AZTEC EMPIRE

• What did Aztec society have in common with ancient Greece?

  • Both Aztec society and Ancient Greece had city-states with their own governments, economies, and cultural identities. These city-states were often autonomous entities that competed for power and resources within their respective regions
• What was the Triple Alliance, and in what context did it develop?

  • The Triple Alliance was a military and political pact between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan in the Valley of Mexico, formed to strengthen their positions and expand their territories through conquest. It developed the Aztec Empire
• How did the system of city-states help Hernando Cortes conquer the Aztec Empire?

  • The system of city-states in the Aztec Empire allowed Hernando Cortes to exploit existing rivalries and alliances, gaining support from disgruntled city-states and ultimately weakening the Aztec Empire from within, facilitating its conquest
• The author of the Khan Academy video describes the Aztec Empire as advanced. What evidence does the author give for this claim and is the author's argument convincing?

  • He mentions the bridges that led into the islands in Mesoamerica & the dam systems that allowed Mesoamerica to collect fresh water from the rain while also to control flooding 
• How did Aztec political communities differ from Maya political communities?

  • Aztec political communities were organized as a central state with a hierarchical structure, ruled by a single emperor who wielded significant power. In contrast, Maya political communities were decentralized city-states, each governed by its own king or noble council, with less centralized authority and more emphasis on local autonomy
• Explain how and why states in the Americas developed and changed over time.

  • States in the Americas developed and changed over time through factors such as agricultural advancements, population growth, warfare, trade networks, and cultural interactions. These states evolved from small-scale societies into complex civilizations, with centralized governments, specialized economies, and sophisticated infrastructure, driven by the need for social organization, resource management, and defense against external threats