In Aztec culture, bravery was one of the most revered traits a person could have. The warrior class in Tenochtitlan, and even in the furthest corners of the empire were well respected and appreciated.

Even though women had a very different role in society, this did not mean they were not respected, an example of this would be a woman who died during childbirth, because they thought of birth as bringing a new warrior to the empire, the woman who died would be regarded in the same way as a warrior falling in battle.

This image depicts a ceremony of honor

The Aztecs felt that being a warrior was so important that parents would send their children off to the “house of youth”, which were places that children learned battle skills and usually a code of ethics as well as other “manly skills”, like farming and fishing.

this image is a depiction of children in a “House of Youth”

Some historians argue that, War was not just apart of the empire, “war was the empire”, In the empire, sacrifice and ritual go hand in hand.

Many people have seen depictions of Aztec men dressed as eagle and leopard warriors, this is true, but most of the time, the people that dressed like this were actually captured in battle. They usually were sacrificed after a ceremony, this was supposed to bring them honor.

Eagle and Leopard Warrior

Many people might not think that the Aztecs had advanced  weaponry, while they did not have steel or any other metal like we have today,

This photo shows the different types of obsidian weapons

they had obsidian swords which served them very well. Some sources claim that they could even cut through a head.These swords were the weapon of choice, and the most useful and war, although they also used bows and arrows.The bows and arrows were used at far distances and ambushes, the obsidian weapons were used for hand to hand combat and for sacrificial ceremonies.