AGE OF AZTEC PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

James Lovegrove | 512 pages | 27 Mar 2012 | Rebellion | 9781907992810 | English | Oxford, United Kingdom Black Gate » Articles » Gods, Monsters and Mayhem: The Pantheon Novels of James Lovegrove

Sep 06, Matt Kelland rated it really liked it Shelves: fantasy , sci-fi , alt-history. This is a cracking good adventure - alt history, mixed with science fantasy and mythology, in the form of a thriller. The only one of the series I've read before is Age of Voodoo , and I was expecting this to be set in the same world. It isn't. The two are completely standalone, linked only by the theme of gods interfering in human affairs. I've seen a lot of people claiming that Lovegrove's Pantheon series is inventing a new form of sci-fi aka "godpunk" - which is as lazy a way a describing a li This is a cracking good adventure - alt history, mixed with science fantasy and mythology, in the form of a thriller. I've seen a lot of people claiming that Lovegrove's Pantheon series is inventing a new form of sci-fi aka "godpunk" - which is as lazy a way a describing a literary form as tacking "-gate" onto every political scandal. It's not new - it's very much following in the footsteps of Roger Zelazny and the sort of thing he was doing with of Light , but updated to reflect modern pacing and style. That's not to take anything away from it - the SF world sorely needs someone who can handle this genre with such mastery, who has an appreciation for the expanse of world mythology, and who can tell a damn fine story. Neil Gaiman offered a more gentle an dreamlike take on similar ideas in books like American Gods , but Lovegrove goes straight for the action and energy. It's like a collaboration between Zelazny, John Woo, and the Stargate team. It would make one hell of a good movie. I hope to see many more in the series. Aug 20, James rated it it was amazing. James Lovegrove is back with another entry in his Pantheon Series, and he doesn't disappoint. Age of Aztec is another satisfying sci-fi romp through a world filled with cool technology, violent fights, advanced weaponry, and of course, gods. The thing I like most about Lovegrove's Pantheon books is the way he ends up explaining the existence of the gods he's depicting. Each book centres around a different mythology, and he's been very creative about how his gods are incorporated into each book. Age of Zeus did the best job, and Age of Odin did it impressively too--but Age of Aztec is right up there. They take a while to appear, but when they do, the whole tone of the book changes. It's an--excuse the expression--"oh shit" moment; the gloves are thrown, the writing's on the wall, the world has changed. The human characters realize it, too, and go through some really nice processing to deal with it. I thought the integration was fantastic, and the revelation of their motives was one of the best in the series. The other nice point about this book is the way it deals with the whole phenomenon. I won't get into the debate of whether is supposed to be the end of the world or not, but this book treats that question in a very responsible and fun way. I thought I knew exactly where it was going, then it throws a turn--just the way good fiction should be. The only real complaint I have about this book--and it's one that I share with all in the series--is that it's so incredibly fast paced. I love a book I can't put down, but these books are devoured, fast enough that it's sometimes hard to sit back and appreciate the journey you've been on. It's clear that the books are meant to be that--you don't get dropped into a world with living gods and not come out unscathed--but it always leaves me wanting just one more chapter. Oct 29, Matthew rated it liked it. For some reason, this installation of Lovegrove's 'Age of Is it perhaps because the was the least familiar to me, and there was no frame of reference that I could tap into, no well of previous knowledge to fill the inevitable gaps that Lovegrove left in? Or was it just because of the tough nature of this totally foreign mythology? It's probably a combination of all three options mentioned above. I am not as familiar with the Aztec myths, and when the inevitable plot wholes arose as they will with any myth book just because of the dynamic nature of mythology , I was unable to refer back to previous knowledge and understanding. Perhaps the friction I felt while reading this was solely due to the nature of the Aztec myths. They are rare, and never seen in today's media as opposed to Greek Myths which frequently appear and Norse which are appearing more frequently. Criticism aside, I think Lovegrove did a good job tackling this tough field. His characters were once again interesting, and the plot --while similar in nature to his other Age novels --had its own signature. Age of Aztec was my least favorite thus far from Lovegrove's Age series, but I would still recommend reading it --especially if you enjoyed previous novels in the series, or just enjoy mythology. Juts keep Google open in case you need to look up any histories to give you as basin of knowledge. Jan 10, Jason Freezer rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed this book. It had good pacing and it went from what I was expecting it to be to something far different. There were plenty of twists and turns and the introduction of the gods was also done well. It was interesting getting a bit of a look at the Atex gods which I really knew very little about. The writing is what I expect from Lovegrave which is pretty solid hard hitting sci-fi. I had a few little nitpicks with the editing of the book where some things were worded oddly or the g I really enjoyed this book. I had a few little nitpicks with the editing of the book where some things were worded oddly or the grammar wasn't correct but overall those where minor complaints. This is the second book in his "Age of The idea of a godpunk genre is nice to me and I always enjoy what Lovegrove does with his gods. They are never what you'd expect. The one thing which at times gets a little boring is in both this and Age of Odin the love story elements are a bit unsubtle. Not that they are bad but you can see them coming pretty early on in the story. The upside to this is the fact that it dosen't detract from the overall action of the story. Overall I'd pass this book along to any of my friends interested in science fiction or interesting twists on the mythic gods. Aug 10, Timothy rated it liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I definitely enjoy Lovegrove's pantheon series. My favorite remains the Age of Ra. Possible spoilers small below One of my favorite things about the pantheon series is that each is its own universe. As much as I'd be interested in reading more about the world created in the Age of Ra, I appreciate that each new book, while on theme, is its own. So while I went in expecting the aztec gods, by halfway through my expectations had changes so that when they finally appeared it was more surprising. As such the book is really two different stories, the first, the adventures of the , and the second a battle between aztec gods. Both parts of the story were fun. I would have been just as happy seeing the Conquistador adventure continue as it had at the beginning of the book but the new direction it took was just as good. I hope another pantheon book is in the works. Nov 25, Joseph Farand rated it really liked it Shelves: military-sci-fi. Another excellent novel in Lovegrove's Pantheon series - it's the 20th century and the Aztec has conquered the world with the help of advance technology. They are all powerful, even able to control the environment on a planetary scale. In a tropical Britain the reader is introduced to the two main characters: the "Batman-like" Conquistador battling the Aztec oppressors and the female Jaguar assigned to stop his acts of terrorism. Events take these characters to the heart of the Az Another excellent novel in Lovegrove's Pantheon series - it's the 20th century and the has conquered the world with the help of advance technology. Events take these characters to the heart of the Aztec domain where they learn the truth behind their power and get involved in a final confrontation that will decide the fate of the world. Lovegrove has created an interesting world with its "modern" and their "Chariots of the Gods" origin. An enjoyable action-oriented Sci Fi adventure - highly recommended. Jun 20, John Walker rated it it was ok. The last few chapters have great combat and I enjoyed the ending. However the book in general is hardly worth reading. It is only my completionist OCD that made me finish reading it. It has unnecessary and pointless vulgarity that does nothing for the story or the reader, the characters, especially the ancient Aztec gods are 2 dimensional and act like middle school children. The main characters are a bit better but hardly worth so many pages of reading. The technology and setting ideas are good, t The last few chapters have great combat and I enjoyed the ending. The technology and setting ideas are good, the combats are action packed and well described. The only parts of the book I enjoyed. Tip with possible spoiler: view spoiler [ Read the last 4 or 5 chapters, I think, if you want to read a fun action sequence akin to a robotech episode. It is the only part worth your time. Oct 12, Nigel rated it really liked it. In each of the stories Lovegrove explores what would happen if a particular set of mythical gods were real and were in fact ruling the earth today. There is a recurring theme in that humans are always rebelling and there are also usually warring factions amongst the gods as well. In this instalment it is the Aztec gods who get the full blood soaked treatment, in a story that is not for the faint hearted or squeamish. That said I find them a good piece of escapism and an enjoyable way to spend a train journey or two. This book was an amazing book. Written by James Lovegrove in this book was by far one of the best books i have read for a long time. Although it is in a series of books you do not have to read them in order to understand the book because they are always completely different stories from the one before or after the one you decide to read. This story takes place when the Aztec Empire gets taken over by the Spaniards and is written about an Aztec man wearing a mask who used to be a priest befo This book was an amazing book. This