The Aztec tribe migrated to Mexico in the 6th century CE.
They did not become powerful until the foundation of the Triple Alliance between Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan in 1428 CE.
The Aztecs founded an empire centered on Tenochtitlan, soon dominating the alliance and surrounding areas.
Aztecs fought wars to subjugate surrounding vassal states and extract tribute from them, like many other states all over the world.
They did not only demand food and money, but also many luxury goods for the nobility.
They also had a secondary objective which was unique to the Aztecs: taking prisoners to sacrifice in religious ceremonies.
Captives were sacrificed to the gods, to repay humanity's supposed blood debt to them.
Taking prisoners was part of what the Aztecs called "xochiyaoyotl", 'flower wars'.
These had other aims too, like displaying their might and wearing enemies down through attrition, though gaining captives was their primary aim.
All male Aztecs received at least basic military training.
Around the age of 15, a boy would be taken from his family and raised in a "telpochcalli", a kind of boarding school that taught mostly skill in warfare.
Upon reaching adulthood, they returned to civil life and took a job as a farmer, artisan or trader.
The sons of nobles would enter the "calmecac", where they too learned war, but also astronomy, astrology, rhetoric, poetry and religion.
The young aristocrats entered school at an earlier age than the commoners, between 6 and 13, and the sons of kings as early as 5.
Young men who wanted to become warriors could apply to veterans to act as mentors, who required payment.
Despite their warfare-heavy education, the Aztecs had but a small standing army.
The real strength lay in the large semi-skilled militia that they could draw on.
Men would be called upon as militia troops when the Aztecs marched to war and return to their villages and towns after the fighting was done.
Warfare provided a way to improve one's standing in society.
Every captive taken raised the warrior's status and wealth, six (or more) equaling the highest.
The elite were the "Quauhtin" ('Eagle') and "Ocelomeh" ('Jaguar') warriors, who were professional fighters and acted as a police force in peace time.
The rank of a warrior could be determined from his armor and weapons.
The higher, the more elaborate and expensive.
The best warriors were tattooed and clad in very colorful and extravagant attires with animal skins, feathers and flowers.
The Aztecs had little skill in forging metal.
They equipped their best warriors with "ichcahuipilli", a quilted cotton armor reinforced with salt.
Helmets were made of leather or even wood.
As weapons they wielded macuahuitl, spears,
clubs, maces, obsidian daggers.
Missile weapons were mostly atlatls, javelins and darts.
Aztec battles usually opened with an exchange of missiles, followed by melee.
The elite warriors fought in the front ranks with lesser warriors behind them.
Youths acted as porters and messengers though did not fight.
Almost always the aim was not to kill, but to disable enemies so that they could be captured.
This was done by knocking them out or cutting their hamstrings.
Captives were taken back to Aztec country and sometimes could regain their freedom in gladitorial combat,
though at very bad odds: armed with only a club against five fully equipped Eagle or Jaguar warriors.
The Aztecs had a system of runners who alerted the emperor of important events, for example rebellions.
They used merchants not only for trade, but also as spies.
When the empire went to war, scouts and priests marched up front, followed by the veterans and ordinary troops.
Good roads allowed them to travel quickly, though they could be narrow: one example noted that a 8,000 men army formed a column 25 kilometers long.
If an enemy army was beaten, the main temple of its city was destroyed, signaling its defeat.
The Aztec warrior culture and its frequent wars created an experienced and aggressive army that was always ready to beat its neighbors into submission.
Occasionally it lost a battle, but most of the time it was victorious.
The heavy demands of tribute, both in goods and lives, made the Aztecs hated by nearly everyone,
which spelled their doom when the Spanish conquistadores, led by Hernán Cortés, arrived.
War Matrix - Aztec army
Late Middle Age 1300 CE - 1480 CE, Armies and troops