16
shì jì，
xī bān yá de zhí mín kuò zhāng de zhù yào duì xiàng shì měi zhōu。
gē lún bù suǒ dào zhī chù，
tādōu yǐ xī bān yá guó wáng de míng yì xuān bù jiā yǐ zhàn lǐng。
jiā lè bǐ hǎi xǔ duō dǎo yǔ shǒu xiān lún wéi xī bān yá de zhí mín dì。
suí zhe dì lǐ tàn cè de jìn zhǎn，
xī bān yá zhí mín zhě xùn sù qīn zhàn liǎo měi zhōu de guǎng dà dì qū。
1517
nián，
xī bān yá rén píng jiè pào huǒ de wēi lì，
xiǎng zài mò xī gē yóu kǎ tǎn de chá mǔ pō dēng lù，
yóu yú yìn dì '
ān rén de fǎn jī '
ér méi yòu chéng gōng。 1518
nián lìng yī huǒ xī bān yá qīn lüè zhě xiǎng zài zhè lǐ dēng lù，
yòu zāo dào shī bài。
1519
nián，
xī bān yá guì zú、
mào xiǎn jiā fèi '
ěr nán duō ·
kē '
ěr dì sī shuài lǐng yī xiǎo zhī jūn duì zài mò xī gē dōng '
àn dēng lù，
kāi shǐ zhí mín zhēng fú。
tā men jié duó yìn dì '
ān rén de jīn yín cái bǎo，
tú shā yìn dì '
ān rén。
yìn dì '
ān rén zài tā men de lǐng xiù kǎo tè mò kè lǐng dǎo xià，
jìn xíng liǎo bù qū de dǒu zhēng，
dǎ bài liǎo kē '
ěr dì sī，
bàn shù yǐ shàng de xī bān yá zhí mín jūn bèi jiān miè。
zài zhàn dǒu zhōng，
yìn dì '
ān rén mín xiàng duì dài qīn lüè zhě yī yàng，
yòng shí kuài jī bì liǎo chū mài mín zú lì yì tóu kào dí rén de guó wáng mèng tè zǔ mǎ。
1521
nián，
xī bān yá zhòng bīng yā jìng，
měng gōng tè nuò qí dì tè lán chéng（
jīn mò xī gē chéng），
yìn dì '
ān rén mín zài kǎo tè mò kè de lǐng dǎo xià，
wéi bǎo wèi zì jǐ de shǒu dū shì jìn xíng liǎo yīng yǒng zhàn dǒu。
kàng zhàn jìn xíng liǎo shù yuè zhī jiǔ，
yú 9
yuè 13
rì，
tè nuò qí dì tè lán chéng cái bèi xī bān yá zhí mín jūn gōng pò。
kǎo tè mò kè bèi bǔ hòu，
dí rén yán xíng kǎo wèn，
yào tā shuō chū jīn yín mái cáng zhī dì，
tā shǐ zhōng chén mò bù dá。
zhè wèi yìn dì '
ān rén lǐng xiù、
mò xī gē de mín zú yīng xióng，
bèi zhí mín qiáng dào jiǎo shā liǎo。
1519
nián，
xī bān yá rù qīn mò xī gē， 1521
nián，
ā cí tè kè shǒu dū Tenochtitlan
bèi xī bān yá hé '
ā cí tí kè de zhù yào dí rén Tlaxcaltecs
zhēng fú。
dàn shì xī bān yá bìng méi yòu wán quán zhēng fú '
ā cí tí kè，
ér shì zài liǎng shì jì hòu cái wán chéng，
yòu liǎng gè zhù yào yuán yīn shǐ xī bān yá rén shèng lì。
1.
ā cí tí kè rén yīn wéi xiāng xìn yào yòu héng dìng de huó rén xī shēng，
yǔ zhòu cái huì chí xù yùn zuò，
suǒ yǐ měi yī nián dū xī shēng liǎo xǔ duō rén，
zhè yī xiē rén dà duō lái zì zhàn zhēng de zhàn fú。
dàn zài hé píng de shí hòu，
ā cí tí kè rén sù zhū yī zhǒng xíng shì shàng de “ lǐ zhàn ”，
yǐ huò dé zhàn fú。
yīn cǐ Tlaxcalteca
cái huì xīn gān qíng yuàn jiā rù xī bān yá duì fù '
ā cí tí kè rén de de bù duì。
2.
lìng yī gè zhòng yào yīn sù，
xī bān yá rén dài rù gè zhǒng wēn yì hé chuán rǎn bìng dài dào měi zhōu，
tiān huā、
liú gǎn、
shǔ yì、
má zhěn，
shù yǐ shí wàn jì de tǔ rén shòu dào gǎn rǎn，
zhè xiē liú xíng bìng kě néng zào chéng dà yuē bā bǎi wàn dāng dì rén sǐ wáng。
In 1519, the Aztec civilization of what now is known as Mexico was invaded by Spain, and two years later in 1521, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was conquered by an alliance between Spanish and Tlaxcaltecs (the main enemies of Aztecs). Francisco Hernández de Córdoba explored the shores of South Mexico in 1517, followed by Juan de Grijalva in 1518. The most important of the early Conquistadores was Hernán Cortés, who entered the country in 1519 from a native coastal town which he renamed "Puerto de la Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz" (today's Veracruz).
Contrary to popular opinion, Spain did not conquer all the empire when Cortes conquered Tenochtitlan in 1521. It would take another two centuries after the Siege of Tenochtitlan before the Conquest of the Aztec Empire would be complete, as rebellions, attacks, and wars continued against the Spanish by other native peoples.
Role of religion in the fall of the Aztec Empire
The Aztecs' religious beliefs were based on a great fear that the universe would cease functioning without a constant offering of human sacrifice. They sacrificed thousands of people on special occasions. This belief is thought to have been common throughout Nahuatl people. In order to acquire captives in times of peace, the Aztec resorted to a form of "ritual warfare", or flower war. Tlaxcalteca and other Nahuatl nations were forced into such wars, and, not particularly liking the idea of being a perpetual source of human sacrifices, they willingly joined the Spaniard forces against the Aztecs. The small Spanish force, consisting of 508 men schooled in European warfare and equipped with steel weapons and armor, was reinforced with thousands of indigenous Indian allies. Their use of ambush during indigenous ceremonies allowed the Spanish to avoid fighting the best native warriors in direct armed battle, such as during The Feast of Huitzilopochtli.