story takes place when the Aztec Empire gets taken over by the Spaniards and is written about an Aztec man wearing a mask who used to be a priest before the civilization was taken over. He has flashbacks from when he was a priest. If you are a person that wants to learn things about the Empire then this is definitely the book i would recommend for you to read. Mar 24, Jacob rated it really liked it. This book is Batman. Plain and simple. The main character loses his family, blames those who did it, and in a shocking twists, sets out to murder as many of them as physically possible. This is very much the fourth book in series of similar novels. If you can make peace with that, it's a really fun story. The characters are very brutal and straight forward. There's not much in the twists, but there are a couple. Overall its fairly formulaic, but I happen to be a fan of the formula it comes from. If you've liked the previous novels in the series, this one won't surprise, but it'll at least entertain. Jul 24, Lisa rated it really liked it. This book was surprisingly entertaining. The premise is that instead of Spain crushing the Aztec empire, the Aztec Empire was surprisingly technologically advanced and resisted Spain and managed to create a worldwide empire and the world was all following the bloody . I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I felt like the author did a great job investigating Aztec culture and religion and even went in This book was surprisingly entertaining. I felt like the author did a great job investigating Aztec culture and religion and even went into a bit about the Maya. It was interesting to think about the changes in world history that such an occurance would have created. Apr 15, William Gaspar rated it really liked it Shelves: mythology , aztec , alternate-history. I honestly thought that this book was great. My brother introduced me to James Lovegrove and I couldn't put down even one of his books that I've read. I never would've thought that an author would actually take the time to write such a book with such a major twist in history and the book even gives ideas about how even two people can make such a huge difference. And Im one of the people who just love gore in books. From when the Mayan guerrillas "Xibalba" were brutally killed to when Tezcatlipoca I honestly thought that this book was great. From when the Mayan guerrillas "Xibalba" were brutally killed to when Tezcatlipoca fought the other gods on the way to their stronghold. Lovegrove has earned my respect and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books. May 05, Janice rated it liked it Shelves: sci-fiction. A couple of days later and I'm still trying to figure out what I thought about the ending for this one. As bloody and violent as you would expect from a world ruled by the Aztec gods. Or more properly, I suppose, by the Aztecs. Ignored name pronunciation in this one and just rolled with it. In theory, the romanization of Aztec words was done by Spanish preists, just like Japanese. You couldn't prove by looking at the spellings. Perhaps it's just that I get Japanese phonetics I do hear Japanese A couple of days later and I'm still trying to figure out what I thought about the ending for this one. Perhaps it's just that I get Japanese phonetics I do hear Japanese almost every day after all , but never having heard Aztecs speaking, I don't get theirs. Mar 16, Randy Mccallum rated it really liked it. This series keeps getting better and better. This time out we are introduced to the Aztec gods I'm not even going to attempt to spell any of them, and two interesting main characters that start out on opposite sides of the spectrum regarding the gods place in the world. The author develops several rich characters and once again does a wonderful job introducing and explaining the gods of Aztec culture. There are several twists in this book that make it a worthwhile read and I look forward to the This series keeps getting better and better. There are several twists in this book that make it a worthwhile read and I look forward to the rest of the books in the series. Jul 01, Zachary Wagoner rated it it was amazing Shelves: my-fiction-collection , my-modern-fantasy-collection. Another good book in the pantheon series, this time involving the Roman gods I'm kidding, the Aztec gods take their time in the spot light in this book. The book is set in an alternate Earth, which is united under one Empire, the Aztec Empire. Real interesting to see Lovegrove's vision of an Aztec world. A great read and an excellent addition to an book collection. The only thing that I found wrong with the book were a few spelling errors here and there. All in all a great read. May 03, Tomislav added it. Great material for an alt-reality RPG! Aztec Empire rules the Earth, using the tech revealed to them by their pantheon of gods. But not all is idylic as it seems, and there are forces marshalling against the immortal king Moctezuma II, also known as Great Speaker. The book has a bit of a downer ending, but modifying it a bit you get the aforementioned great setting for an alt-reality RPG. Definitely reccomended for people with a knack for mezoamerican culture. Feb 14, Marshall Stevens rated it it was ok. At first the visual descriptions of how the Aztec influence was fantastic and great but over time the book gave way to childish conversations and dialogue that was so testosterone induced that I struggled to finish the ending. For all it was worth, I gleaned a few interesting elements from the text, so it wasn't all in vain but when put up to other authors, the only thing keeping Lovegrove afloat is the interesting idea of the subject matter he's writing about. Jul 01, Matt D rated it it was amazing Shelves: alternate-history , native-american , godpunk. What a brilliant book. This series just gets better with each installment. The author writes a novel that I have been dying to see for a long time - what would the world be like had the Aztecs repelled the Spanish invasion and then went about conquering the world. It's a fast-paced novel full of action, with a unique spin on the "Mayan " thing. I can't say enough great things about this book. Aug 09, Friedrich Haas rated it really liked it Shelves: fantasy. There was a flaw up front that troubled me about their artistic style. Were the Aztec copying their gods, or their gods copying the Aztec, seeming the latter. Moving on, I got to enjoying the story right to the end. I saw an obvious resolution to the dead man's switch, but the author didn't take it. A fatalistic view of the cycles, but oh well, not a classic ending, but perhaps appropriate. Readers also enjoyed. Science Fiction. Science Fiction Fantasy. About James Lovegrove. James Lovegrove. James Lovegrove is the author of several acclaimed novels and books for children. James was born on Christmas Eve and, having dabbled in writing at school, first took to it seriously while at university. A short story of his won a college competition. This taught him a hard but necessary lesson in the harsh economic James Lovegrove is the author of several acclaimed novels and books for children. This taught him a hard but necessary lesson in the harsh economic realities of a literary career. Straight after graduating from Oxford with a degree in English Literature, James set himself the goal of getting a novel written and sold within two years. In the event, it took two months. The Hope was completed in six weeks and accepted by Macmillan a fortnight later. The seed for the idea for the novel — a world in microcosm on an ocean liner — was planted during a cross-Channel ferry journey. James blew his modest advance for The Hope on a round-the-world trip which took him to, among other places, Thailand. His experiences there, particularly what he witnessed of the sex industry in Bangkok, provided much of the inspiration for The Foreigners. Escardy Gap was co-written with Pete Crowther over a period of a year and a half, the two authors playing a game of creative tag, each completing a section in turn and leaving the other to carry the story on. Days , a satire on consumerism, was shortlisted for the Arthur C. It was written over a period of nine months while James was living in the north- west suburbs of Chicago. Peoples in conquered provinces were allowed to retain and freely continue their own religious traditions, so long as they added the imperial god to their local pantheons. The word " Aztec " in modern usage would not have been used by the people themselves. It has variously been used to refer to the Triple Alliance empire, the -speaking people of central prior to the Spanish conquest, or specifically the ethnicity of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples. For the broader use of the term, see the article on Aztec civilization. Nahua peoples descended from Chichimec peoples who migrated to central Mexico from the north in the early 13th century. Early migrants settled the Basin of Mexico and surrounding lands by establishing a series of independent city-states. Most of the existing settlements had been established by other indigenous peoples before the Mexica migration. These early city-states fought various small-scale wars with each other, but due to shifting alliances, no individual city gained dominance. They entered the Basin of Mexico around the year , and by then most of the good agricultural land had already been claimed. The Mexica served as mercenaries for Culhuacan. After the Mexica served Culhuacan in battle, the ruler appointed one of his daughters to rule over the Mexica. According to mythological native accounts, the Mexica instead sacrificed her by flaying her skin, on the command of their god Xipe Totec. The Mexica moved to an island in the middle of , where an eagle nested on a nopal cactus. The Mexica rose to prominence as fierce and were able to establish themselves as a military power. The importance of warriors and the integral nature of warfare in Mexica political and religious life helped propel them to emerge as the dominant military power prior to the arrival of the Spanish in The new Mexica city- state allied with the city of and paid tribute to its ruler, . Until this point, the Mexica ruler was not recognized as a legitimate king. Mexica leaders successfully petitioned one of the kings of Culhuacan to provide a daughter to marry into the Mexica line. Their son, , was enthroned as the first of in the year While the of Azcapotzalco expanded their