The Aztec Kings

Winner of the Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Book Award from the American Society for Ethnohistory, The Aztec Kings is the first major study to take into account the Aztec cyclical conception of time and treat indigenous historical traditions as symbolic statements in narrative form. Susan D. Gillespie focuses on the dynastic history of the Mexica of Tenochtitlan. By demonstrating that most of Aztec history is nonliteral, she sheds new light on Aztec culture and on the function of history in society. By relating the cyclical structure of Aztec dynastic history to similar traditions of African and Polynesian peoples, she introduces a broader perspective on the function of history in society and on how and why history must change.

The enigmatic and powerful Tlacaelel (1398–1487), wrote annalist Chimalpahin, was “the beginning and origin” of the Mexica monarchy in fifteenth-century Mesoamerica. Brother of the first Moteuczoma, Tlacaelel would become “the most powerful, feared, and esteemed man of all that the world had seen up to that time.” But this outsize figure of Aztec history has also long been shrouded in mystery. In Tlacaelel Remembered, the first biography of the Mexica nobleman, Susan Schroeder searches out the truth about his life and legacy. A century after Tlacaelel’s death, in the wake of the conquistadors, Spaniards and natives recorded the customs, histories, and language of the Nahua, or Aztec, people. Three of these chroniclers—fray Diego Durán, don Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc, and especially don Domingo de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin—wrote of Tlacaelel. But the inaccessibility of Chimalpahin’s annals has meant that for centuries of Aztec history, Tlacaelel has appeared, if at all, as a myth. Working from Chimalpahin’s newly available writings and exploring connections and variances in other source materials, Schroeder draws the clearest possible portrait of Tlacaelel, revealing him as the architect of the Aztec empire’s political power and its military might—a politician on par with Machiavelli. As the advisor to five Mexica rulers, Tlacaelel shaped the organization of the Mexica state and broadened the reach of its empire—feats typically accomplished with the spread of warfare, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. In the annals, he is considered the “second king” to the rulers who built the empire, and is given the title “Cihuacoatl,” used for the office of president and judge. As Schroeder traces Tlacaelel through the annals, she also examines how his story was transmitted and transformed in later histories. The resulting work is the most complete and comprehensive account ever given of this significant figure in Mesoamerican history.

Fifth Sun offers a comprehensive history of the Aztecs, spanning the period before conquest to a century after the conquest, based on rarely-used Nahuatl-language sources written by the indigenous people.

Gender in Pre-Hispanic America offers rich opportunities for comprehending current trends and considering future directions in research. It is unique in that it puts social theory at the forefront of the discussion. The book has a special intellectual presence and contemporary relevance in its engagement with the social lives and constructs of its authors and readers alike. The consideration of the role of gender in our daily lives, including in our professions, becomes inescapable when reading this book. It is not simply a question of men's roles having been possibly overemphasized and overstudied to the detriment of women's. The fact that genders, as opposed to sexes, are socially constructed categories focuses our attention on the ways in which these and other social constructs have shaped our present understanding of the past and informed past peoples' understand of their present. In various articles in this book, the reader will not find unanimity in what is meant by "gender" or how to go about studying it. What will be found, however, is a collection of interesting, informed, thought-provoking, and often lively essays. It is hoped that this volume will mark a stage in an evolving study of this field and provoke new research in the future.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, University of Paderborn (Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Chicano and Chicana Literature and Culture, language: English, abstract: The capital of Mexico, Mexico City, is located on the remains of an old city. This city, which was once big and gorgeous and was called Tenochtitlan, was razed to the ground in a very short period of time and in a very cruel manner by foreign invaders on August 13th, 1521. Once Tenochtitlan was a capital city of the Aztecs (or how they called themselves Mexica), which they founded in the year 1325. In the course of only few centuries they managed to establish an immense empire, which is known as the Aztec empire today. The Mexica/Aztecs mark the beginning of the Mexican culture. Thus, in this term paper I will be dealing with the Chicano culture at its very beginning. Who were the Aztecs? What does Aztec mean? Where did they come from? And how did they manage to establish such a big and powerful empire? Why Tenochtitlan has been destroyed? This term paper works with these questions. In order to answer them, a little journey through the history has to be done. Hence, this term paper also offers an overview of the most important events that occurred at that time. But my primary concern will be to find out how the European invaders managed to overthrow the Aztec empire. Or how could the Aztec empire fall to a small group of Spanish invaders? How is it possible? In other words, I would like to find out the reasons for the fall of the Aztec empire. A paper about the history, and especially the Ancient history, is a hard venture. Because of a great variety of secondary literature and accordingly of the different opinions and views of the authors of this books relating to this theme one can quickly lose track of things. The analysis is getting even more difficult because we have only few source documents from the Aztecs today, so that one can not know for sure what really happened at that time. The information about the Aztecs survived in the Aztec codices like, for example, Codex Mendoza, where the conquests of the Aztec kings and tribute areas are registered, it contains also a short ethnographic overview. Other documents, that we have today, are basically chronicles of the Spanish conquerors, for example, “Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España” written by Bernal Díaz del Castillo; or 5 letters of Cortés to the Spanish king.

The Aztec Empire did not recoil from the face of an impending doom, they struggled faithfully. Destined to emerge from their humble beginnings, it grew into a highly-complex devoted civilization refusing to live at the mercy of more neighboring powerful rulers. Their powerful pocheca combed the valley for luxury items while markets dotted their lands. Inside you will find... ✓ Introduction ✓ How the Aztecs Are Portrayed and How Their History Survives ✓ Defining Moments and their Search to Expand and Save the World ✓ Their Philosophy: its Impact on Social Life and How it Served the Kings ✓ Conclusion Isolated from the Old World until the devastating Spanish conquest, the Aztec mācēhualtin (commoners) and nobles enhanced their positions while kings and relentless warriors dealt with the political realities of powerful dynasties and rivaling kingdoms. They developed a philosophy, an order and a society built on loyalty, stoic honor and sacrifice as they embraced the temporary nature of things. Investigate the era of the Fifth Sun and what defined the Aztecs and their relationship with the divine.

This book offers views of Aztec lives and their interactions in rituals, markets, courts, and on the battlefield.