Search Results: Huitzilopochtli

Tonatiuh, 'Turquoise Lord,' was the 5th and present sun in the Aztec view of the cosmos and the fierce sun god of several other Postclassic Mesoamerican cultures, including the Toltecs. It was thought that only the regular offering of hearts...

Coatlicue (pron. Co-at-li-cu-e) or 'Serpent Skirt' was a major deity in the Aztec pantheon and regarded as the earth-mother goddess. Represented as an old woman, she symbolised the antiquity of earth worship and she presents one of the most...

An 1899 painting by William de Leftwich Dodge (1867–1935) depicting the last stand of the Aztecs during the siege of Tenochtitlan by Hernán Cortés in 1521. (Howard Tilton Library, Tulane University, New Orleans)

A 17th-century CE oil painting depicting the Spanish Conquistadores led by Hernán Cortés besieging the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519 CE. (Jay I. Kislak Collection)

It seems that civilizations inevitably rise and fall no matter how big or small, and in this collection, we look at some of the most famous, spectacular, and mysterious collapses of cultures from the Romans to the Maya. War, famine, climate...

The Self-Sacrifice of a Father, painting by Jacques Sablet, second half of the 18th century. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

The Tarascan civilization (aka the Purépecha, after their language) dominated western Mexico and built an empire that would bring it into direct conflict with that other great Mesoamerican civilization of the Post-classic period, the Aztecs...

A map of Lake Texcoco and the Valley of Mexico indicating the principal settlements c. 1519 CE, including the Aztec Triple Alliance cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan.

The headdress of Motecuhzoma II, Aztec ruler 1502-1520 CE. Although there is no evidence that it was ever worn by Motecuhzoma the headdress may have been amongst the gifts he gave to Cortés, who in turn passed them on to Charles V. This is...

The chariot was a light vehicle, usually on two wheels, drawn by one or more horses, often carrying two standing persons, a driver and a fighter using bow-and-arrow or javelins. The chariot was the supreme military weapon in Eurasia roughly...