rule with help from the Mexica, the Acolhua city of Texcoco grew in power in the eastern portion of the lake basin. Eventually, war erupted between the two states, and the Mexica played a vital role in the conquest of Texcoco. By then, Tenochtitlan had grown into a major city and was rewarded for its loyalty to the Tepanecs by receiving Texcoco as a tributary province. Mexica warfare, from it's tactics to arms, was marked by a focus on capturing enemies rather than killing them. Capturing enemies was important for religious ritual and provided a means by which soldiers could distinguish themselves during campaigns. In , the king Tezozomoc died, [19] [20] [21] and the resulting succession crisis precipitated a civil war between potential successors. But his son, , soon usurped the throne and turned against factions that opposed him, including the Mexica ruler . The latter died shortly thereafter, possibly assassinated by Maxtla. The new Mexica ruler continued to defy Maxtla; he blockaded Tenochtitlan and demanded increased tribute payments. Nezahualcoyotl recruited military help from the king of Huexotzinco , and the Mexica gained the support of a dissident Tepanec city, . In , Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan, and Huexotzinco went to war against Azcapotzalco, emerging victorious in After the war, Huexotzinco withdrew, and in , [1] the three remaining cities formed a treaty known today as the Triple Alliance. Land acquired from these conquests was to be held by the three cities together. Tribute was to be divided so that two-fifths each went to Tenochtitlan and Texcoco, and one-fifth went to Tlacopan. Each of the three kings of the alliance in turn assumed the title "huetlatoani" "Elder Speaker", often translated as "". In this role, each temporarily held a de jure position above the rulers of other city-states "tlatoani". In the next years, the Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan came to dominate the and extend its power to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. Tenochtitlan gradually became the dominant power in the alliance. Two of the primary architects of this alliance were the half-brothers and Moctezuma , nephews of Itzcoatl. Moctezuma eventually succeeded Itzcoatl as the Mexica huetlatoani in Tlacaelel occupied the newly created title of " Cihuacoatl ", equivalent to something between "Prime Minister" and "Viceroy". Shortly after the formation of the Triple Alliance, Itzcoatl and Tlacopan instigated sweeping reforms on the Aztec state and religion. It has been alleged that Tlacaelel ordered the burning of some or most of the extant Aztec books, claiming that they contained lies and that it was "not wise that all the people should know the paintings". After succeeded Itzcoatl as the Mexica emperor, more reforms were instigated to maintain control over conquered cities. A new imperial tribute system established Mexica tribute collectors that taxed the population directly, bypassing the authority of local dynasties. Nezahualcoyotl also instituted a policy in the Acolhua lands of granting subject kings tributary holdings in lands far from their capitals. Some rebellious kings were replaced by calpixqueh , or appointed governors rather than dynastic rulers. Moctezuma issued new laws that further separated nobles from and instituted the death penalty for adultery and other offenses. Moctezuma also created a new title called "quauhpilli" that could be conferred on commoners. In some rare cases, commoners that received this title married into royal families and became kings. One component of this reform was the creation of an institution of regulated warfare called the Flower Wars. Mesoamerican warfare overall is characterized by a strong preference for capturing live as opposed to slaughtering the enemy on the battlefield, which was considered sloppy and gratuitous. The Flower Wars are a potent manifestation of this approach to warfare. These highly ritualized wars ensured a steady, healthy supply of experienced Aztec warriors as well as a steady, healthy supply of captured enemy warriors for sacrifice to the gods. Flower wars were pre-arranged by officials on both sides and conducted specifically for the purpose of each polity collecting prisoners for sacrifice. After the defeat of the Tepanecs, Itzcoatl and Nezahualcoyotl rapidly consolidated power in the Basin of Mexico and began to expand beyond its borders. The first targets for imperial expansion were Coyoacan in the Basin of Mexico and Cuauhnahuac and Huaxtepec in the modern Mexican state of . On the death of Itzcoatl, Moctezuma I was enthroned as the new Mexica emperor. The expansion of the empire was briefly halted by a major four-year drought that hit the Basin of Mexico in , and several cities in Morelos had to be re-conquered after the drought subsided. In , Moctezuma I died and was succeeded by his son, . Most of Axayacatl's thirteen-year-reign was spent consolidating the territory acquired under his predecessor. Motecuzoma and Nezahualcoyotl had expanded rapidly and many provinces rebelled. In , Nezahualcoyotl died and his son Nezahualpilli was enthroned as the new huetlatoani of Texcoco. 's reign was notoriously brief. He proved to be ineffectual and did not significantly expand the empire. Apparently due to his incompetence, Tizoc was likely assassinated by his own nobles five years into his rule. Tizoc was succeeded by his brother in Like his predecessors, the first part of Ahuitzotl's reign was spent suppressing rebellions that were commonplace due to the indirect nature of Aztec rule. By the reign of Ahuitzotl, the Mexica were the largest and most powerful faction in the Aztec Triple Alliance. Ahuitzotl was succeeded by his nephew Moctezuzoma II in Moctezuma II spent most of his reign consolidating power in lands conquered by his predecessors. Moctezuma II instituted more imperial reforms. Moctezuma II used his reign to attempt to consolidate power more closely with the Mexica Emperor. His reform efforts were cut short by the Spanish Conquest in An important article, "Rethinking Malinche" by Frances Karttunen examines her role in the conquest and beyond. Nearby, he founded the town of where he met with ambassadors from the reigning Mexica emperor, Motecuzoma II. The Spanish-led army crossed into to seek the latter's alliance against the Aztecs. However, the Tlaxcalan general Xicotencatl the Younger believed them to be hostile, and attacked. He then took Motecuzoma up to the roof of the palace to ask his subjects to stand down. However, by this point the ruling council of Tenochtitlan had voted to depose Motecuzoma and had elected his brother Cuitlahuac as the new emperor. The Spaniards and their allies, realizing they were vulnerable to the hostile Mexica in Tenochtitlan following Moctezuma's death, attempted to retreat without detection in what is known as the "Sad Night" or . Spaniards and their Indian allies were discovered clandestinely retreating, and then were forced to fight their way out of the city, with heavy loss of life. Some Spaniards lost their lives by drowning, loaded down with gold. After this incident, a smallpox outbreak hit Tenochtitlan. Through numerous subsequent battles and skirmishes, he captured the various indigenous city-states or around the lake shore and surrounding mountains, including the other capitals of the Triple Alliance, Tlacopan and Texcoco. Texcoco in fact had already become firm allies of the Spaniards and the city-state, and subsequently petitioned the Spanish crown for recognition of their services in the conquest, just as Tlaxcala had done. Although the attackers took heavy casualties, the Aztecs were ultimately defeated. The city of Tenochtitlan was thoroughly destroyed in the process. The Aztec Empire was an example of an empire that ruled by indirect means. Like most European , it was ethnically very diverse, but unlike most European empires, it was more a system of tributes than a single unitary form of government. In the theoretical framework of imperial systems posited by American historian Alexander J. Motyl the Aztec empire was an informal type of empire in that the Alliance did not claim supreme authority over its tributary provinces; it merely expected tributes to be paid. For example, the southern peripheral zones of Xoconochco were not in immediate contact with the central part of the empire. The hegemonic nature of the Aztec empire can be seen in the fact that generally local rulers were restored to their positions once their city-state was conquered and the Aztecs did not interfere in local affairs as long as the tribute payments were made. Although the form of government is often referred to as an empire, in fact most areas within the empire were organized as city-states individually known as altepetl in Nahuatl , the language of the Aztecs. These were small polities ruled by a king or tlatoani literally "speaker", plural tlatoque from an aristocratic dynasty. The Early Aztec period was a time of growth and competition among altepeme. Even after the empire was formed in and began its program of expansion through conquest, the altepetl remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control. It should be remembered that the term "Aztec empire" is a modern one, not one used by the Aztec themselves. The Aztec realm was at its core composed of three Nahuatl -speaking city states in the densely populated Valley of Mexico. Over time, asymmetries of power elevated one of those city states, Tenochtitlan, above the other two. The "Triple Alliance" came to establish hegemony over much of central , including areas of great linguistic and cultural diversity. Administration of the empire was performed through largely traditional, indirect means. However, over time something of a nascent bureaucracy may have been beginning to form insofar as the state organization became increasingly centralized. Before the reign of Nezahualcoyotl — , the Aztec empire operated as a confederation along traditional Mesoamerican lines. Independent altepetl were led by tlatoani lit. A typical Mesoamerican confederation placed a Huey Tlatoani lit. Following Nezahualcoyotl, the Aztec empire followed a somewhat divergent path, with some tlatoani of recently conquered or otherwise subordinated altepetl becoming replaced with calpixque stewards charged with collecting tribute on behalf of the Huetlatoani rather than simply replacing an old tlatoque with new ones from the same set of local . Yet the Huey tlatoani was