---
id:"kb-2026-00394"
title:"Aztec Empire"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"history"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The Aztecs (Michael E. Smith, 3rd Ed)"
    type:"book"
    year:2012
    url:"https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Aztecs%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781405194976"
    institution:"Wiley-Blackwell"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

The Aztec Empire (1428-1521) dominated central Mexico from Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), built on an island in Lake Texcoco — larger than any European city of its time. Chinampas (floating gardens) enabled intensive agriculture. Conquered by Hernán Cortés and Spanish conquistadors with indigenous allies (1521).

## Core Explanation

Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan. Society: pipiltin (nobility) + macehualtin (commoners). Religion: polytheistic, Huitzilopochtli (sun/war god), human sacrifice to sustain cosmic order. Fall reasons: superior Spanish weapons, smallpox (killed ~40% in months), indigenous allies resented Aztec rule. Montezuma II: last independent emperor. Population: ~5 million before conquest → ~1 million after.

## Further Reading

- [The Aztecs (Michael E. Smith, 3rd Ed)](https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Aztecs%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781405194976)