INTRODUCTION

This blog compares what I know about the Roman and Aztec Empires. I have included posts on the Rise and Fall of both empires. I have also included information about their achievements in the areas of calendar systems, religion, building, military and agriculture.

RISE & FALL OF THE EMPIRES

The Aztec empire began with message from the God Huitzilopochtli commanding the Aztec people to leave their hunting and gathering existence and move to a land, "where the cactus grows, on which the eagle sits happily...". After two hundred years of searching, the Aztecs settled on the swampy island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. Beginning of he 1300s the Aztecs began to improve their agriculture methods and began to trade with more powerful and more civilized tribes. The Aztecs became soldiers in the armies of these tribes where they learned important military skills. Later they Aztecs formed alliances with two other tribes forming a powerful triple alliance. In the years that followed the Aztecs began to conquer neighbouring tribes and expand the size of their empire, until it covered the southern third of Mexico and the northern part of Guatemala. In 1502, Moctezuma replaced Ahuitzotl as ruler of the Aztec empire and the empire continued to grow in strength.

In 1519, the Spanish arrived on the shores of Central Mexico. The Spanish were led by Herando Cortes. They brought with them horses and weapons (canons and guns) that the Aztecs had never seen before. This caused great worry among the Aztecs. At the same time, a civil war began to rip apart the empire. The Aztecs were forced to fight many battles through out the empire. The cost of the civil war, and reduced amounts of tribute from conquered people and a famine all caused Moctezuma to demand more tribute from members of the empire.Tribute was kind of like a tax that was collected through out the empire. Unrest in the empire and the arrival of the Spanish signaled the end of the Aztec empire.

The Roman empire began its rise in the year A.D 14, under the rule of Emperor Augustus. Emperor Augustus was able to end the chaos and fighting over leadership that had existed after Julius Caesar's assassination. The Roman Empire now began to expand. Lands and people were conquered. By A.D 17 the size of the Roman Empire had grown to its largest size. It reached into Britain, Northern Africa, Spain and Syria. For many years the empire functioned well. Rome was protected and receiving great amounts of taxation and resources (food, minerals, and labour) from conquered areas.

By A.D 161 cracks began to appear in the Roman Empire. Two main reasons that the empire began to collapse were problems with their boarder and political problems. The boarder was a problem because the size of the empire was so large there were not enough Roman soldiers to guard it from invading barbarians. These Barbarians were not willing to live peacefully under the rule of Rome. In the late 300s A.D many Barbarians entered the empire in order to escape the Huns who were invading from Asia. So now there were large numbers of Barbarians living in the empire who did not wish to follow Rome's rules. These people were also heavily armed and were able to reach deep into the Roman Empire. Rome was no longer as safe as it once was.

Political problems also lead to the fall of the Roman Empire. From 193 A.D on many generals and politicians tried to gain control of the empire. Different parts of the army supported different generals. The military were promised more money for supporting various candidates. This caused problems because Rome did not have the money to give to the army.

Difficulties with invading Barbarians and the Roman army lead to chaos in the country. Farmers were no longer able to produce food so the cost went up. Higher food cost caused unhappiness. Rome tried to increase the size of the army in order to chase all the Barbarians out. This caused more problems because a greater army required more money and Rome was no longer as wealthy as it once was. Eventually Barbarian armies conquered Roman territory and in A.D 476 the last of the Roman Empire was overthrown, bringing the end to the Roman Empire.

AGRICULTURE

Without food, you can not have an empire because you need to feed the people of the empire in order to keep them happy. If there are unhappy people, then it is difficult to keep an empire together. More time and energy needs to be spent on keeping control of them.

Without agriculture there would not have been an Aztec empire. Beginning in the 1300s the Aztecs’ moved to swampy, uninhabited land in Lake Texcoco. Here they learned how to adapt to the land. The first thing they figured out was how to use the swampy land for agriculture. They created gardens called Chinampas, which were narrow strips of land surrounded by canals. Soil and other compost material were piled over the reclaimed lake bottom. Aztec farmers grew a wide variety of vegetables such as; beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash and cotton. The second thing the Aztecs did was to make use of all cultivatable land for growing food. Where the land was hilly the Aztecs terraced the lands. The third important factor behind the Aztecs success with agriculture was the system of irrigation that they were able to develop. They built dams to catch water and canals to move it to where it was needed. This again allowed them to grow food in areas that normally would not be suitable for farming methods.