not the sole executive. It was the responsibility of the Huey tlatoani to deal with the external issues of empire; the management of tribute, war, diplomacy, and expansion were all under the purview of the Huey tlatoani. It was the role of the Cihuacoatl to govern a given city itself. The Cihuacoatl was always a close relative of the Huey tlatoani; Tlacaelel , for example, was the brother of Moctezuma I. Both the title "Cihuacoatl", which means "female snake" it is the name of a Nahua deity , and the role of the position, somewhat analogous to a European Viceroy or Prime Minister , reflect the dualistic nature of Nahua cosmology. Neither the position of Cihuacoatl nor the position of Huetlatoani were priestly, yet both did have important ritual tasks. Those of the former were associated with the "female" wet season, those of the latter with the "male" dry season. While the position of Cihuacoatl is best attested in Tenochtitlan, it is known that the position also existed the nearby altepetl of Atzcapotzalco , Culhuacan , and Tenochtitlan's ally Texcoco. Despite the apparent lesser status of the position, a Cihuacoatl could prove both influential and powerful, as in the case of Tlacaelel. Early in the history of the empire, Tenochtitlan developed a four-member military and advisory Council which assisted the Huey tlatoani in his decision-making: the tlacochcalcatl ; the tlaccatecatl ; the ezhuahuacatl ; [58] and the tlillancalqui. This design not only provided advise for the ruler, it also served to contain ambition on the part of the nobility, as henceforth Huey Tlatoani could only be selected from the Council. Moreover, the actions of any one member of the Council could easily be blocked by the other three, providing a simple system of checks on the ambition higher officials. These four Council members were also generals, members of various military societies. The ranks of the members were not equal, with the tlacochcalcatl and tlaccatecatl having a higher status than the others. These two Councillors were members of the two most prestigious military societies, the cuauhchique "shorn ones" and the otontin " Otomies ". Traditionally, provinces and altepetl were governed by hereditary tlatoani. As the empire grew, the system evolved further and some tlatoani were replaced by other officials. The other officials had similar authority to tlatoani. As has already been mentioned, directly appointed stewards singular calpixqui , plural calpixque were sometimes imposed on altepetl instead of the selection of provincial nobility to the same position of tlatoani. At the height of empire, the organization of the state into tributary and strategic provinces saw an elaboration of this system. The 38 tributary provinces fell under the supervision of high stewards, or huecalpixque , whose authority extended over the lower-ranking calpixque. These calpixque and huecalpixque were essentially managers of the provincial tribute system which was overseen and coordinated in the paramount capital of Tenochtitlan not by the huetlatoani , but rather by a separate position altogether: the petlacalcatl. On the occasion that a recently conquered altepetl was seen as particularly restive, a military governor, or cuauhtlatoani , was placed at the head of provincial supervision. One was stationed in the province itself, perhaps for supervising the collection of tribute, and the other in Tenochtitlan, perhaps for supervising storage of tribute. Age of Aztec ( The Pantheon Series ) | Rebellion Publishing

As described in the myth of creation above, humans were understood to be responsible for the sun's continued revival, as well as for paying the earth for its continued fertility. Blood sacrifice in various forms was conducted. Both humans and animals were sacrificed, depending on the god to be placated and the ceremony being conducted, and priests of some gods were sometimes required to provide their own blood through self- mutilation. It is known that some rituals included acts of cannibalism , with the captor and his family consuming part of the flesh of their sacrificed captives, but it is not known how widespread this practice was. While human sacrifice was practiced throughout Mesoamerica, the Aztecs, according to their own accounts, brought this practice to an unprecedented level. For example, for the reconsecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in , the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed 80, prisoners over the course of four days, reportedly by Ahuitzotl , the Great Speaker himself. This number, however, is not universally accepted and may have been exaggerated. The scale of Aztec human sacrifice has provoked many scholars to consider what may have been the driving factor behind this aspect of Aztec religion. In the s, Michael Harner and Marvin Harris argued that the motivation behind human sacrifice among the Aztecs was actually the cannibalization of the sacrificial victims , depicted for example in Codex Magliabechiano. Harner claimed that very high population pressure and an emphasis on maize agriculture, without domesticated herbivores, led to a deficiency of essential amino acids among the Aztecs. Harris, author of Cannibals and Kings , has propagated the claim, originally proposed by Harner, that the flesh of the victims was a part of an aristocratic diet as a reward, since the Aztec diet was lacking in proteins. Ortiz also points to the preponderance of human sacrifice during periods of food abundance following harvests compared to periods of food scarcity, the insignificant quantity of human protein available from sacrifices and the fact that aristocrats already had easy access to animal protein. The Aztec greatly appreciated the arts and fine craftsmanship of the , who predated the Aztec in central Mexico. The Aztec considered Toltec productions to represent the finest state of culture. The fine arts included writing and painting, singing and composing poetry, carving sculptures and producing mosaic, making fine ceramics, producing complex featherwork, and working metals, including copper and gold. Artisans of the fine arts were referred to collectively as tolteca Toltec. The Mask of Xiuhtecuhtli; ; cedrela wood, , pine resin, mother-of- pearl, conch shell, cinnabar ; height: Kneeling female figure; 15th—early 16th century; painted stone; overall: Frog-shaped necklace ornaments; 15th—early 16th century; gold; height: 2. The Aztecs did not have a fully developed writing system like the Maya, however like the Maya and Zapotec, they did use a writing system that combined logographic signs with phonetic syllable signs. Logograms would, for example, be the use of an image of a mountain to signify the word tepetl, "mountain", whereas a phonetic syllable sign would be the use of an image of a tooth tlantli to signify the syllable tla in words unrelated to teeth. The combination of these principles allowed the Aztecs to represent the sounds of names of persons and places. Narratives tended to be represented through sequences of images, using various iconographic conventions such as footprints to show paths, temples on fire to show conquest events, etc. Epigrapher Alfonso Lacadena has demonstrated that the different syllable signs used by the Aztecs almost enabled the representation of all the most frequent syllables of the Nahuatl language with some notable exceptions , [] but some scholars have argued that such a high degree of phoneticity was only achieved after the conquest when the Aztecs had been introduced to the principles of phonetic writing by the Spanish. The image to right demonstrates the use of phonetic signs for writing place names in the colonial Aztec . Song and poetry were highly regarded; there were presentations and poetry contests at most of the Aztec festivals. There were also dramatic presentations that included players, musicians and acrobats. There were several different genres of cuicatl song : Yaocuicatl was devoted to war and the god s of war, Teocuicatl to the gods and creation myths and to adoration of said figures, xochicuicatl to flowers a symbol of poetry itself and indicative of the highly metaphorical nature of a poetry that often utilized duality to convey multiple layers of meaning. A key aspect of Aztec poetics was the use of parallelism, using a structure of embedded couplets to express different perspectives on the same element. For example, the Nahuatl expression for "poetry" was in xochitl in cuicatl a dual term meaning "the flower, the song". A remarkable amount of this poetry survives, having been collected during the era of the conquest. In some cases poetry is attributed to individual authors, such as Nezahualcoyotl , tlatoani of Texcoco, and Cuacuauhtzin , Lord of Tepechpan, but whether these attributions reflect actual authorship is a matter of opinion. The Aztecs produced ceramics of different types. Common are orange wares, which are orange or buff burnished ceramics with no slip. Red wares are ceramics with a reddish slip. Very common is "black on orange" ware which is orange ware decorated with painted designs in black. Aztec I is characterized by floral designs and day- name glyphs; Aztec II is characterized by a stylized grass design above calligraphic designs such as s-curves or loops; Aztec III is characterized by very simple line designs; Aztec four continues some pre-Columbian designs but adds European influenced floral designs. There were local variations on each of these styles, and archeologists continue to refine the ceramic sequence. Typical vessels for everyday use were clay griddles for cooking comalli , bowls and plates for eating caxitl , pots for cooking comitl , molcajetes or mortar- type vessels with slashed bases for grinding chilli molcaxitl , and different kinds of braziers, tripod dishes and biconical goblets. Vessels were fired in simple updraft kilns or even in open firing in pit kilns at low temperatures. Aztec painted art was produced on animal skin mostly deer , on cotton lienzos and on paper made from bark e. The surface of the material was often first treated with gesso to make the images stand out more clearly. The art of painting and writing was known in Nahuatl by the metaphor in tlilli, in tlapalli - meaning "the black ink, the red pigment". There are few extant Aztec painted books. Of these none are conclusively confirmed to have been created before the conquest, but several codices must have been painted either right before the conquest or very soon after - before