Aztec Empire
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was an alliance of three Nahua city-states, Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan, that ruled over the Valley of Mexico and its surroundings from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their native allies defeated them in 1521.
Establishment
January 1429: The Aztec Empire was founded in 1428 through an alliance between the city-states of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan. These three city-states controlled the Valley of Mexico and surrounding areas, forming a powerful empire in Mesoamerica.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Expansion during the rule of Itzcoatl in the Aztec Empire.
January 1441: Itzcoatl conquered Coyoacan in the Basin of Mexico, Cuauhnahuac and Huaxtepec in the modern Mexican state of Morelos.
January 1441: Conquests of Itzcoatl, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
Expansion during the rule of Axayacatl in the Aztec Empire.
January 1470: Conquests of Moctezuma I, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
January 1471: In the 1470s Aztecs under Axayacatl captured a series of Tarascan frontier towns and closed in on the Tarascan heartland.
January 1473: Axayacatl re-conquered the region of Toluca Valley and successfully defended it from Purépecha attempts to take it back.
January 1476: Axayacatl consolidated the conquest of the Oaxaca region.
Were a series of military campaigns of the Aztec Empire that led to the expansion of the empire.
January 1487: Conquests of Tizoc, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
January 1503: Conquests of Ahuitzotl, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
January 1521: Conquests of Moctezuma II, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
Were a series of expeditions and military campaigns by Spanish conquistadores and discoverers to conquer territories in central and southern America.
4.1.Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
Was a military campaign waged by Spanish conquistarod Hernán Cortés along with indigenous allies to conquer the Aztec Empire.
May 1519: Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, landed his expedition force on the coast of modern-day Veracruz in April 1519.
September 1519: On their arrival in Cempoala, the Spanish were greeted by 20 dignitaries and cheering townsfolk.
September 1519: On their arrival in Cempoala, the Spaniards were greeted by 20 dignitaries and cheering townsfolk. Spanish conquistado Cortés quickly persuaded the Totonac chiefs to rebel against the Aztecs, taking prisoner five of Moctezuma's tax collectors.
November 1519: By 14 November 1519 Tenochtitlan was in Spanish hands and Moctezuma was Cortés' prisoner as insurance against any further resistance.
December 1519: The Spanish led by Cortés entered Cholula. The city was taken without active resistance by the locals.
July 1520: After the massacre in the great temple, led by Hernán Cortés and his men, the Spanish forces retreated from Tenochtitlan in 1520. The Aztec Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Moctezuma II, faced a significant challenge as they regrouped and strategized with their allies in Tlaxcala.
January 1521: In 1520, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés led the conquest of Cempoala, a city in present-day Mexico. Cempoala was an important Totonac settlement and played a key role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The conquest of Cempoala marked a significant victory for the Spanish in their colonization of the Americas.
August 1521: The Fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was a decisive event in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
January 1451: Papantla was part of the Pueblos del Totonacapan region, ruled by Tuzapan. The city paid tribute to the powerful Aztec Empire, which controlled vast territories in Mesoamerica during the pre-Hispanic period.
January 1451: The Totonacs were conquered by the Nahuas of the Aztec Triple Alliance.
January 1456: The Purépecha under their king Tzitzipandaquare had invaded the Toluca Valley, claiming lands previously conquered by Motecuzoma and Itzcoatl.
January 1458: The Amuzgos paid tribute to the Mixtecs for about 300 years in cotton, cloth, feathers, hides, gold, corn, beans and chili peppers. The area was part of a Mixtec province called Ayacastla, which the Aztecs subjuged in 1457.
January 1463: Achiutla was conquered by the Aztecs, who destroyed and burned their main temple, in 1462 the temple and the city suffered the fire, to this fact is due to carry the Mixtec name of Ñuu Nducu in one of their etymologies meaning burned town or city in flames.
February 1471: The Aztecs were defeated by Tarascan forces and had to leave the southern Tarascan territories.
January 1501: Under the Aztec Tlatoani Ahuitzotl the Soconusco province which was then paying tribute to the Kʼicheʼ was conquered by the Aztecs.
January 1501: Aztec ruler Ahuitzotl began a new wave of conquests including the Oaxaca Valley and the Soconusco Coast. Due to increased border skirmishes with the Purépechas, Ahuitzotl conquered the border city of Otzoma and turned the city into a military outpost.
January 1520: Conquests of Moctezuma II, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
Disestablishment
January 1521: In 1520, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés led the conquest of Cempoala, a city in present-day Mexico. Cempoala was an important Totonac settlement and played a key role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The conquest of Cempoala marked a significant victory for the Spanish in their colonization of the Americas.
January 1521: Conquests of Moctezuma II, ruler of the Aztec Empire.
August 1521: The Fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was a decisive event in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Selected Sources
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.157
