Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (59 page)

The dominant polity of the late Post-Classic period in the densely populated Basin of Mexico, which came to control large areas of Mesoamerica north of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
The origins of the Aztecs are bound up in the population movements of Toltec refugees and Chichimec immigrants settling in the Basin of Mexico around 1000 ad, each establishing itself as a tiny state whose ruling dynasties claimed descent from the Toltecs and adopted Toltec ideologies and divinely authorized kingship.
The Aztecs, also known as the Tenochca or Mexica, were the last Chichimec tribe to arrive, possibly forced to leave their home at Aztlan by drought or over-population. There was little available land for occupation and the Aztecs lived a peripatetic existence, periodically being moved on by one state after another appalled by their savage ways and liking for human sacrifice. Eventually, they settled on some uninhabited swampy islands near the western shore of Lake Texcoco where, according to legend, they saw a sign previously prophesied as indicating the site for their capital: an eagle with a snake in its beak sitting on a cactus. The twin Aztec towns of Tenochtitlán and Tlatelolco were founded in ad 1325 or ad 1345.
In ad 1367 the Aztecs started serving as mercenaries for the ruler of the Tepanec city-state of Azcapotzalco, then in competition with the rulers of Texcoco for recognition as paramount lords of new Chichimec states. Through a series of alliances and rebellions the Aztec cities grew larger and more wealthy, with the Aztecs themselves gradually accruing more and more power. In 1434 the rulers of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán formed the so-called Triple Alliance with the rulers of Texcoco and Tlacopan. All the other small states in the Basin became tribute-paying vassals of the Alliance. By 1500 the Triple Alliance controlled an area of 200000 square kilometres and a population of perhaps 10 million. Aztec domination of the Alliance came in 1502.
The Aztecs invested much time and effort into the construction of their cities and the agricultural systems round about. The centre of Tenochtitlán was a sacred precinct dominated by a 60m high pyramid on which stood the temples of Tlaloc the rain god and Huitzilopochtli the war god. The precinct also included the priest's residence, a large ball court, and a
tzompantli
on which the skulls of many thousands of sacrificed victims were displayed. Surrounding the precinct were the palaces of Tenochtitlán's rulers, two major market-places, and, beyond these, the houses of the town's inhabitants.
Agriculture was intensive and heavily dependent on water control systems established in the Basin of Mexico by the Teotihuacan state. These water control systems were crucial both for irrigation and the draining of lakes. The Aztecs also made use of floating gardens by dredging lakes and piling the silt up to form raised surfaces.
Aztec society was stratified into three main classes: nobles (
pilli
), who were relatives of the king; commoners (
macehuales
), who belonged by birth to one of twenty clans; and displaced and conquered people (
mayeques
), who worked as tenants. Craftsmanship was important and Aztec artists excelled in stone sculpture. Other nations, particularly the Mixtec of Oaxaca were engaged to make featherwork, polychrome ceramics, superb gold jewellery, and intricate mosaics.
The Aztec state was a militaristic regime, constantly at war in order to conquer other states and force them to pay tribute, and as a way of obtaining captives to sacrifice.
The Aztecs inherited from the Toltec and the Maya the practice of human sacrifice. It was believed that the main Aztec deities, Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca, needed regular nourishment from the blood and heart of sacrificed victims in order to perpetuate the continued existence of the universe. Up to 15000 people a year were sacrificed, mainly by ripping out the beating heart of the victim who was stretched out on a stone in front of the temple of the god. High-status warriors, nobles, and priests ate the flesh of those sacrificed.
The Aztec empire came to an abrupt end on 13 August 1521 when Hernan Cortés and his Spanish
conquistadors
took the Aztec capital and its emperor Montechzuma (Montezuma) II.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Principal god of the
CANAANITES
, usually depicted as a young warrior, armed, and with bull's horns springing from his helmet. Identified by the Hyksos with the Egyptian deity
SETH
. The
PHOENICIANS
carried the worship of Baal westwards into the Mediterranean region in the 1st millennium
bc
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

One of the largest and most ancient cities in Mesopotamia, 80km south of modern Baghdad on the River Euphrates. Excavations by the German archaeologist Robert Koldeway between 1899 and 1917, together with more recent work, provide the plan of the ancient city and allow some understanding of its main elements.
In the early 2nd millennium
bc
it was the centre of a city-state, the so-called old Babylonian, reaching prominence in 1792 bc under the 6th ruler of the 1st Dynasty, Hammurabi . It was destroyed by the
HITTITES
in
c.
1595 bc and then ruled by the
KASSITES
until
c.
1157 bc. Thereafter followed a period of further decline under short-lived dynasties and with frequent wars with
ELAM
and
ASSYRIA
.
In the 7th century
bc
the city-state rose again under the rulers of the 11th Dynasty, destroying Assyria and, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquering an empire from the Persian Gulf through to the Mediterranean, the so-called neo-Babylonian. The city itself covered some 850ha and is estimated to have had a population in excess of 100000 souls. Within it were many famous monuments including the Ishtar Gate, the ziggurat long identified with the biblical Tower of Babel, and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar which contained a structure that Koldeway identified as the famous Hanging Gardens (see
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
).
In 539 bc Babylon was overthrown by the
PERSIANS
under Cyrus , after which it continued to exist only as a regional capital for successive occupants of the area. Alexander the Great died in the town in 323 bc. The site was abandoned after the Muslim conquest of the area in ad 641.
[Rep.: J. Oates , 1986,
Babylon
. London: Thames & Hudson]

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

A region taking in the whole of the southern alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, which although traditionally linked with the city of Babylon was not always connected to it or ruled from it.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search