The Mongols and Aztecs
Autor: barcelona1230 • May 7, 2018 • Essay • 600 Words (3 Pages) • 606 Views
Alex Wystepek
History 2B
8 December 2015
Compare and Contrast Essay
The Mongols and Aztecs were both large and powerful empires, but they had main differences in the way they gained power. Although they shared similarities like having empires based on military/terror and being unified empires, there were also few differences that showed how they elevated their power. Two differences were the geography of the two empires, and the socio-economic difference of how the Aztec were an agricultural society and the Mongols were pastoral nomads. Also, the Aztec empire had the Toltec’s for a base to start their empire, while the Mongols did not. Overall, in the rise of both empires, the Mongols were more of a conquering nomadic society, while the Aztecs were a tributary empire that stayed in Meso-America.
One similarity that the Aztecs and Mongols shared was that both of their empires were based on military and terror. Because the Mongols were a nomadic people, they were able to conquer so much land that they became the largest land based empire in world history. Similarly, the Aztecs were a tributary empire whose society was mainly based on terror and human sacrifice. The Mongols made many enemies as did the Aztecs which eventually led to the fall of their empire. Both empires were able to dominate their respected regions with their strong militaries.
Another similarity between the two empires is that they both had a unified leader or city. In their rise to power, the Mongols were unified by Genghis Khan and their capital city of Karakorum. Alike, the Aztecs had a unifying city that was Tenochtitlan. For the Mongols Genghis Khan was able to unite the tribes into a large confederation in order to unify their empire for success. The Aztecs relied on their capital city of Tenochtitlan to unite them. It did so by centralizing the empire around the city and it became a major trading city which played a role in their economics. The Aztecs and the Mongols were both able to have a unified empire with their strong main cities or leaders.
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