Editing Aztec warfare (section)

== Warfare in Aztec society ==
[[File:Aztec eagle warrior.jpg|thumb|upright|Terracotta statue depicting an [[Eagle Warrior]]]]

There were two main objectives in Aztec warfare. The first objective was political: the subjugation of enemy city-states ([[altepetl]]) in order to exact tribute and expand Aztec political hegemony. The second was religious: the taking of captives to be sacrificed in religious ceremonies. These dual objectives not only influenced the kind of warfare practiced by the Aztecs but also meant that warfare had a huge impact on everyday life.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007-12-18|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> 

=== Coronation campaigns ===
The first action of a ruler-elect was to stage a military campaign, which served two purposes. First, it allowed the ''[[tlatoani]]'' [[Help:IPA/Nahuatl|[t͡ɬaʔtoˈaːni]]] to show his ability as a warrior and thus make it clear to subject states that his rule would be as tough on any rebellious conduct as that of his predecessor. Second, this initial campaign provided abundant captives for his coronation ceremony.<ref>Hassig, Ross. "Moteuczomah Illhuicamina." Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1988. 158. Print.</ref> A failed coronation campaign was seen as an extremely bad omen for the rule of a tlatoani and could lead to rebellions by previously subjected city states. A failed campaign could also result in noblemen's distrust of the tlatoani's ability to rule. This was the case for [[Tizoc|Tizoc,]] who was poisoned by the Aztec nobles after several failed military campaigns.<ref>Hassig, Ross. "Tizoc." ''Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control''. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1988. 198. Print. {{ISBN?}}</ref>

===Flower war===
{{main|Flower war}}

The second kind of warfare practiced by the Aztecs was referred to as [[flower war]] (''xōchiyāōyōtl'' {{IPA|nah|ʃoːt͡ʃijaːˈoːjoːt͡ɬ|}}). This kind of warfare was fought by ceremonial armies after a previous arrangement between the parties involved. These armies were composed primarily of nobles and the more skilled warriors. It was not aimed directly at the enemy city-state ([[altepetl]]) but served a number of other purposes. These wars were a show of power for the competing armies; intimidation played a huge role in Aztec warfare in general. Another often cited purpose is the taking of sacrificial captives and this was certainly an important part of most Aztec warfare. Friar [[Diego Durán]] and the chronicles based on the [[Crónica X]] states that the Xochiyaoyotl was instigated by [[Tlacaelel]] during the great [[Mesoamerica]]n famine of 1450–1454 under the reign of [[Moctezuma I]]. These sources state that Tlacaelel arranged with the leaders of [[Tlaxcala (Nahua state)|Tlaxcala]], [[Cholula (Mesoamerican site)|Cholula]], and [[:es:Huejorzico|Huexotzinco]], and [[Tliliuhquitepec]] to engage in ritual battles that would provide all parties with enough sacrificial victims to appease the gods. Ross Hassig (1988) however poses four main political purposes of ''xochiyaoyotl'':

# This kind of warfare gave the Aztecs a chance to demonstrate their military might. Since the Aztec army was larger than their adversaries that were normally smaller city states and since the numbers of combatants on each side were fixed, the Aztec army was sending a much smaller percentage of their total forces than their opponents. Losing a flower war would then be less damaging for the Aztec army than for its opponents.
# This also meant that an objective was attrition&nbsp;– the large Aztec army could afford to engage in small scale warfare much more frequently than their opponents, who would then gradually tire until they were ripe for actual conquest.
# It also allowed a ruler to maintain hostilities, at low intensity, while occupied by other matters.
# Mainly Xochiyaoyotl served as propaganda both towards other city-states and to the Aztec people allowing the Aztec rulers to continuously demonstrate their might with a constant influx of war captives to Tenochtitlan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Michael |title=Chapter 7 The Aztecs: in City-State and Empire |year=2011 |location=John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated}}</ref>
# Most importantly, the flower war served as a function of capturing victims to perform ritual sacrifice. To the east of the growing Aztec empire was the city-state of Tlaxcala. The Tlaxcalans were a powerful people who shared their culture and language with the people of the Aztec empire proper. They were closely related to the empire, though never actually conquered by it. An agreement was made with the Tlaxcalans to have ritual battles called xochiyaoyotl. The flower war is a ritual war for Aztec people taking victim back and sacrifice them to their god Xipe Totec ([[Tezcatlipoca]]).

===Birth ritual===
Warriors were essential to Aztec life and culture. At birth, an Aztec boy would receive two symbols of being a warrior. A shield would be placed in his left hand, and an arrow would be placed in his right. After a short ceremony the newly born boy's umbilical cord, shield, and arrow would be taken to a battlefield to be buried by a renowned warrior. These parts would symbolize the rise of a warrior. Each shield and arrow would be made specifically for that boy and would resemble his family and the gods. Their warrior school would be chosen during this ritual so that the boy would be claimed by the god [[Tezcatlipoca]], the patron god for all warriors. Tezcatlipoca would bless the boy to live a long warrior's life. This ritual was meant to instill societal expectations at an early age.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pennock |first=Caroline Dodds |date=2023-01-01 |title=A warlike culture? Religion and war in the Aztec world |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215?needAccess=true& |journal=History and Anthropology |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=99–122 |doi=10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215 |issn=0275-7206}}</ref>

As for girls, at birth their umbilical cord would be buried usually under the family fireplace, representing the woman's future life to be in the home, taking care of household needs.