traditions for producing them were much disturbed. Even if some codices may have been produced after the conquest, there is good reason to think that they may have been copied from pre-Columbian originals by scribes. The Codex Borbonicus is considered by some to be the only extant Aztec codex produced before the conquest - it is a calendric codex describing the day and month counts indicating the patron deities of the different time periods. After the conquest, codices with calendric or religious information were sought out and systematically destroyed by the church - whereas other types of painted books, particularly historical narratives and tribute lists continued to be produced. Sculptures were carved in stone and wood, but few wood carvings have survived. In Aztec artwork a number of monumental stone sculptures have been preserved, such sculptures usually functioned as adornments for religious architecture. The Coyolxauhqui Stone representing the dismembered goddess Coyolxauhqui , found in , was at the foot of the staircase leading up to the Great Temple in Tenochtitlan. The most well known examples of this type of sculpture are the Stone of Tizoc and the Stone of Motecuzoma I , both carved with images of warfare and conquest by specific Aztec rulers. Many smaller stone sculptures depicting deities also exist. The style used in religious sculpture was rigid stances likely meant to create a powerful experience in the onlooker. An especially prized art form among the Aztecs was featherwork - the creation of intricate and colorful mosaics of feathers, and their use in garments as well as decoration on weaponry, war banners, and warrior suits. The class of highly skilled and honored craftsmen who created feather objects was called the amanteca , [] named after the Amantla neighborhood in Tenochtitlan where they lived and worked. The gives information about how feather works were created. The amanteca had two ways of creating their works. One was to secure the feathers in place using agave cord for three-dimensional objects such as fly whisks, fans, bracelets, headgear and other objects. The second and more difficult was a mosaic type technique, which the Spanish also called "feather painting. Feather mosaics were arrangements of minute fragments of feathers from a wide variety of birds, generally worked on a paper base, made from cotton and paste, then itself backed with amate paper, but bases of other types of paper and directly on amate were done as well. These works were done in layers with "common" feathers, dyed feathers and precious feathers. First a model was made with lower quality feathers and the precious feathers found only on the top layer. The adhesive for the feathers in the Mesoamerican period was made from orchid bulbs. Feathers from local and faraway sources were used, especially in the Aztec Empire. The feathers were obtained from wild birds as well as from domesticated turkeys and ducks, with the finest quetzal feathers coming from , and . These feathers were obtained through trade and tribute. Due to the difficulty of conserving feathers, fewer than ten pieces of original Aztec featherwork exist today. was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, gradually replacing and covering the lake, the island and the architecture of Aztec Tenochtitlan. This meant that aspects of Aztec culture and the Nahuatl language continued to expand during the early colonial period as Aztec auxiliary forces made permanent settlements in many of the areas that were put under the Spanish crown. The Aztec ruling dynasty continued to govern the indigenous polity of San Juan Tenochtitlan, a division of the Spanish capital of Mexico City, but the subsequent indigenous rulers were mostly puppets installed by the Spanish. Other former Aztec city states likewise were established as colonial indigenous towns, governed by a local indigenous gobernador. This office was often initially held by the hereditary indigenous ruling line, with the gobernador being the tlatoani , but the two positions in many Nahua towns became separated over time. Indigenous governors were in charge of the colonial political organization of the Indians. In particular they enabled the continued functioning of the tribute and obligatory labor of Indians to benefit the Spanish holders of encomiendas. Encomiendas were private grants of labor and tribute from particular indigenous communities to particular Spaniards, replacing the Aztec overlords with Spanish. In the early colonial period some indigenous governors became quite rich and influential and were able to maintain positions of power comparable to that of Spanish encomenderos. After the arrival of the Europeans in Mexico and the conquest, indigenous populations declined significantly. This was largely the result of the epidemics of viruses brought to the continent against which the natives had no immunity. In —, an outbreak of smallpox swept through the population of Tenochtitlan and was decisive in the fall of the city ; further significant epidemics struck in and There has been no general consensus about the population size of Mexico at the time of European arrival. Early estimates gave very small population figures for the Valley of Mexico, in Kubler estimated a figure , Their very high figure has been highly criticized for relying on unwarranted assumptions. Although the Aztec empire fell, some of its highest continued to hold status in the colonial era. The principal heirs of Moctezuma II and their descendants retained high status. His son Pedro Moctezuma produced a son, who married into Spanish and a further generation saw the creation of the title, Count of Moctezuma. From to , the Viceroy of Mexico was held the title of count of Moctezuma. In , the holder of the title became a Grandee of Spain. The different Nahua peoples, just as other Mesoamerican indigenous peoples in colonial , were able to maintain many aspects of their social and political structure under the colonial rule. The Spanish recognized the indigenous elites as nobles in the Spanish colonial system, maintaining the status distinction of the pre-conquest era, and used these noblemen as intermediaries between the Spanish colonial government and their communities. This was contingent on their conversion to Christianity and continuing loyalty to the Spanish crown. Colonial Nahua polities had considerable autonomy to regulate their local affairs. The Spanish rulers did not entirely understand the indigenous political organization, but they recognized the importance of the existing system and their elite rulers. They reshaped the political system utilizing altepetl or city-states as the basic unit of governance. In the colonial era, altepetl were renamed cabeceras or "head towns" although they often retained the term altepetl in local-level, Nahuatl-language documentation , with outlying settlements governed by the cabeceras named sujetos , subject communities. In cabeceras , the Spanish created Iberian-style town councils, or cabildos , which usually continued to function as the elite ruling group had in the pre-conquest era. Indigenous populations living in sparsely populated areas were resettled to form new communities, making it easier for them to brought within range of evangelization efforts, and easier for the colonial state to exploit their labor. Today the legacy of the Aztecs lives on in Mexico in many forms. Archeological sites are excavated and opened to the public and their artifacts are prominently displayed in museums. Place names and loanwords from the Aztec language Nahuatl permeate the Mexican landscape and vocabulary, and Aztec symbols and mythology have been promoted by the Mexican government and integrated into contemporary Mexican nationalism as emblems of the country. During the , the image of the Aztecs as uncivilized barbarians was replaced with romanticized visions of the Aztecs as original sons of the soil, with a highly developed culture rivaling the ancient European civilizations. When Mexico became independent from Spain, a romanticized version of the Aztecs became a source of images that could be used to ground the new nation as a unique blend of European and American. Aztec culture and history has been central to the formation of a Mexican national identity after Mexican independence in In 17th and 18th century Europe, the Aztecs were generally described as barbaric, gruesome and culturally inferior. utilized Aztec writings , such as those collected by Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl , and writings of Hernando Alvarado Tezozomoc , and Chimalpahin to understand Mexico's indigenous past in texts by indigenous writers. This search became the basis for what historian D. Brading calls "creole patriotism. He wrote it expressly to defend Mexico's indigenous past against the slanders of contemporary writers, such as Pauw, Buffon, Raynal, and William Robertson. Unearthed were the famous calendar stone, as well as a statue of Coatlicue. A decade later, German scientist Alexander von Humboldt spent a year in Mexico, during his four-year expedition to Spanish America. One of his early publications from that period was Views of the Cordilleras and Monuments of the Indigenous Peoples of the . In the realm of religion, late colonial paintings of the Virgin of Guadalupe have examples of her depicted floating above the iconic nopal cactus of the Aztecs. Juan Diego , the Nahua to whom the apparition was said to appear, links the dark Virgin to Mexico's Aztec past. When New Spain achieved independence in and became a monarchy, the First Mexican Empire , its flag had the traditional Aztec eagle on a nopal cactus. The eagle had a crown, symbolizing the new Mexican monarchy. When Mexico became a after the overthrow of the first monarchy in , the flag was revised showing the eagle with no crown. In the s, when the French established the under Maximilian of Habsburg , the Mexican flag retained the emblematic eagle and cactus, with elaborate symbols of monarchy. After the defeat of the French and their Mexican collaborators, the Mexican Republic was re-established, and the flag returned to its republican simplicity. Tensions within post-independence Mexico pitted those rejecting the ancient civilizations of Mexico as source of national pride, the Hispanistas , mostly politically conservative Mexican elites, and those who saw them as a source of pride, the Indigenistas , who were mostly liberal Mexican elites. Although the flag of the Mexican