The Aztec Empire originated in Mexico in the 15th century, establishing their first capital of Tenochtitlan. The Inca Empire began in Peru around the same time, establishing Cuzco as their capital. Both empires grew powerful through conquest, with the Aztec Empire reaching its height under Moctezuma and the Inca Empire under Pachacuti. However, both empires fell in the 16th century with the arrival of Spanish conquistadors like Cortes and Pizarro, who took the leaders hostage and exploited divisions to conquer the much larger empires.

1. Aztec and Inca
Empires
Edward Cox
Period D

2. Origins
Aztecs:1427 Mesoamerica
Incas:1200 Chile

3. Aztec origins
• Once lived in Aztlan (N/NW Mexico)
• small nomadic v tribe of hunter gatherers
• Traveled and settled in basin v of Mexico (Valley of
Mexico) in 12th
century
• stayed on islands in Lake Texcoco after being pushed
out by city-states v/city states3 l,
• created first capital Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco in
1325
• Defeated overlords (Tepanecs) in 1426
AZTLAN

4. Inca origins
• People of the sun
• once a clanv of warlike people
• Used to live in Southern Peru near Lake Titicaca in the
13th
century
• Manco Capac move clans to the fertile Cuzco Valley
• City of Cuzco named Inca capital in Cuzco Valley

5. Hierarchy
Aztec: CAPULLI: Emperor, Warrior
and Priests, Commoners, Laborers
Inca: ALLYU: Emperor, Aristocracy,
Administrator, Artisan v, Laborers

6. Aztec Society
Calpullis: groups claiming to have a common
ancestor; members of Calpullis selected a
leader/emperor
• Emperor: semidivine
• Commoners: Largest group of people
• took up fields in mostly agriculture
• Commoners also had to pay taxes/tributes
• Slaves: Forced into labor; helped construct
public facilities
-Slaves could buy back their freedom-

7. Inca Society
Allyu: families living together sharing crops,
land, etc
• Emperor: descendent of the sun god2 l. Holds supreme
power; no checks and balances 4 l
• Aristocracy 5 l: Relations of emperor. Holds power in
government and military
• Administrator: Administrators 6 l govern divisions of lands
• Artisans: Worked gold and silver to make weapons and
ornamental figures
• Laborers: Helped build public facilities throughout the
Inca Empire

8. Growth and Expansion
Aztec: 1520=80,000 sq miles
Inca: 1438=300,000 sq miles

9. Aztec Growth
• Itzcoatl (Aztec king) create Triple Alliance
1427
• Aztecs defeat overlords/Tepanecs
• Gained control of Mexican Basin
• Ahuitzotl create Great Temple and
conquered land Mexico and Central
America
• Aztec Empire reached height under
Montezuma

10. Inca Growth
• Fought to control fertile Cuzco Valley
• Aztec leader Pachacuti (1438-1471) conquered
and controlled parts of modern-day Chile
• “Conquest of Chancas” led by Pachacuti expand
Inca Empire from Equador to Central Chile
• Pachacuti reorganized social and political
system
• 1520 Inca Empire reached height called
Tihuantinsuyu / “Land of Four Quarters”

11. Religion
Aztec
• Worshipped forces of
nature
• Believed the sun is a
god and fought
darkness
• Built sacrificial temples
to please gods
• Believed in afterlife
based on how one died
(death as warrior goes
to sun god)
Inca
• Worship dead,
ancestor, king, nature,
traditional heroes
• Sun god considered
the most important god
• Oracles used to fortell
events
• Three worlds: past,
present, and future
inhabited by spiritual
figures

12. Fall of the Empires
Civil War and Rebellions
Spaniards
Bad Leadership

13. Hernan Cortes and 50 conquistadors
In search of Wealth
• Spaniards Arrived in Eastern Mexico (1519)
• Allied with Aztec enemies
• Welcomed by Montezuma (Aztec king)
• Cortes took Montezuma hostage because
outnumbered
• Aztec rebelled forcing Spaniards out
• Cortes sieges Tenochtitlan with allies; Aztecs
surrender (1521)
AZTECS

14. Incas
• Pizzaro allies with enemy Indian tribes (1532)
• Atahualap allowed Pizzaro and army to enter
Inca Empire
• Atahualap taken hostage after ambush
• Smallpox and other Old World diseases kill of
Incas
• Atahualap is killed
• Spanish reinforcements arrive officially ending
the Inca Empire
Pizarro and 167 conquistadors
1)Search of Wealth
2) Spread Christianity

15. QuizTime!
1. How did Pizzaro and Cortes’s plan to take over
the “New Worlds” relate?
2. Who chose the Aztec emperor?
3. What is the name of the two bases of society
in the Inca and Aztec empire
4. What present countries do the Aztec and Inca
empire touch?
5. What was the name of the Aztec’s first capital
and where was it located?
6. How did Aztecs rise to defeat their overlords
(Tepanecs)?

16. ANSWERS
1. Both included taking the leader of the
empire hostage
2. Influential members from Capullis
3. The Aztec base of society were Capullis
while Inca society was based on Allyu
4. The Inca empire touches Chile and Peru
while the Aztec Empire touches Mexico
5. Tenochtitlan
6. They formed the Triple Alliance

17. LINKING
• Pharaoh 2
• Greek city-states were created because the hard
terrain made it impossible for communication,
etc 3
• US Constitution/ John Locke 4
• Athens was also once ruled by an aristocracy
before becoming a democracy 5
• Emperors of the Qin Dynasty appointed
governors to rule sectors of China

18. VOCABULARY*
• Nomadic: a type of people leading a life
full of traveling never staying in a single
place for too long
• Basin: an area of water emptying into a
river
• Clan: a group of families or households
claiming to have a common ancestor
• Artisan: a craftsperson, person skilled in
an applied art
Dictionary.com*

19. Bibliography
 http://www.indians.org/welker/aztec.htm
 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560004/inca_empire.html
 http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/south/culture
s/inca.html
 http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeamericans/peru.htm
 http://www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/nativeamericans/incaempire
2.htm
 http://www.crystalinks.com/azteculture.html
 http://coe.fgcu.edu/STUDENTS/WEBB/MESO/incalife.htm