Altepetl
The ( , plural ''altepeme'' or ''altepemeh'') was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state", of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societiesSmith 1997 p. 37 in the Americas. The ''altepetl'' was constituted of smaller units known as ''calpolli'' and was typically led by a single dynastic ruler known as a ''tlatoani'', although examples of shared rule between up to five rulers are known. Each ''altepetl'' had its own jurisdiction, origin story, and served as the center of Indigenous identity. Residents referred to themselves by the name of their ''altepetl'' rather than, for instance, as "Mexicas". ''"Altepetl"'' was a polyvalent term rooting the social and political order in the creative powers of a ''sacred mountain'' that contained the ancestors, seeds and life-giving forces of the community. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words (meaning "water") and (meaning "mountain"). A characteristic Nahua mode was to imagine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, [ˈjéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥]) or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish and their native allies who ruled under Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, defeated them in 1521. Its people and civil society are historiographically referred to as the ''Aztecs'' or the ''Culhua-Mexica''. The alliance was formed from the victorious factions of a civil war fought between the city of and its former tributary provinces. Despite the initial conception of the empire as an alliance of three self-governed city-states, the capital became dominant militarily. By the time the Spanish arrived in 1519, the lands of the alliance were effectively ruled from , while other partners of the alliance had taken subsidiary roles. The al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Spanish Conquest Of The Aztec Empire
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, and his small army of European soldiers and numerous indigenous allies, overthrowing one of the most powerful empires in Mesoamerica. Led by the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II, the Aztec Empire had established dominance over central Mexico through military conquest and intricate alliances. Because the Aztec Empire ruled via hegemonic control by maintaining local leadership and relying on the psychological perception of Aztec power — backed by military force — the Aztecs normally kept subordinate rulers compliant. This was an inherently unstable system of governance, as this situation could change with any alteration in the status quo. A combination of factors including superior weaponry, strategic alliances with oppresse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Tenochtitlan
, also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear, but the date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city. The city was built on an island in what was then Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. The city was the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century until it was Fall of Tenochtitlan, captured by the Tlaxcaltec and the Spanish in 1521. At its peak, it was the largest city-state, city in the pre-Columbian Americas. It subsequently became a ''Municipalities of Mexico, cabecera'' of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Today, the ruins of are in the historic center of the Mexican capital. The World Heritage Site of contains what remains of the geography (water, boats, Chinampa, floating gardens) of the Mexica capital. was one of two Mexica (city-states or Polity, polities) on the island, the other being . Etymol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Tlatoani
''Tlahtoāni'' ( , "ruler, sovereign"; plural ' ) is a historical title used by the dynastic rulers of (singular ''āltepētl'', often translated into English as "city-state"), autonomous political entities formed by many pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking peoples in the Valley of Mexico during the Postclassic Period. The title of ' (, "great ruler, emperor") was used by the rulers of the Aztec Empire, an alliance between the ''āltepēmeh'' of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. Each ''āltepētl'' had its own ''tlahtoāni'' who would concurrently function as its ruler, high priest and commander-in-chief. The ''tlahtoāni'' wielded ultimate authority over all land within the ''āltepētl'', overseeing tribute collection, market activities, temple affairs, and the resolution of judicial disputes. Typically a dynastic ruler hailing from the royal lineage, the ''tlahtoāni'' served for life. However, in certain instances, a council of nobles, elders, and priests could elect a ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller populations Nahuatl language in the United States, in the United States. Nahuatl has been spoken in central Mexico since at least the seventh century CE. It was the language of the Mexica, who dominated what is now central Mexico during the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology, Mesoamerican history. During the centuries preceding the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Aztecs had expanded to incorporate a large part of central Mexico. Their influence caused the variety of Nahuatl spoken by the residents of Tenochtitlan to become a prestige language in Mesoamerica. Following the Spanish conquest, Spanish colonists and missionaries introduced the Latin script, and Nahuatl became a literary language. Many chronicles, gram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Calpulli
