How did a bedraggled band of nomads manage to evolve into a Mesoamerican superpower in such a brief time? This volume looks at the essential elements in the Aztecs' rise, fall, and enduring influence. From their humble origins, it took the Aztecs less than two centuries to become a dominant empire with a main city, Tenochtitian, that left the Spanish gasping in amazement. But as quick as the rise of the Aztecs was, their fall was even more dramatic. Yet Aztec descendents survive today, preserving vestiges of a culture far richer than its relentlessly bloodthirsty public image suggests. A wealth of new archaeological findings and interpretations has sparked a richer understanding of the Aztecs, dispelling many myths.