The largest human sacrifice in history. Aztec bloody festival
During a four-day ceremony in honor of the god Huitzilopochtlie in 1487, the Aztecs sacrificed tens of thousands of captives. To this day, however, it is difficult to determine the exact number of victims. Different sources give different numbers of victims.
The Aztecs, who ruled Mexico from 1345 to 1521, were famous for practicing human sacrifice in their religious ceremonies. They believed that sacrifice was necessary to sustain the universe, and that only the gods had the power to keep it alive. To obtain the necessary number of sacrifices, the Aztecs waged so-called “floral wars” (xochiyaoyotl) with surrounding peoples, the purpose of which was to capture captives rather than defeat them.
The largest human sacrifice in history
In 1487, during the reign of Aztec King Ahuitzotl, there was a four-day Aztec Blood Festival and ceremony in honor of the god Huitzilopochtlie. All sources agree that on that day a huge number of captives were sacrificed to the gods on four altars set up on top of the pyramid in Tenochtitlan and 15 at other sacred sites in the city. However, the number of sacrifices offered remains a matter of debate among researchers.
The sacrificial ceremony in Tenochtitlan was very violent. The victims were led to the top of…
