Czy państwo Azteków było wysoce zmilitaryzowane?

The Aztec armed forces were typically made up of a large number of commoners (yāōquīzqueh [jaː.oːˈkiːskeʔ], "those who have gone to war") who possessed extensive military training, and a smaller but still considerable number of highly professional warriors belonging to the nobility ...

Due to these corps, the Aztecs ... sits upon a hill and is completely carved out of bedrock. The temple is a circular structure with an entrance containing 13 steps, and includes two jaguar sculptures....

These two elite units could only be joined by warriors who had displayed no fewer than 20 acts of bravery in battle and were already members of the prestigious jaguar and eagle warrior groups. Even the lowest ranks could win through valour privileges, such as the right to eat in the royal palaces, have concubines, and drink pulque beer in public. ... Warriors were trained from a young age in special military compounds where children learnt to master weapons and tactics and where they were regaled with tales of battle from veteran warriors.

Common Soldiers (Yaotl): Most Aztec ... Elite Warriors: Two primary elite warrior groups, the Eagle Warriors (Cuāuhtli) and Jaguar Warriors (Ōcēlōtl), were drawn from noble and accomplished soldiers....

In the midst of downtown Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, there is an Aztec site lying in ruin known as Templo Mayor. This site is home to the House of Eagles, which was a sort of barracks for the eagle warrior cult. Stucco paintings along the walls depict the warriors in battle ready poses, brandishing weapons and wearing the feathered helmets associated with skill and bravery.

The sculpture was recovered at the House of the Eagles, the meeting place of eagle and jaguar warriors, two of the most prestigious of the Mexica military classes. The House of the Eagles was just beside the Templo Mayor, and highlighted the association of the Mexica’s most important temple with warfare.

These elite warriors were divided into several organizations depending on their exploits on the battlefield: the Jaguar Warriors, the Eagle Warriors, and the Shorn Ones. These warrior societies were made up of the senior and veteran soldiers of the Triple-Alliance.

The two highest military societies were the Otomies and the Shorn Ones. Otomies took their name from fierce tribe of fighters. The Shorn Ones was the most prestigious rank. An Aztec warrior that achieved this rank would have shaved their heads ...

Later authors too, unsurprisingly, found the colourful charisma of the expert Eagle and Jaguar orders alluring, and accounts of Aztec society often focus on these largely noble warriors. But the disproportionate focus on such elite forces obscures the extent to which warfare was a key organizing principle of both life and belief in Tenochtitlan, and something which was deeply embedded in the experience of all Aztecs of every status, male and female. Tenochtitlan was seen as a perpetual battlefield. The city was a space where military fates were, at all times, held in the balance.