Somewhat like the Mongols, the Aztecs left the subject tribes to their own devices as long as the requisite tribute was paid. Today the Aztecs are best remembered for the bloodiness of their religious practices and rapidity with which they collapsed in the face of external assault.Īt the height of its power, the Aztec Empire dominated an area of nearly 200,000 square miles (slightly under a third the size of modern Mexico), with some five to six million subjects.
The Aztecs ruled a mighty empire and possessed a rich culture, producing some of the most impressive pre-Colombian architecture in North America. The Aztecs were a Native American civilization that occupied central Mexico for roughly one hundred years in the 15th and 16th centuries.
