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- Rise of empire
- Culture and religion
- Social Classes
- The Aztecs established a vast kingdom in central Mexico, but the Spanish defeated it in 1521. The Aztecs' ascent to dominance was largely due to war.
- Government and leadership
- The Aztecs worshipped a large number of gods. As a result, they were a polytheistic civilization, which meant they worshipped several gods, each of whom represented distinct aspects of the universe to the Aztecs.
- Achievement
- The ruler and his family were at the pinnacle of the social ladder. A noble class of government officials, priests, and high-ranking soldiers then arrived. Commoners, or citizens without aristocratic status, made up the third and biggest class. The peasants, who were neither slaves nor citizens, were below the commoners. Slaves were at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
- Decline of Empire
- The Aztec government was a monarchy. Every major city within the Aztec Empire was ruled by an executive leader called the tlatoani.
- The Aztecs were known for their agricultural achievements, which included farming all accessible land, establishing irrigation, clearing marshes, and constructing artificial islands in lakes. They invented hieroglyphic writing, devised a complicated calendar system, and constructed world-famous pyramids and temples.
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- Smallpox infected the indigenous people, crippling their capacity to fight the Spaniards. The plague ravaged the Aztecs, decimating their population and killing an estimated half of Tenochtitlán's population.
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