===Men's life outside warfare===
Boys started training for warfare at an early age. It was the boys' religious responsibility to train and fight for their people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pennock |first=Caroline Dodds |date=2023-01-01 |title=A warlike culture? Religion and war in the Aztec world |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215?needAccess=true& |journal=History and Anthropology |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=99–122 |doi=10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215 |issn=0275-7206}}</ref> Since all boys were required to train, Aztec society had no standing army. Warriors would be drafted through a tequital, a payment of goods and labor enforced by the government. When not engaged in battle, many warriors were farmers and tradesmen, learning their trade from their fathers. Warriors were married by their early twenties and were a vital part of Aztec daily life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clendinnen |first1=Inga |title=The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society |journal=Past & Present |date=1985 |issue=107 |pages=44–89 |doi=10.1093/past/107.1.44 |jstor=650706 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/650706 |issn=0031-2746|url-access=subscription }}</ref> While most warriors began as lower-class citizens, being a warrior did present a way to move up in Aztec society. If they were successful as a warrior, they would be presented with gifts and recognized publicly for their accomplishments in battle. If they reached the rank of Eagle or Jaguar warrior, they would be considered nobles. Especially in the latter case, the prized warrior would become a full-time soldier working for the city-state to protect merchants and the city itself.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pennock |first=Caroline Dodds |date=2023-01-01 |title=A warlike culture? Religion and war in the Aztec world |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215?needAccess=true& |journal=History and Anthropology |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=99–122 |doi=10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215 |issn=0275-7206}}</ref>

=== Women's roles ===
Women did not directly participate in on-field warfare. Women in Aztec society were only allowed to interact in rituals before or after warfare, such as human sacrifices and mock battles during festivals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kellogg |first=Susan |date=1995 |title=The Woman's Room: Some Aspects of Gender Relations in Tenochtitlan in the Late Pre-Hispanic Period |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/483143?seq=1 |journal=Ethnohistory |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=563–576 |doi=10.2307/483143 |issn=0014-1801|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Instead, women's warfare was understood as occurring in childbirth. The mother had to capture the baby, and if successful, she would be praised as if she were a warrior. If the mother died during childbirth, she would go to the warrior's afterlife. Overall, women stayed off the battlefield and held distinct roles within the household.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pennock |first=Caroline Dodds |date=2023-01-01 |title=A warlike culture? Religion and war in the Aztec world |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215?needAccess=true |journal=History and Anthropology |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=99–122 |doi=10.1080/02757206.2022.2060215 |issn=0275-7206}}</ref>

===Appearance of warriors===
[[File:Nezahualcoyotl.jpg|thumb|[[Nezahualcoyotl (tlatoani)|Nezahualcoyotl]] dressed in cotton armor with an obsidian sword, shield, and a helmet in the shape of a coyote or wolf. [[Codex Ixtlilxochitl]], c. 1550.]]
Aztec culture valued appearance, and appearance defined people within society. Warriors had a very distinct appearance. Their dress would be in relation to their success and triumph on the battlefield. Gaining ranks as an Aztec warrior was based on how many enemy soldiers that warrior had captured. A warrior who had taken one captive would carry a [[macuahuitl]], and a [[chimalli]] without any decorations. He would also be rewarded with a manta, and an orange cape with a stripe, a carmine-colored loincloth, and a scorpion-knotted designed cape. (Daily, 145). A two-captive warrior would be able to wear sandals on the battlefield. He would also have a feathered warrior suit and a cone-shaped cap. The feathered suit and the cone-shaped cap appearance are the most common within the Codex Mendoza. A four captive warrior, which would be an eagle or jaguar warrior, would wear an actual jaguar skin over his body with an open slot for the head.
These warriors would have expensive jewelry and weapons. Their hairstyle was also unique to their status. The hair would sit at the top of their head and be parted into two sections with a red cord wrapped around it. The red cord would also have an ornament of green, blue, and red feathers. The shields were made of wicker wood and leather, so very few survived.

===Fortifications===
The Aztecs didn't normally maintain tight territorial control within their empire but nonetheless, there are examples of fortifications built by the Aztecs. Prominent examples are the strongholds at [[Oztuma]] (''Oztōmān'' {{IPA|nah|osˈtoːmaːn|}}) where the Aztecs built a garrison to keep the rebellious [[Tequistlatecan|Chontal]]es in line; in Quauhquechollan (modern-day Huauquechula) near [[Atlixco]] where the Aztecs built a garrison in order to always have forces close to their traditional enemies the [[Tlaxcala (Nahua state)|Tlaxcalteca]], [[Cholula (Mesoamerican site)|Chololteca]] and Huexotzinca; and in [[Malinalco]] near [[Toluca]]. The latter is where [[Ahuitzotl]] built garrisons and fortifications to keep watch over the [[Matlatzinca people|Matlatzinca]], [[Mazahua people|Mazahua]] and [[Otomi people|Otomi]]es and to always have troops close to the enemy [[Tarascan state]] the borders with which were also guarded and at least partly fortified on both sides.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Micheal |title=Chapter 7 The Aztecs: in City-State and Empire |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated |year=2011 |edition=3rd |language=English}}</ref>