Republic had the symbol of the Aztecs as its central element, conservative elites were generally hostile to the current indigenous populations of Mexico or crediting them with a glorious prehispanic history. With Santa Anna's overthrow in , Mexican liberals and scholars interested in the indigenous past became more active. Liberals were more favorably inclined to the indigenous populations and their history, but considered a pressing matter being the "Indian Problem. The late nineteenth century in Mexico was a period in which Aztec civilization became a point of national pride. His policies opening Mexico to foreign investors and modernizing the country under a firm hand controlling unrest, "Order and Progress," undermined Mexico's indigenous populations and their communities. In world's fairs of the late nineteenth century, Mexico's pavilions included a major focus on its indigenous past, especially the Aztecs. Mexican scholars such as Alfredo Chavero helped shape the cultural image of Mexico at these exhibitions. The — and significant participation of indigenous people in the struggle in many regions, ignited a broad government- sponsored political and cultural movement of indigenismo , with symbols of Mexico's Aztec past becoming ubiquitous, most especially in Mexican muralism of Diego Rivera. In their works, Mexican authors such as Octavio Paz and Agustin Fuentes have analyzed the use Aztec symbols by the modern Mexican state, critiquing the way it adopts and adapts indigenous culture to political ends, yet they have also in their works made use of the symbolic idiom themselves. Paz for example critiqued the architectural layout of the National Museum of Anthropology , which constructs a view of Mexican history as culminating with the Aztecs, as an expression of a nationalist appropriation of Aztec culture. Scholars in Europe and the increasingly wanted investigations into Mexico's ancient civilizations, starting in the nineteenth century. Humboldt had been extremely important bringing ancient Mexico into broader scholarly discussions of ancient civilizations. It was Humboldt…who woke us from our sleep. Although not directly connected with the Aztecs, it contributed to the increased interest in ancient Mexican studies in Europe. English aristocrat Lord Kingsborough spent considerable energy in their pursuit of understanding of ancient Mexico. Kingsborough answered Humboldt's call for the publication of all known Mexican codices, publishing nine volumes of Antiquities of Mexico — that were richly illustrated, bankrupting him. He was not directly interested in the Aztecs, but rather in proving that Mexico had been colonized by Jews. In the United States in the early nineteenth century, interest in ancient Mexico propelled John Lloyd Stephens to travel to Mexico and then publish well-illustrated accounts in the early s. But the research of a half-blind Bostonian, William Hickling Prescott , into the Spanish conquest of Mexico resulted in his highly popular and deeply researched The Conquest of Mexico His resulting work was a mixture of pro- and anti-Aztec attitudes. In the assessment of Benjamin Keen , Prescott's history "has survived attacks from every quarter, and still dominates the conceptions of the laymen, if not the specialist, concerning Aztec civilization. One entire work was devoted to ancient Mexico, half of which concerned the Aztecs. It was a work of synthesis drawing on Ixtlilxochitl and Brasseur de Bourbourg, among others. When the International Congress of Americanists was formed in Nancy, in , Mexican scholars became active participants, and Mexico City has hosted the biennial multidisciplinary meeting six times, starting in Mexico's ancient civilizations have continued to be the focus of major scholarly investigations by Mexican and international scholars. The Nahuatl language is today spoken by 1. today incorporates hundreds of loans from Nahuatl, and many of these words have passed into general Spanish use, and further into other world languages. In Mexico, Aztec place names are ubiquitous, particularly in central Mexico where the Aztec empire was centered, but also in other regions where many towns, cities and regions were established under their Nahuatl names, as Aztec auxiliary troops accompanied the Spanish colonizers on the early expeditions that mapped New Spain. In this way even towns, that were not originally Nahuatl speaking came to be known by their Nahuatl names. continues to be based on staple elements of Mesoamerican cooking and, particularly, of Aztec cuisine : corn, chili, beans, squash, tomato, avocado. Many of these staple products continue to be known by their Nahuatl names, carrying in this way ties to the Aztec people who introduced these foods to the Spaniards and to the world. Through spread of ancient Mesoamerican food elements, particularly plants, Nahuatl loan words chocolate , tomato , chili , avocado , tamale , taco , pupusa , chipotle , pozole , atole have been borrowed through Spanish into other languages around the world. Today Aztec images and Nahuatl words are often used to lend an air of authenticity or exoticism in the marketing of Mexican cuisine. The idea of the Aztecs has captivated the imaginations of Europeans since the first encounters, and has provided many iconic symbols to Western popular culture. The Aztecs and figures from Aztec mythology feature in Western culture. Knopf , insisted on a change of title. Aztec society has also been depicted in cinema. It adopted the perspective of an Aztec scribe, Topiltzin, who survived the attack on the temple of Tenochtitlan. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Redirected from Aztec. For other uses, see Aztec disambiguation. Ethnic group of central Mexico and its civilization. Main article: . Main article: Aztec Empire. Main article: Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Main articles: Class in Aztec society , Aztec society , and Aztec . Main article: Women in Aztec civilization. See also: Aztec Empire: Government. Main article: Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Main article: Aztec religion. Main article: List of Aztec gods and supernatural beings. Main article: Aztec mythology. Main article: . Main article: Aztec writing. An Aztec bowl for everyday use. Black on orange ware, a simple Aztec IV style flower design. Main article: . Further information: Society in the Spanish Colonial Americas. Main article: Population history of American indigenous peoples. See also: Society in the Spanish Colonial Americas. , also present in flag. See also: Aztec cuisine and List of Mexican dishes. Mesoamerica portal Indigenous peoples of the Americas portal Civilizations portal. I believe it makes more sense to expand the definition of "Aztec" to include the peoples of nearby highland valleys in addition to the inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico. Readers will find some variation in the terms authors employ in this handbook, but, in general, different authors use Aztecs to refer to people incorporated into the empire of the Triple Alliance in the Late Postclassic period. An empire of such broad geographic extent [ Scholars often use more specific identifiers, such as Mexica or Tenochca, when appropriate, and they generally employ the term to refer to indigenous people in central Mexico [ All of these terms introduce their own problems, whether because they are vague, subsume too much variation, are imposed labels, or are problematic for some other reason. We have not found a solution that all can agree on and thus accept the varied viewpoints of authors. We use the term Aztec because today it is widely recognized by both scholars and the international public. In English the variant "Montezuma" was originally the most common, but has now largely been replaced with "motecuhzoma" and "moteuczoma", in Spanish the term "moctezuma" which inverts the order of t and k has been predominant and is a common surname in Mexico, but is now also largely replaced with a form that respects the original Nahuatl structure, such as "motecuzoma". Indeed no conquests are recorded for Motecuzoma in the last years of his reign, suggesting that he may have been incapable of ruling, or even dead Diel Archived from the original on 17 October Retrieved 30 August Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 7 July The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January Retrieved 5 January Macmillan Publishers. Archived from the original on 22 September Retrieved 12 April Archived from the original on 12 April Part One: Historical Films". Native American Films. Archived from the original on 15 October The Early History of Greater Mexico. Prentice Hall. In Deborah L. The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs. Barlow, Robert H. The Americas. University of California Press. Beekman, C. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. Berdan, Frances Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology. Berdan, Frances F. Hodge; Michael E. Smith; Emily Umberger eds. Aztec Imperial Strategies. Imperial Strategies and Core-Periphery Relations". The Essential Codex Mendoza. Aztec Archaeology and Ethnohistory. Cambridge University Press. Berdan, F. Ancient Mesoamerica. Boone, Elizabeth Hill Austin: University of Press. Brading, D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bright, W. Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association. Bueno, Christina University of Press. Burkhart, Louise M. Indian women of early Mexico. Dialectologia et Geolinguistica. Campbell, Lyle Oxford Studies in Anthropoical Linguistics, 4. Carrasco, David Boston, MA: Beacon Press. The Aztecs: A very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. Carrasco, Pedro University of Oklahoma Press. Charlton, Thomas Mesoamerica Part 1. Chipman, Donald E. University of Texas Press. Cline, Howard F. Cline ed. Cline, Sarah Mesoamerica Part 2. The Aztec palimpsest: Mexico in the Modern Imagination. He contributes a regular fiction-review column to the Financial Times. We may share some of this data with our social media and advertising partners to improve the effectiveness of our marketing. Twitter Instagram Facebook. Ebook Solaris. ISBN Mobi. ISBN Epub. ISBN Print. Pantheon more. Jonathan Green. Apocalypse looms, unless the Conquistador can help assassinate the mysterious, immortal Aztec emperor, the Great Speaker. But his mission is complicated by Mal Vaughn, a police detective who is on his trail, determined to bring him to justice. Get A Copy. Mass Market Paperback , pages. Published March 27th by Solaris first published March 26th More Details Other Editions 3. