Aztec Civilization

The Aztec Empire (1300-1521 CE) was centered on Tenochtitlan — an island city in Lake Texcoco (now Mexico City) with a population of 200,000-300,000 people, making it one of the world's largest cities in 1500. The Aztec Triple Alliance (Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan) dominated central Mexico through military conquest and tribute extraction from vassal states. Aztec religious practice included human sacrifice — estimated at 20,000 per year at its peak (though numbers are debated). Captives taken in 'Flower Wars' (ritual warfare designed to capture rather than kill) were sacrificed atop temple pyramids to nourish the sun god Huitzilopochtli. Hernán Cortés (500 Spanish conquistadors) allied with 200,000 indigenous enemies of the Aztec and conquered the empire (1519-1521) — a combination of military, disease, and political factors. Smallpox killed 90% of the native population within a century.