Osprey Men-at-Arms 239 : Aztec, Mixtec and Zapotec Armies

Between 1000 BC and AD 900 the peoples of Mexico and Central America developed and shared cultural traits which made them outstanding among the civilisations of the New World, from the rise of the great Maya cities in the lowland jungles to the highland Mexican capitals of Teotihuacán, Cholula, and Monte Albán. Around AD 1450 a new Mexican nation emerged called the Aztec Empire of the Triple Alliance. It was led by the Mexica people of Tenochtitlán (what is today Mexico City) and ruled by an emperor named Motecuhzoma I (1440-1468). Under the Mexica's direction the Empire of the Triple Alliance subsequently began to expand their realm, by developing new strategies of war and by employing a very ancient form of sacrificial ritualism to terrorise their enemies into submission to a vast tribute network. They succeeded in making themselves the most powerful and feared civilisation in the Americas. The Mixtec and Zapotec peoples were contemporaries of the Aztec nations, and both formed alliances and fought many wars against them. Organising themselves into leagues or alliances of small royal estates, the Mixtec and Zapotec fused their multiple dynasties and expanded their sphere of control until eventually they dominated the entire state of Oaxaca after the fall of the great capital of Monte Albán. John Pohl investigates the history, uniforms and weaponry of Aztec, Mixtec and Zapotec armies accompanied by eight full page colour plates by Angus McBride plus plenty of other illustrations from various sources.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Aztecs of the Triple Alliance
• The Aztec-Chichimec Alliance
• Wars Between the Alliances
• The Mixtec and Zapotec
• Mixtec War and Politics
• The Plates