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Age of Aztec , please sign up. Do these books need to be read in order? I'm intrigued by them, but I think I would enjoy jumping into one with a mythology that I'm more familiar with to start with. Fraser Smith There is no need to read them in order. Each book is a stand-alone, taking place in its own version of the world, and with its own approach to how the … more There is no need to read them in order. Each book is a stand-alone, taking place in its own version of the world, and with its own approach to how the respective pantheon is presented. Knowing a little about the pantheon and the culture in which they functioned can be a bit useful, as Lovegrove incorporates many historical cultural aspects into the books. Though he is also very good at explaining things so its certainly not essential to know much about the pantheon. See 1 question about Age of Aztec…. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of Age of Aztec. Feb 15, Cathy rated it liked it Shelves: mythology , science-fiction , read-in , alternate-history. Another interesting entry in this group of parallel books, you can't really call it a series. Each book really is a stand alone story written with a similar premise involving the idea of what if a certain pantheon of gods was real and The variable of which pantheon and what craziness they and the humans who star in the book get up to form the core of each book. And seeing how the author tweaks those variables to come up with totally different st 3. And seeing how the author tweaks those variables to come up with totally different stories in each book is pretty interesting. The pitch meeting for the original trilogy must have been pretty interesting, I can't believe he sold it to anyone, three books that kind of sound like the same book in outline doesn't seem like the kind of thing a big publishing house would go for. But it's pretty cool. They're all more militaristic that I really love, but there are some neat ideas. I'm more of a character girl, so I liked this one, Mal and Reston were among his stronger characters. And it was more fast-paced than some of the other books, I didn't get bogged down much. Mar 02, Kendra rated it it was amazing Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy , z- added-in-mar , z-read-in-april Seriously impressed with this author. Love the science-fiction, military, alternate history, mythology with twists that he is really good about combining! A fast read for me, about 3 hours tops, and a serious punch at the end. Mar 28, Abhinav rated it really liked it Shelves: science-fiction , rebellion- solaris , fantasy. Shadowhawk reviews the fourth novel in the bestselling Pantheon series, this time dealing with a frightening alternate history in which the Aztecs spread out from Mexico and conquer the entire world. I was meant to be reading Age of Odin earlier in the year, for some writing research related stuff, but never got around to it. I can best describe that book as perhaps fleeting. It never does settle down to just properly explore the character relationships and the nature of the gods and heroes. Which is why, when I was readingAge of Aztec, I found myself having a much experience since the author appeared to have gotten rid of most of those shortcomings and had delivered a much more satisfying experience. The Aztecs now rule the world, and they crush all rebellion with a heavy hand, no matter its scale. Standing against them in the British Isles is the Conquistador, a mysterious hero who has been working at destabilising the Aztec infrastructure there by killing off priests and Jaguar Warriors alike. He strikes time and time again, vanishing without a trace once his work is done. The authorities are whipped into a frenzy of activity when a priest is found murdered after a continental flight, with no trace of the Conquistador anywhere nearby, and suspicions are voiced that it might be the work of a Conquistador copy-cat. The first third of the book deals with a renewed hunt for the Conquistador, led by newly promoted Chief Inspector Malinalli Vaughan Mal for short of the Scotland Yard. The masked vigilante has so far proven himself to be quite elusive, but Mal has her own ways of finding out who he really is, based on some circumspect methods that are considered illegal. It makes her desperate. Driven by her own guilt at having turned in her own brother to the authorities years ago, that desperation is even more intense, since she feels a constant need to justify herself within the Jaguar Warrior hierarchy. Mal is put in the shoes of a character who would typically be male: an old and experienced cop with a penchant for abusive drinking and forgettable one-night stands because of some kind of a dark personal past the character is trying to forget but cannot. Not that Mal and this theoretical male cop are interchangeable, far from it. The narrative and the plot both fit her to a T rather than her being shoehorned in with a different gender. Her crisis of faith, when it happens, is also much more believable since there are ample hints along the way that something like it may happen. With Sam, it was all too abrupt and never struck me as convincing. Stuart Reston, multi-millionaire businessman who is one of the elites of the Aztec hierarchy in Britain and secretly the Conquistador, is as much of a likeable character as Mal is, if not more so. V did what he did out of personal revenge and a need to right the wrongs done by Chancellor Sutler and those under him. Batman does what he does to prevent other orphans suffering from the same fate that he did and because he truly believes he can make a moral difference. With Stuart, its all personal start to finish, the religious suicide of his wife and their son. Under the Aztec religious code, people who offer themselves to the Gods are blessed in their eyes, especially children, a practice that Stuart finds abhorrent in the extreme, especially since his wife took it upon herself to do the same for herself and their kid, without ever consulting Stuart. It is a guilt that Stuart has tried to assuage by striking out against the people in power, to force them to abandon the British Isles. That informs the first third of the book as the hunt for the Conquistador comes to a dramatic finish, but victory for Mal is snatched away at the very last minute. The focus then shifts to a more global scope of resistance against the Aztec Empire, and Stuart goes all the way to the Anahuac region of Mexico, the homeland of the Aztec people, to continue his resistance there under the auspices of the Mayan rebel group Xibalba. And Mal Vaughan inevitably follows suit, determined to catch her frustratingly elusive quarry. The hunt, as it takes place for the rest of the book, is incredibly compelling. Both Mal and Stuart are taken out of their element and have to live and operate in the Aztec heartland, without much in the way of backup. The Xibalba Mayan nationalists are frighteningly naive in their thinking, although overambitious, and Stuart has to contend with that while faced with his own doubts as to what he is doing now that he no longer has his Conquistador identity to rely on. For Mal, it is a question of running her query down and returning as a hero of her own even though she longer can rely on the rest of the Yard anymore. For Stuart its all about redefining his identity. For Mal, its all about her pride and shattered honour. Jan 26, Merlin rated it liked it Shelves: science-fiction. It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I kinda of liked it save for two things: 1 The level of violence portrayed as inherent to Aztec culture is more in keeping with early Spanish propaganda than anything out of an anthropology department; which is a bit at odds with the amount of research the writer apparently did. And, 2 , there are these strange spikes in vulgarity, three or four times over the course of the book, where for a single line the degree of profanity ratchets up ou It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I kinda of liked it save for two things: 1 The level of violence portrayed as inherent to Aztec culture is more in keeping with early Spanish propaganda than anything out of an anthropology department; which is a bit at odds with the amount of research the writer apparently did. And, 2 , there are these strange spikes in vulgarity, three or four times over the course of the book, where for a single line the degree of profanity ratchets up out of keeping for the character speaking. If it served some purpose or was even commented on it'd be fine but as it is it's just weird. I could also comment that he writes foreign languages as if they were idiomatic English which is View 1 comment. Apr 06, Jedi Wright rated it it was ok Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy. An interesting twist on the Mayans and but not one Lovegrove's better stories. Jul 08, R. Age of Aztek Pantheon Book 4. I chose this Lovegrove novel because it focuses upon the Aztecs—the merciless race that aspired to but never reached the scale of the depravity of their forebears at . Compared to Age of Shiva Pantheon 4 , I found this book better written, its human characters more developed with greater depth and roots. However, just as in Shiva, the pantheon of Aztek deities has no more depth than a movie poster of Superheroes. There is a huge market for all forms o Age of Aztek Pantheon Book 4. There is a huge market for all forms of superheroes that needs but to be immediately sucked into the vortex of violence and coarse dialog while offering something like gods to fill the void where higher values once existed. Although this is a better story than Shiva, I dropped the rating from 5 to 4 because the novelty of the series' theme had worn off. The pace is fast, human characters well-drawn, settings interesting, and the theme has a broad appeal to fill the aspirational void that superheroes will appear to tame mankind. Jan 03, Ranting Dragon rated it really liked it Shelves: dan. In Age of Aztec, we see a world that has been completely co-opted by the Aztec Empire. Jungle covers virtually all of the world, and the impact of the religious dominance of The Great Speaker, the putatively immortal leader of the empire, is felt in every aspect of the world detail. This is both the