The Aztec empire arose in southern Mexico. The Aztec were fierce warriors who believed it their duty to sacrifice to their gods the men they captured in battle. The people they conquered hated them because every year the Aztec sacrificed thousands of prisoners of war. However, the Aztec composed beautiful music and poetry, and were skilled in medicine. They grew rich with gold, silver, and other treasures paid yearly by the cities and tribes they conquered.<NP> The capital of the Aztec empire, Tenochtitlan, stood on an island in Lake Texcoco at the site of Mexico City. When the Spaniards arrived in 1519, Tenochtitlan had a population of about 100,000. No Spanish city then had so many people.
