “victims.” Recent scholarship has acknowledged that prisoners were a byproduct of “flowery wars” but that these conflicts primarily served as an opportunity for training and exercise.[35] Regardless, captured soldiers were used in sacrifice, and usually, the most skilled or beautiful were selected for this highest honor. It was argued that the honor of sacrifice was reserved only for the best warriors.[36]
An artistic representation of Aztec sacrifice.
Courtesy of Ignote. Public Domain.
Another class of sacrifice was the god impersonators. Specially chosen individuals were adorned in the finery of the god they represented and became the physical manifestation of that god for a year. They would be showered with honors and rewards as the Aztecs showed all the respect and awe befitting a deity.
In the month of Tóxcatl, the sixth month of the Aztec solar year, Tezcatlipoca was honored in this way. A creator god—the god of sustenance—a patron of warriors and as the bringer of both good and evil, Tezcatlipoca was the literal personification of change through conflict. A prisoner of war would be dressed in Tezcatlipoca’s regalia and treated as the omnipotent, all-powerful being he was. He would be surrounded by four women, each impersonating four goddesses: Atlatonan, Huixtocihuatl, Xilonen, and Xochiquetzal. At the end of the month, the prisoner representing Tezcatlipoca would ritualistically marry the four women impersonating goddesses in line with the myth and lore. After the ceremony, he was taken to a specially dedicated temple and sacrificed in honor of the real Tezcatlipoca.[37]
Works Cited
Footnotes
[1] “Aztec | Facts, Location, & Culture.”
[2] “Aztec | Facts, Location, & Culture.”
[3] R. G. Grant, Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat.
[4] R. G. Grant.
[5] R. G. Grant, Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat.
[6] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[7] Hassig.
[8] Hassig,
[9] Hassig.
[10] Hassig.
[11] Hassig.
[12] Hassig.
[13] DK Books, Weapon A Visual History of Arms and Armor.
[14] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[15] DK Books, Weapon A Visual History of Arms and Armor.
[16] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[17] DK Books, Weapon A Visual History of Arms and Armor.
[18] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[19] Hassig.
[20] Hassig.
[21] Hassig.
[22] Hassig.
[23] Hassig.
[24] Hassig.
[25] DK Books, Weapon A Visual History of Arms and Armor.
[26] Aguilar-Moreno, Handbook to Life in the Aztec World.
[27] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[28] Hassig.
[29] Centre, “El Tajin, Pre-Hispanic City.”
[30] Hassig, Aztec Warfare.
[31] Hassig.
[32] Graulich, “Aztec Human Sacrifice as Expiation.”
[33] Graulich.
[34] Graulich.
[35] Hicks, “‘Flowery War’ in Aztec History.”
[36] “Aztec Sacrifice.”
[37] “Tezcatlipoca.”
Citations
Aguilar-Moreno, Manuel. Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Aztec | Facts, Location, & Culture.” Accessed June 3, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aztec.
Ancient History Encyclopedia. “Aztec Sacrifice.” Accessed June 3, 2018. https://www.ancient.eu/Aztec_Sacrifice/.
Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “El Tajin, Pre-Hispanic City.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed June 3, 2018. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/631/.
DK Books. Weapon A Visual History of Arms and Armor. Edited by Paula Regan. DK publishing, n.d.
Graulich, Michel. “Aztec Human Sacrifice as Expiation.” History of Religions 39, no. 4 (2000): 352–71.
Hassig, Ross. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.
Hicks, Frederic. “‘Flowery War’ in Aztec History.” American Ethnologist 6, no. 1 (February 1979): 87–92. https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.1979.6.1.02a00060.
R. G. Grant. Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Comat. Edited by David John. DK publishing, n.d.
Ancient History Encyclopedia. “Tezcatlipoca.” Accessed June 3, 2018. https://www.ancient.eu/Tezcatlipoca/.
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