greatest strength and greatest weakness of this book. It is the strength because the best kind of alternate history fiction is the kind that goes whole hog into the premise, spending less time trying to patiently explain to us exactly what is different about this world versus the one we know and more time just telling a great story. This is the thing that makes Harry Turtledove one of the best alternate history authors around, and what puts James Lovegrove well and soundly into the same league. It is also the weakness because without this setting, each novel of the Pantheon series is pretty much the same. After all, most religions practiced today have had some pretty dark and bloody scenes in their histories; but humanity has developed, evolved, and a lot though sadly, not nearly enough of the atrocities are behind us. This seems to be an overriding theme of the series, as well. He has built his books around the Norse, Egyptian, Greek, and now Aztec religions, presented them in all their horrible glory, then set them up for a downfall. You know what I would like to see? Age of Jesus. Age of Mohammed. Age of Siddhartha. There are plenty of aspects of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism that could provide a focus for these books. Why should you read this book? As action fantasy, Lovegrove does an admirable job as well. The action is tight, the characters are interesting, and the plot moves at a great pace; the philosophical aspect is just icing on the cake. Jan 07, Douglas Ogurek rated it it was amazing. This fourth installment in James Lovegrove's Patheon series has all the inventiveness and adventure of the previous three. This time, a lone wolf known as the Conquistador takes on an oppressive regime that worships ancient Aztec gods. Wisecracking characters, cool technology, powerful gods, mass destruction, and well-detailed settings. As with the other books, I often lost track of time while reading this one. Aug 20, Mark Ramsdale rated it liked it. V good ideas. Didn't really bite on the second half was hoping the "world" would be developed in a different arc. Did not care for graphic sex I can find that when I want it. Sep 12, James rated it liked it. My favorite of the Pantheon Series so far. Fun adventure; a gory delight. Mar 06, George rated it really liked it. Age of Aztec A terrible book that I cannot help but recommend. Aztecs - Wikipedia

The high productivity gained by those methods made for a rich and populous state. The Aztec state was a despotism in which the military arm played a dominant role. Valour in war was, in fact, the surest path to advancement in Aztec society, which was - and class-divided but nonetheless vertically fluid. The priestly and bureaucratic classes were involved in the administration of the empire, while at the bottom of society were classes of serfs, indentured servants, and outright slaves. Aztec religion was syncretistic, absorbing elements from many other Mesoamerican cultures. At base, it shared many of the cosmological beliefs of earlier peoples, notably the Maya , such as that the present earth was the last in a series of creations and that it occupied a position between systems of 13 heavens and 9 underworlds. Closely entwined with Aztec religion was the calendar, on which the elaborate round of rituals and ceremonies that occupied the priests was based. The Aztec calendar was the one common to much of Mesoamerica, and it comprised a solar year of days and a sacred year of days; the two yearly cycles running in parallel produced a larger cycle of 52 years. The Aztec empire was still expanding, and its society still evolving, when its progress was halted in by the appearance of Spanish explorers. Print Cite. Facebook Twitter. Give Feedback External Websites. The Aztec civilization was also highly developed socially, intellectually and artistically. It was a highly structured society with a strict caste system; at the top were nobles, while at the bottom were serfs, indentured servants and enslaved workers. The Aztec faith shared many aspects with other Mesoamerican religions, like that of the Maya , notably including the rite of human sacrifice. The Aztec calendar, common in much of Mesoamerica, was based on a solar cycle of days and a ritual cycle of days; the calendar played a central role in the religion and rituals of Aztec society. The first European to visit Mexican territory was Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, who arrived in Yucatan from Cuba with three ships and about men in early In March , Cortes landed at the town of Tabasco , where he learned from the natives of the great Aztec civilization, then ruled by Moctezuma or Montezuma II. Defying the authority of Velasquez, Cortes founded the city of Veracruz on the southeastern Mexican coast, where he trained his army into a disciplined fighting force. Cortes and some soldiers then marched into Mexico, aided by a native woman known as Malinche, who served as a translator. Thanks to instability within the Aztec empire, Cortes was able to form alliances with other native peoples, notably the Tlascalans, who were then at war with Montezuma. Though the Aztecs had superior numbers, their weapons were inferior, and Cortes was able to immediately take Montezuma and his entourage of hostage, gaining control of Tenochtitlan. The Spaniards then murdered thousands of Aztec nobles during a ritual dance ceremony, and Montezuma died under uncertain circumstances while in custody. European diseases like smallpox, mumps and measles were also powerful weapons against the local population, who lacked immunity to them. After his victory, Cortes razed Tenochtitla and built Mexico City on its ruins; it quickly became the premier European center in the New World. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The Maya Empire, centered in the tropical lowlands of what is now Guatemala, reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century A. The Maya excelled at agriculture, pottery, hieroglyph writing, calendar-making and mathematics, and left behind an astonishing In the jungle- infested city of London, one man defies them: the masked vigilante known as the Conquistador. Then the Conquistador is recruited to spearhead an uprising, and discovers the terrible truth about the Aztecs and their gods. The clock is ticking. Apocalypse looms, unless the Conquistador can help assassinate the mysterious, immortal Aztec emperor, the Great Speaker. But his mission is complicated by Mal Vaughn, a police detective who is on his trail, determined to bring him to justice. James Lovegrove. He has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the John W. He contributes a regular fiction-review column to the Financial Times.

Age of Aztec by James Lovegrove

For anyone looking for their next big SF adventure series, the Pantheon novels make a fine candidate. The offspring of liaisons between god and mortal, they are blessed, or perhaps cursed, with eternal life. They cannot be killed. But someone has figured out how to do just that. One by one, the demigods are meeting gory, violent ends. Age of Heroes will be published by Solaris on September 13, The fabulous cover is by Naj Osmani. See all our recent coverage of the best upcoming Series fantasy here. The premise of each book sounds awesome. Almost all of the Aztec units are melee units including their War Chief , with the exception of Macehualtin , Eagle Runner , and the longest ranged archer, the Arrow . To compensate for this, the Aztecs also have specialized infantry units that fulfill similar roles. The Coyote Runner makes up for their lack of cavalry. Their ranged cavalry unit is represented by the Eagle Runner Knight. The Arrow Knight , whose range is the best of all archers, is specially designed to tear down buildings and fulfills the role as a weak Mortar and anti-artillery Culverin to protect their vulnerable all-infantry armies from artillery fire. Instead of Medicine Men , the Aztecs have Warrior Priests who can heal just as well as the Medicine Man, but also have a high attack, and dance at the Fire Pit , counting as two Villagers. At the beginning of each match, the locations of all Trading Posts will be revealed to Aztec players, regardless of their Home City level. Aztec units speak an unknown variant of Nahuatl, since the in-game dialogues are neither classical nor modern Nahuatl. This wiki. This wiki All wikis. Sign In Don't have an account? Start a Wiki. Do you like this video? The people living here were called the Aztecs also Mexica or Tenochca ; they built an amazing civilization centered on their great capital city of Tenochtitlan modern Mexico City. This was one of the largest cities in the world with an estimated population of , , and arguably more beautiful and cleaner than any contemporary capital in Europe. The Aztecs were just one of several tribes in the area, but had risen to prominence due to their ferocity in battle and adept diplomacy. Their soldiers wielded weapons of wood and stone, and they often sought prisoners to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies. Their society depended on sophisticated agricultural techniques; from them the world learned of foodstuffs including tomatoes, corn, cocoa, and chili peppers. They were handicapped by the lack of large domesticated animals they had no horse or ox , and the use of the wheel only in toys. Everything to be moved was carried by human porters. Despite their large population and fighting prowess, the Aztecs fell relatively quickly to the determined Spanish conquistadores under Cortez. This was due in large part to the epidemics the Europeans brought ashore. By some estimates the Aztec population of 12 million people in had fallen to one million by The Spanish also allied with the Aztecs' enemies to increase the size of their armies, and had the advantages of steel and gunpowder weapons. Tenochtitlan, the Aztec Home City. Categories :. Cancel Save. Universal Conquest Wiki. Contents 1 Overview 2 Features 2. Features [ edit edit source ] Warrior Priests can work at the Community Plaza and are counted as two units War Chief aura doubles the experience from nearby friendly units' kills Starts with a Warrior Priest and all Trading Post sites visible Build the Community Plaza and task Villagers on it to perform powerful ceremonies Choose Tribal Council members to advance in Age Unique units [ edit edit source ] Aztec War Chief : The leader of your Tribe.

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