The Roman also made important improvements in agriculture. The Romans developed better methods for plowing land using Oxen and plows. Like the Aztecs, the Romans understood how to improve the soil so crops could be grown successfully. One thing the Romans did that the Aztecs didn't was that they spent time breeding farm animals. By doing this, they improved the quality of the animals they were raising. Irrigation was also an important part of Roman agriculture. Like the Aztecs, Romans understood that water allowed crops to grow in ares that were normally were too dry. The Romans improved upon the Aztec system of dams and ditches to move water. They built massive aqueducts out of concrete that moved water great distances. The Roman empire was much larger than the Aztec empire. Food was transported through out the empire. New provinces and territories were important because they produced foods and other goods for the city of Rome. The Aztecs produced food for local use and only traded with other groups if they had enough to spare.

GREAT BUILDERS

Both the Aztecs and Romans will be remember for their amazing structures that they built. Many of these structures can still be seen today. The greatest Aztec achievement was the building of Tenochtitlan. This was the capital city of the Aztec empire and the largest city in the world at that time. What is amazing about this city is that it was built in a swamp. Huge causeways connected the city to the mainland. The causeways even had bridges built into them as boat traffic could move around. It is interesting that the same thing can be said about the city of Rome! It is filled with amazing buildings and was also built on a swamp.

The Aztecs built amazing Pyramids. The largest was The Pyramid of The Sun. It is the third largest pyramid in the world. The Aztec pyramids were four sided pyramids with stairs on one side and a flat top roof where ceremonies and sacrifices were held.

Without the Aztecs and the Romans we might not enjoy the cities that we have today. The Aztecs built amazing structures by hand and with very little technology. The Romans improved on everything the Aztecs did. They built aqueducts to bring water to their cities, improved roads, built large public baths, protective walls, theatres, bridges, water ways, temples, arches, and palaces. Romans were great engineers.

MILITARY

Both the Roman and Aztec Empires were built on military strength. The military achievements of the Roman Empire are well known. Their army was the most powerful and successful of all time. The Roman army was the first full time professional army in the world. Because they were so well organized, they were able to defeat much larger armies even though they were equipped with basically the same weapons. As the empire expanded, individuals from conquered lands joined the army and helped to protect the frontiers or borders of the empire. Generals from different parts of the Roman army fought for control of the Empire. The fighting between different members of the army caused unrest in the empire. Eventually this fighting would be one reason behind the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Aztecs had no professional army but they did have professional military officers. All men were trained to be warriors. The Aztec's reputation of being fierce and brave warriors helped them maintain their empire. Like the Romans, they easily defeated opposing armies. The Aztec army fought to control the Valley of Mexico while, the Romans fought a variety of enemies throughout their empire. The Aztecs also wore fancy costumes or uniforms when they went into battle. They did not wear armor like the Romans did, but they did wear animal skins and leather. Both armies would use captured soldiers as slaves. The Romans would sometimes use them as gladiators to be sacrificed for sport. The Aztecs almost always sacrificed their captured enemies to their gods.

RELIGION

Religion played an important role in both the Aztec and Roman Empires. The Aztec people thought that the gods controlled their very lives. The Romans had to deal with a variety of religions as their empire expanded.

All aspects of Aztec life revolved around religion. There were over 1000 Aztec gods many of whom represented forces of nature. The two most important gods were Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. Huitzilopochtli was the God of the Sun while Tlaloc was the God of Rain. The Aztecs allowed conquered tribes to keep its own religion, language, social structure and customs. The Romans tolerated the worshipping of a number of different gods. They had to tolerate various religions because as the empire got bigger, it sucked in many different cultures. Each of the cultures had a different god. The Romans knew that if the did not allow the various religions to exist people would be unhappy and harder to control. Unlike the Aztecs the Romans, did not focus as much time and attention on one or two gods. They did not believe that their very existence depended upon a god being happy with them.

The Romans did not like a few religions such as Judaism and Christianity so they persecuted them. Some Jews and Christians were sent away. At one time during the empire, people were expected to worship emperors as if they were living gods.













Aztec priest played an important roll in the Aztec empire. They conducted many ceremonies through out the year. During these ceremonies, the priest would sacrifice humans to the gods to ensure good harvest or, to just keep the gods happy. Men and animals were sacrificed in Rome, but for sport not religious purposes.

CALENDAR SYSTEMS

Both the Aztecs and the Romans are credited with creating their own calendars. The Roman calendar was a lunar calendar created by Romulus (an emperor) Months consisted of 29 or 30 days. The calendar was determined by the cycles of the moon, and the seasons of the agriculture.

The Aztecs created two of their own calendars. The first one (Xiuhpohualli) was used to measure time. This calendar had 365 days. It was used to determine when to plant crops. The second calendar (Tonalpohualli) was used to set dates of religious festivals. Aztecs used this calendar to tell when it was a good time to talk to the gods and to make sacrifices to them.

Both calendars were similar because they were used to determine when the best time for agriculture was. They were different though because the Aztec calendar was based on the movement of the sun, and the Roman calendar was based on the movement of the moon.