WEBVTT

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Mhm.

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Yeah

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Right.

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The most influential of the theocratic
societies developed in the valley

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of Mexico About 25 miles northeast of
what is now Mexico. It's customs

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institutions, art its glory and
achievements influenced every society that

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followed just as the roman empire
influenced european societies for

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centuries.

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Its center was at Teotihuacan. The
house of the gods. Teotihuacan was a

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ceremonial center. Only the priests,
nobility and people directly

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concerned with the maintenance of the
city lived there. Most

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archaeologists believe that the common
people lived in surrounding

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villages.

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It was a good location in which to
settle because unlike much of the rest

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of Mexico the soil of the valley of
Mexico was rich. There usually was

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enough rain to water the crops.

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At least 20 centuries have passed
since Teotihuacan was settled. But the

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valley of Mexico is still the
Heartland of Mexican society. The population

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center of the nation,

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we know very little about Teotihuacan.
The oldest dated remains are about

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2000 years old. But some of the
temples are probably older. Teotihuacan

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may have been the largest settlement
in Middle America.

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We know that it covered an area of 700
acres before 350 a. D. And that it

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grew to 2000 acres by 6:50 a. D. About
the size of san Francisco. The city

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was destroyed probably by fire, which
burned the wooden columns and

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interiors and abandoned forever. About
880,

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our knowledge of Teotihuacan is based
on the ruined temples and art that

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survived many of its traditions are
thought to have been continued by

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later peoples.

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There's was a truly advanced
civilization. The people were great

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architects, carpenters, mechanics and
engineers. Their city was one of the

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first in the world to the planned,
with broad streets and thoroughfares

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aligned almost perfectly And zoning
two separate living quarters from

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civic and religious buildings. Their
achievements are all the more

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remarkable because they were
accomplished without the use of metal tools.

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We also know that the social system of
Teotihuacan was totally controlled

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by the religious leaders. The very
best artistic work was applied to the

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temples and in effect the priests
harness the labor of virtually the

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entire population for the fantastic
religious constructions.

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The massive pyramid of the Sun is one
of the greatest engineering

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achievements of the ancient world.
It's 700 ft at the base and 200 ft high.

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It's terrorist with variation in slope
to give the impression of

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limitless mass walking up the steps,
one has the feeling he will reach the

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stars or the sun at the top.

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There were many other temples at
Teotihuacan and unfinished remains. Tell

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us that the building was never truly
finished. The major temples were

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rebuilt several times

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like its architecture. The art of
Teotihuacan was distinctive early in the

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city's history. The people shaped
little figurines and incised pottery

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from clay and used hard stone tools to
carve crude idols out of stone

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during the first great building
period. A Teotihuacan art style developed

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a style that lasted for hundreds of
years.

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The people fashioned a lustrous
pottery of black and brown vases of red

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and yellow household utensils that
today are considered the highest

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expression of art.

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Ultimately, the quality of the art
deteriorated, mirroring the decline of

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Teotihuacan society, there is evidence
of the decline also in religious

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ritual. The ceremonies had become more
important than the gods themselves.

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Why did Teotihuacan fall? We are not
sure of the answer,

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but one answer may be that the social
structure of Teotihuacan broke down

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, that there were divisions within the
society which ultimately ended in

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revolt. Perhaps it was caused by a
religious reformation. For the

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rebuilding of the temples is some
evidence of extreme changes in religion

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and the change in religious attitudes
was accompanied by the first

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evidence of human sacrifice. We can
speculate that new gods were demanding

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offerings more valuable than corn or
figurines. Or perhaps in a period of

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great misfortune people were anxious
to appease the angry gods and they

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came to offer man's most valuable
possession. Life itself,

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we must remember that human sacrifice
is not the invention of Teotihuacan

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at some stage in its development.
Every society on earth has practiced

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human sacrifice. The rhythm of birth
and death and rebirth seen in nature

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and in the existence of man himself
has prompted societies to copy the

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process by sacrificing humans. The
people of Teotihuacan were not

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different from the ancient Greeks or
gauls or Germans in this respect.

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Another explanation for the fall of Teotihuacan is that pressures of the

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growing population led to famine.
Perhaps the rains failed and drought

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destroyed the crops. The society
simply was not able to feed itself. Mass

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graves of Children found at
Teotihuacan support the theory that people

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were starving.

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Another factor is that new people with
new ideas began to appear around 7

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50 A. D. Perhaps they overran
Teotihuacan or perhaps they're new ideas

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contributed to the dissension within
the state.

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At any rate, Teotihuacan was destroyed
and abandoned but the people did

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not disappear. They continue to live
in outlying villages. Some nearby

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cities grew enormously and continue to
exist for many years. The

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Teotihuacan culture and with it the
principle of theocratic society was

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officially dead, but its traditions
were to affect all the succeeding

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societies of Mexico.

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The new peoples in the valley of
Mexico introduced a new era in Mexican

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history. The militaristic period. The
militaristic societies were

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characterized by warfare and intensive
agriculture. The fall of a dominant

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society is always followed by a period
of trouble, even chaos, as in

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europe. After the fall of Rome

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in Mexico war became a way of life.
The military role took precedence over

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religious functions. The militarists
fought wars to defend themselves.

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Wars of revenge, but mostly the wars
were motivated by economic factors

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for defeated tribes had to pay tribute
to their conquerors.

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The toll. Tex or master builders were
responsible for the formation of the

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first great militaristic states in
middle America. The center of their

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empire was at tula which began to grow
up before the fall of Teotihuacan

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and which borrowed much of the
knowledge and culture of the theocratic

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societies.

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One of the legends of Tula were
significant in the future of Mexico. It

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was about a great and good king who
was devoted to peace. He took the name

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of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent
god. He had a quarrel with scotty

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poca. The warrior god Kessel Kuwata
lost and was forced into exile.

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Eventually Kessel coital went out to sea and rose into the sky. But before

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he left, he told the priests he would
return, he gave the exact year And

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that year was the equivalent of 1519
on our European calendar,

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Kessel Cottle was reputed to be fair
skinned and bearded. Remember this

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legend in the year 1519

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and remember that religion was still
the most important element in the

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lives of the indians for this legend
and the devotion to religion were to

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play a great role in the future of
Mexico.

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Let's look at the city of Tula.
They're the militarists divided authority

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between a religious ruler and a civil
ruler. The religious ruler was

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responsible for the spiritual and
material well being of the people. The

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civil ruler directed the society and
was in charge of military matters.

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The tall Tex expanded their holdings
until their empire included many

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diverse groups. Peoples with different
cultures, different languages,

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prosperity ultimately destroyed Tula.
It's once warlike people settled

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down to an ordered peaceful existence
and Tula was destroyed by the end of

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the 13th century, we think that
perhaps it was overrun by barbarians

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supposedly from the north called
chicken necks. Just as much of settled

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europe was once overrun by barbarians.
At any rate, the destruction of

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Tula was followed by a period of
chaos, of political disorganization.

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In the period after the fall of tula,
wandering warrior bands calling

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themselves told Tex because it was a
proud name, established city states

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throughout the valley and each
competed with the others.

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It was a period when the religion of
Mexico took on new aspects, aspects

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we usually find when people have just
emerged from disorder and chaos into

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what they believe will be only a short
interlude of peace, the people

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began to worship the sun, the moon,
the stars as their chief gods above

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Pollock, the rain god. There's was a
fatalistic religion. They believed

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that the world was balanced on the
edge of destruction and they lived in

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fear of the end of the universe.

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Remember we said earlier that every 52
years, the two counts of the

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calendar coincided, creating a period
of great supernatural crisis.

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Well, during those five evil days, at
the end of the last year of the 52

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year cycle, the people let their fires
die out and destroyed their

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furniture. The temple fires were
extinguished and the entire population

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awaited catastrophe.

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Then, when the new year began and they
believe themselves safe. For

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another 52 years, a new fire ceremony
was held. The temple fires and then

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the home fires were rekindled. Life
began again.

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But at any time the well being of the
people depended upon the favor of

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the gods. Man could assure himself of
this favor by presenting offerings

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to the gods. Man remembered only too
well the chaos and death that

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followed when he had neglected the
gods.

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We've talked about human sacrifice at
Teotihuacan. But now in this period

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of reawakening of his obligations to
the gods, man began to give more and

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more of his most precious gift. Life
itself. The gods had not been

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satisfied with gifts of food and the
arts. At first, sacrificial victims

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came from the community. But as the
number of sacrifices increased victims

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had to be found in other cities and
states and wars were fought for the

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purpose of capturing sacrificial
victims. It was a vicious circle for the

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more sacrifices that were made, the
greater the demand of the gods and

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thus the necessity for war was
increased.

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Now, out of the religious political
social confusion following the

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destruction of Tula was to grow.
Perhaps the greatest civilization.

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Certainly the greatest empire that
Mexico had ever known. The Aztec

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empire for through trade and war, the
Aztecs eventually would dominate

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most of the populated areas of middle
America. Even today, most people

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outside of Mexico think of the Aztecs
as the only people of ancient Mexico.

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These people began their role in Mexican history in an unpretentious

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manner. They belong to one of the
chicken mac tribes, the cola Merica.

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Remember the chicken necks were the
invaders from the north. Towards the

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end of the 13th century, the Cold War
America were to be found serving as

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mercenaries in the armies of Tula and
after the fall of Tula, they were

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weak, constantly on the run, avoiding
the warlike designs of stronger

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tribes

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until they found refuge on an island
in Lake Texcoco. They're in about

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1345, they founded their city Mexico
Tenochtitlan, which later was to

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become the site of present day Mexico
city.

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Aztec legend regarding the founding of
Tenochtitlan tells us that in a

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cave, the wandering tribe found their
God Whittle approached lee, the

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hummingbird wizard who could speak and
gave good advice Witsel approach.

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Li told them they were to settle where
they found a bird sitting on a

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cactus eating a serpent. The symbol
also of modern Mexico. Thus the new

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God led the Aztecs to Lake Texcoco.

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In reality, they probably were driven
to the lake by their enemies And

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they found it 10ochtitlan in the
shadow of another and more powerful city

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paul to Loco for many years, the
Aztecs lived almost as parasites of that

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older city. But all the while they
were gathering strength building their

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powerful capital and eventually they
were able to conquer cloud. To Loco

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The emperor, it's coital ruled the
Aztecs from 1428 to 1440 during his

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reign. Great temples were built and
causeways constructed to join

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Tenochtitlan with the mainland

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during its Cottle's rain. The triple
alliance was formed. Tenochtitlan

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became an ally of the two other
leading city states. Texcoco and click

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open. These three powers divided the
Valley of Mexico between them.

00:16:56.539 --> 00:17:01.217
But toward the end of the 15th
century, the Aztecs were powerful enough to

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subjugate their allies to defeat Clock
Capon in battle and to install a

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puppet ruler in Texcoco. By 1500, the
Aztecs were a formidable military

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state, dominating the whole of the
Valley of Mexico.

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And within a few years as tech control
would be expanded throughout Mexico

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Control, which was not challenged
until the Spaniards arrived from across

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the sea in 1519 control which was not
only military but social as well.

00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:43.447
For as the Aztecs state grew and its
military power increased. A complex

00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:48.097
social and political organization had
developed an organization which

00:17:48.130 --> 00:17:52.107
we'll discuss in the next lesson.

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Yeah,

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yeah.Mhm