This class tilled the land of their masters for a small amount of produce and could not own any land of their own. The peasant class at the lowest level was no different from the serfs in medieval Europe.
#Aztec were warlike people free#
The children of the slaves were considered free people in the Aztec society. These slaves worked for the nobles and could buy back their freedom by paying the amount of money their master had paid for them. However, criminals could also be sold into slavery. Slavery was prevalent in the Aztec society and people from the subjugated tribes went on to become slaves. Overall, while the priestly class enjoyed considerable privilege, their lives were also quite hard. The class of priests and priestesses had various responsibilities such as watching the celestial objects to predict events, doing astronomical calculations, revealing the will of the gods, and sacrificing the victims for gods etc.Ĭonfessions were heard by the priests of Tlazolteotl who also accompanied the warriors to the battleground to hear their confessions. Aztec society was a military society and warriors enjoyed very high respect in society and many privileges.Įmperors awarded the warriors with land, rank, and wealth and thus achievement on the battleground became one of the most important ways of upward social mobility for the common people. The upper class of the Aztec society, other than the landowning nobility, also included the warriors and priests. The privileges that the Aztec nobles enjoyed were specified by Aztec law. Their power was based on land, labour, and the tribute received from the subjugated city-states.īroadly speaking, three ranks of the Aztec nobles were of Tlatoani meaning rulers, Tetecuhtin meaning high lords, and pipiltin meaning the regular lords. The nobles also commanded the Aztec army.
Nobles in the Aztec society were people who owned land and played important role in the administration of the empire. These classes were the nobility, the common people including the petty peasants, and the slaves. Aztec NobilityĪztec society was based on various social classes. Their ageing and death were of religious importance to the Aztec’s and various rituals would be undertaken upon their death. These elders would be consulted in the city councils and their advice would also be important within a family. These were mostly those people who had either escaped death on the battleground or death from illness. The wise elders of the Aztec family and society were called “Ueuetque”. The family elders of Aztec society were given particular importance within families and in Aztec society. The schools for the nobility were called “Calmecac”, although some children of the merchant and peasant classes could also go to these schools if they had exceptional abilities. The local school for the children of merchants, peasants, and artisans was known as “Telpochcalli”. They were educated in basic military education and farming while the children of the nobility could study other subjects such as astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and religion. This education was different for common children and the children of nobility. Aztec ChildrenĪztec children were given an compulsory education during their early teen years. While the main role of Aztec women was to take care of the household, she could also indulge in trade at the marketplace. The men, instead of going directly to her father, would ask for her hand at the city council.Īn Aztec women’s marriage affairs were then decided by the elders of the family and the extended kinship. Women got into arranged marriage in their late teens or early twenties. However, they adorned their clothes with bright colors and used various kinds of jewelery. Her traditional role was to run the house and look after the household chores.Īztec women did not wear any make-up since it was reserved for prostitutes. The status of Aztec women in Aztec society was subordinate to men, although they enjoyed various rights and freedoms. Men also indulged in various other professions such as agriculture, trade, hunting, and others in order to fulfill their responsibility of providing for their families. Aztec men could take several wives but a grand wedding ceremony was the privilege of only the first wife.Īztec men spent a lot of time on the battleground and one of the surest ways of achieving glory and acclaim in the Aztec society was to impress others on the battlefield. Thus men were considered valuable and enjoyed a superior status than women.Īt a young age, all men were given the basic military training after which they could choose their own profession.
The Aztec society was a military society since the expansion of the empire depended on military conquests.
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