The Aztecs arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13^th century and were overthrown by Spanish conquistadors in the early 16^th century. The Toltecs were the previous civilization in the area, and it is unknown whether the Aztecs moved to the area after the Toltecs died out or if they caused it. The Aztecs were also called ____1____ (nickname) after their capital, Tenochtitlán , and Mexica, after Mexico City, which was built over Tenochtitlán  after the Spaniards razed the city.

By 1325, their common crops included maize, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and avocados. They hunted and fished to supplement their crops, eating local animals such as rabbits, snakes, and turkey. A lot of words, especially in foods and animals, were adopted into Spanish and even English came from the Aztec’s ____2____ language, such as chili, avocado, coyote, and ocelot.

The Aztec’s affinity for agriculture and military tradition built their powerful empire. In 1428, Itzcoatl, the current leader, formed an alliance with the Texcocans and the Tacubans to fight back the Tepanec, who eyed land they wanted and had the power to take it. The Aztecs had a highly structured society, with a thriving economy and a caste system that had nobles at the top and went all the way down to the ____3____ , people in indentured servitude. The military played a vital role in the Aztec state. ____4____ , a great warrior, succeeded Itzcoatl in 1440 and is known as the father of the Aztec empire. By the early 16^th century, they ruled over 500 small states and five to six million people. Tenochtitlán was the most densely populated city ever to come from Mesoamerica.

The Aztecs had a polytheistic religion. They built grand temples and statues and dedicated many palaces and plazas to their gods. They prepared human sacrifices for things like good crop yield and weather. They utilized two calendars: the solar-based 365-day calendar and a 260-day ritual calendar. The 365-day calendar was broken in 20 day months over 18 months with 5 “spare” days at the end of the year. The 260-day used 20 day names paired with ____5____ different day numbers to complete the cycle and was mostly used for divination and naming purposes. It was also used to predict lucky and unlucky days for an individual. There are three theories for the origin of this calendar: the numbers 13 and 20 were important numbers to some Mesoamerican cultures. From the date of the first missed menstrual cycle to birth, a ____6____ is pregnant for approximately 260 days. The third theory focuses more on astronomy and geography – the Olmecs, who were southeast of the Aztec Empire and Mesoamerica’s oldest civilization, probably created this calendar. The sun passes through the zenith at this point twice a year, and each passage is 260 days apart.

Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba was the first European to discover the Aztecs in 1517; Montezuma II was ruling at this time. He arrived with three ships and about a hundred men. He reported his findings to the Spanish governor in Cuba, who sent Hernán Cortés to investigate with more men in 1519. Cortés trained 400 men in the city of Veracruz that he founded before marching into the empire. He was welcomed into the city happily, in part to his resemblance to their god ____7____ who was prophesized to return. The Aztecs had greater numbers, but Cortés’ men had greater weapons. Thousands of Aztec nobles were slaughtered and Montezuma II was killed under unknown circumstances.

The Aztec population dwindled after that. By 1520, the city of Tenochtitlán had lost 40% of its population to smallpox and other illnesses. They had no immunity to these diseases, so they ran rampant through the population. A ____8____ that traveled with Cortés mentioned that there were so many bodies that they couldn’t be buried – they were caving in homes around the dead to create their tombs.

Montezuma’s nephew ____9____ took over as emperor after his death and drove the Spaniards from the city, but Cortés had allied himself with other local peoples including the Tlascalans, who the Aztecs were currently at war with. The Spaniards fought back and defeated the Aztecs on ____10____ , 1521, ending the Aztec Empire. About 240,000 people died during the conquest of the city.