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    The histoy of the Aztecs suggests some strong points of resemblense to that of the ancient Romans. However, who were the Aztecs and where did they come from? How did they rule their empire? We don't know the answers to all the questions that extinct civilization can produce, but we know enough to have a basic approach to how the Aztecs lived. 

A Historical Perspective
    After the collapse of the Toltec state, before 1200 A.D., some of the Aztecs' descendants travelled to the Valley of Mexico, where they encountered barbarian tribes who called themselves the Mexica ,which means "the Aztecs." Thus, Aztec history can be divide into three phases: a period of wandering, ended by the founding of Tenochtitlan, a period during which the Aztecs consolidated their position in the Valley of Mexico, and finally, a period of expansion and conquest, which was brought to an close when the Aztecs themselves were conquered by the Spaniards in 1521. 

    From the Wandering Period, the only documentation is in the form of legends, that sometime are contradictory. In one version of the story the Aztecs originally came from Aztlan, an island in the middle of a lake. In this place they stayed with other tribes. At this point of the history, the Mexica-Aztec were only half civilized. Their socical struture was based on agriculture, and they wore clothes of maguey fiber cloth. From there, they continued migrating until finally they were established in the swamps of lake Texcoco. 

    Acamapichtli (1367-87) was the first true moncarch of Tenochtitlan, thus marking the beginning of the period of consolidation in the Valley of Mexico. Acamapichtli was follow by Huitzilihitl, and later by Chimalpopoca. During their kingships, the Aztecs remained under the power of Azcapotzalco. However, when Itzcatl succeeded to the throne after Chimalpopoca, he organized an alliance that ended with the surrender of Azcapotzalco. From this point on, there began a series of alliance and conquest that led the Aztecs into a powerful position in the Valley of Mexico. 

    Next came the period of Expansion and Conquest, starting with Montezuma I (1440-68). He conquered the territories in the southwest of present day Mexico, where exotic goods like chocolate, rubber, cotton, tropical fruits, and rare plumage were produced. This improved the lifestyle of the Aztecs, creating new demands that could be satisfied only by further conquests. Tenochtitlan was growing from a state capital into an imperial city, which was the most powerful city in the Valley. The Texcoco, an Aztec ally, became the intellectual and artistic center of the Valley. The last ruler of the Aztecs was Montezuma II, who broke the alliance between Texcoco and Tenochtitlan. The conflict occured around 1516, making the indigenous groups more vulnerable when Cortes began his invasion three years later. 

Aztec Religion
    The Aztec society was very religious, and virtually every aspect of the Aztec life was related with religion. Even the Aztec ball game, which consisted of two men trying to cross over to the opponents' court, was a religious game. 
The Aztecs believed in the existence of a supreme Creator and Lord of the universe. They refered to him as the God by whom we live. However, they also had another thirteen principal gods and more than two hundred inferior gods. One of these principal gods was Quetzalcoatl, god of the air, a divinity who, during his residence on earth, instructed the Aztecs in the use of metals, agriculture, and the art of government. He left the Aztecs' land, after reigning on earth, promising that he and his descendants would return in the future. Quetzalcoatl was suposed to be tall, with white skin, long, dark hair, and a flowing beard, just like Hernan Cortes.

    The Aztecs believed in three separate states of existence in the afterlife. The wicked, who were to come to an understanding of their role and their duty to mankind, were to expiate their sins in a place of eternal darkness. The Aztecs believed in another place for people who died of certain diseases, where no pain or pleasure existed. Finally, there was the highest place, for the heroes who fell in battle or in sacrifice. This was the Aztec heaven, full of beautiful gardens and tropical animals. 

Marriage and Education
    In terms of family life, the Aztecs were not so different from modern society. The aims of the ordinary Mexican, man or woman, were those of people everywhere: a respected position in the community, a happy family life, and a marraige blessed with children. Unmarried men and women were not regarded as adult members of the community, but once a couple were married, they became full members of society. Marraige records were kept by calpulli scribes; the marraige record entitled the couple to the right to farm a plot of land from the clan holding.

    Children were viewed as a requirement of marraige, and many childless marraiges were ended. Children were delivered by aged midwives, experienced in both the ritual and the medical aspects of childbirth. The Aztecs believed that the day-sign under which the child was born would influence his or her life. For example, a boy born on the day of the Rabbit would turn out to be a drunkard who would bring ruin on himself and his family. The sign of the Deer would make a person evil-tempered, foul-mouthed, and lazy, while the Ocelot sign would lead to days as a slave or as a captive sacrificed on the altar. To the child born on the day of Water, wealth would come easily, andend just as easily- "like water it would pass away." 

    The Aztec had two kind of schools, one for the poor people and another for the nobles. The nobles had a harder education since they were the one that will rule the country. There were no book and the teaching was complity oral. The education was above all a training for citizenship. The education of a girl was really a training for marriage. Between the ages of five and seven she was shown how to handle a spindle and make thread. Girls of good family were sent to the temple to be trained as priestesses, although most of them left a few years when they were asked in marriage. 

    The Aztecs got a big empire after learn from other cultures. Their empire was relative young, but in some acted as great as the Roman Empire. Their armies were were trained and organized. Religion was the center of the culture. All of this ended with the conquest by Cortes.