Interesting Ties between Sacrafice and Conquest

In reading Conrad and Demarest, the information on the background of imperial Mesoamerica was very interesting. The rise and fall of the various empires preceding the Triple Alliance gives the reader a story to build upon when examining the Aztecs. The clan that would trade their sons and daughters, who had Toltec blood , to neighboring city-states. The history of empires before the Triple Alliance was key to the legitimacy of rulers and nobles. The Aztecs saw the Toltecs as their predecessors, and Toltec blood was key to status in the early post-classical period.
The conquest of the Aztecs was complicated and intriguing.The passing on of various religious practices also occurred between empires and had a role in the expansion of the Aztec empire. The practice of human sacrifice, which exploded during the rule of the Triple Alliance, played a major role in the expansion of the Aztec empire. The Aztecs conquered new areas to gain soldiers to sacrifice to the sun god. They needed fight in order to gain sacrifices. It is important to note the cycle that formed in the waning days of the Aztec empire. the empire was spread to thin and the sacrifices consisted of prime aged laborers. The massive sacrifices took away the workers who were needed to provide resources to the capital. However, the rulers could do nothing because of their religious beliefs that would not allow them to stop acquiring sacrifice.