My first question I posed was "are the Aztecs' wars religious?" The answer is "somewhat." Wars, especially the "Flowery Wars" were often cited as being religious and ritualistic in manner but I think the research in Module 14 proves that religion is not the only cause. Like the religious wars of the Crusades, religion was often a noble facade for the causes of a war, but it doesn't take much investigation to get to the root of the real reasons. War was very beneficial to the powerful Aztec empire. War provided armies with training; chances for individuals to gain land, wealth, and advance in social rank; and of course, the power of subjugating many people.
Next, I posed the question "were the reasons for enemy sacrifice religious?" And the answer is again, somewhat. The Aztecs sacrificed many people for many different gods, but the two gods that were associated with specifically sacrificing prisoners of war were Huitzilopochtli (explained in Module 10) and Tezcatlipoca, the god of night and destiny, and the god generally considered to be the most powerful. In a way similar to the religious causes of war, I would say that religious reasons for enemy sacrifice are also a facade. Capturing and sacrificing prisoners to appease Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca probably happened, but Aztec soldiers had a lot to gain from sacrificing their captives.
The image on this page is of a tzompantli (source), or skull rack, that would publicly display the skulls of the warriors who had been captured. I think such public displays of might aren't spiritual, but are used as instruments of fear to keep other nations from invading and to send warning to enemy soldiers. Does this mean that these ritual sacrifices are void of their original religious intentions? I would say no, that the Aztecs were truly deeply religious, but I think that attributing their warring and sacrificial efforts to religion would be dismissive of their more practical reasons for it.
My first question I posed was "are the Aztecs' wars religious?" The answer is "somewhat." Wars, especially the "Flowery Wars" were often cited as being religious and ritualistic in manner but I think the research in Module 14 proves that religion is not the only cause. Like the religious wars of the Crusades, religion was often a noble facade for the causes of a war, but it doesn't take much investigation to get to the root of the real reasons. War was very beneficial to the powerful Aztec empire. War provided armies with training; chances for individuals to gain land, wealth, and advance in social rank; and of course, the power of subjugating many people.
Next, I posed the question "were the reasons for enemy sacrifice religious?" And the answer is again, somewhat. The Aztecs sacrificed many people for many different gods, but the two gods that were associated with specifically sacrificing prisoners of war were Huitzilopochtli (explained in Module 10) and Tezcatlipoca, the god of night and destiny, and the god generally considered to be the most powerful. In a way similar to the religious causes of war, I would say that religious reasons for enemy sacrifice are also a facade. Capturing and sacrificing prisoners to appease Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca probably happened, but Aztec soldiers had a lot to gain from sacrificing their captives.
The image on this page is of a tzompantli (source), or skull rack, that would publicly display the skulls of the warriors who had been captured. I think such public displays of might aren't spiritual, but are used as instruments of fear to keep other nations from invading and to send warning to enemy soldiers. Does this mean that these ritual sacrifices are void of their original religious intentions? I would say no, that the Aztecs were truly deeply religious, but I think that attributing their warring and sacrificial efforts to religion would be dismissive of their more practical reasons for it.