In pre-Columbian Aztec society, calpulli (from Classical Nahuatl '' calpōlli'', , meaning "large houses", singular calpul) were units of commoner housing that had been split into kin-based or other land holding groups within Nahua city-states or altepetls. In Spanish sources, calpulli are termed ''parcialidades'' or ''barrios.'' The inhabitants of a calpul were collectively responsible for different organizational and religious tasks in relation to the larger altepetl. A calpul could be created based on an extended family, being part of a similar ethnic or national background, or having similar skills and tribute demands. The misunderstanding that calpulli were family units can be blamed on the fact that the word "family" refers to blood relations in English, while in Nahuatl it refers to the people whom you live with. The primary functions of the calpulli were to coordinate land use for growing crops, food production, and manufacturing tribute. Tribute was owed by each tributary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Toluca Valley
The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico (Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca Volcano. It is one of the highest valleys in Mexico and for this reason has a relatively cold climate. Since the 1940s, there has been significant environmental degradation in the valley, with the loss of forests, soil erosion, falling water tables and water pollution due to growth in industry and population. In the pre-Hispanic period, it was a buffer region between the Aztec Empire and Purépecha Empire. From the Aztec period until the 19th century, it was part of the region controlled by Mexico City, but today it is the center of the State of Mexico, which has its capital in Toluca, the main city of the valley. Physical geography and climate The Toluca Valley is a broad highland valley located immediately west of the Valley of Mexico. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Pre-Columbian Era
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. This era encompasses the history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous cultures prior to significant European influence, which in some cases did not occur until decades or even centuries after Columbus's arrival. During the pre-Columbian era, many civilizations developed permanent settlements, cities, agricultural practices, civic and monumental architecture, major Earthworks (archaeology), earthworks, and Complex society, complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had declined by the time of the establishment of the first permanent European colonies, around the late 16th to early 17th centuries, and are know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tlaxcaltec
The Tlaxcallans, or Tlaxcaltec, are an indigenous Nahua people who originate from Tlaxcala, Mexico. The Confederacy of Tlaxcala was instrumental in overthrowing the Aztec Empire in 1521, alongside conquistadors from the Kingdom of Spain. The Tlaxcallans remained allies of the Spanish for 300 years until the Independence of Mexico in 1821. Pre-Colonial history The Tlaxcaltec were a Nahua group, one of the 7 tribes which migrated from their original homeland in the north alongside the Mexica and 5 other tribes. After settling in what is now called Tlaxcala they formed a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi and Pinome that comprised the four city-states (''Altepetl'') of ''Tlaxcallān'' or Tlaxcala. Each of the four cities supposedly had equal say in this confederation, but eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group. By the time of European contact, the city of Tizatlan was effectively controlling Tlaxcala. Despite ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Nahuas
The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as the largest population out of any North American Indigenous people group who are native speakers of their respective Indigenous language. Amongst the Nahua, this is Nahuatl. When ranked amongst all Indigenous languages across the Americas, Nahuas list third after speakers of Guaraní and Quechua. The Mexica (Aztecs) are of Nahua ethnicity, as are their historical enemies and allies of the Spaniards: the Tlaxcallans (Tlaxcaltecs). The Toltecs which predated both groups are often thought to have been Nahua as well. However, in the pre-Columbian period Nahuas were subdivided into many groups that did not necessarily share a common identity. Their Nahuan languages, or Nahuatl, consist of many variants, several of which are mutually uninte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Cempoala
Cempoala or Zempoala (Nahuatl ''Cēmpoalātl'' 'Place of Twenty Waters') is an important Mesoamerican archaeological site located in the municipality of Úrsulo Galván in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The site was inhabited mainly by Totonacs, Chinantecas and Zapotecs. It was one of the most important Totonac settlements during the postclassical Mesoamerican period and the capital of the kingdom of Totonacapan. It is located one kilometer from the shore of the Actopan River and six kilometres from the coast. Cempoala was the first urban settlement the Spaniards saw upon arrival on the American continent. According to some sources, the city was founded at least 1,500 years before the Spanish arrival, and there is evidence of Olmec influence. Although not much is known about the Preclassical and Classic Era, the Preclassical town was built on mounds to protect it from floods. The Totonacs moved into the area during the Toltec Empire peak, having been forced out of thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala, is one of the 32 federal entities that comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tlaxcala, 60 municipalities and the capital city and the largest city is Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl. It is located in east-central Mexico, in the Mexican plateau, altiplano region, with the eastern portion dominated by the Sierra Madre Oriental. It is bordered by the states of Puebla to the north, east and south, State of Mexico, México to the west and Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo to the northwest. It is the smallest state of the republic, accounting for only 0.2% of the country's territory. The state is named after its capital, Tlaxcala, which was also the name of the Pre-Columbian city and culture. The Tlaxcaltec, Tlaxcaltec people allied themselves with the Spanish to defeat the Aztecs, with concessions from the Spanish that allowed the territory to remain mostly intact t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |