Aztecs

(az/ tek,) the name of the most interesting of the indigenous nations or tribes of America, and the most powerful of those who occupied the plateau of Anahuac, or Mexico, at the time of the conquest in the 16th century. Their history has been traced to the 12th cent. They founded Tenochtitlan (now Mexico) in 1325;.and were subjugated by Cortez in 1519. They were highly civilized, and had made great progre in the arts, as evinced by representations of their paintings, and their architectural and sculptural monuments. All that we know of the political, social, and religious practices, customs, and organization of the A., whose subversion forms the most dramatic incident in the history of this continent, is found in the two following works: Humboldt's His to ire politique du Royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne; and Lord Kings borough's On the Antiquities of Mexico(London, 1834). [s. 65]