Aztec Warriors

The Aztec army was composed of a variety of classes and ranks, from this they build a hierarchy structure to their army allowing them to organize and go into battle and into war with confidence. The Majority of the army was built around commoners who had the basic training of fighting behind them and were often outside of the warrior ranking system. A smaller part of the army was constructed from Aztec nobility who ranking in the army was denoted by their achievements, these were the professional warriors whose full time occupation was battle and war.

Only the bravest Aztec warriors who fought well in battle could become either jaguar or eagle warriors. These Aztec warriors were said to have been possessed the power of the Jaguar or Eagle while they wore their customs in battle. And it is this reputation that made them the respected and feared.

The Aztec army consisted of Eagle warriors and Jaguar warriors. The Eagle warriors generally carried spears, and had eagle plumage as their uniform. They were the rank and file troops of the Aztec army, and wore no armor.

The best of the Eagle warriors were promoted to Jaguar warrior, who carried obsidian swords and wooden shields. Jaguar warriors were the Aztec crack-troops, and were highly feared by other Meso-American civilizations for their martial prowess.

For a commoner to rise in status it would have to be proved in battle and taking captives was a big factor. The Aztec’s were known to not instantly kill their enemies or victims, but to bring them home to their ruler who would sacrifice them in ritual ceremonies. This would be part of the training for a young man that he would have to capture prisoners to show his skill in battle, if they were to capture more they would be further on the road to being a prestigious eagle or Jaguar warrior which was the first available rank not limited to nobility.

Eagle Warriors
The First type of Aztec warrior was the Eagle Warrior. The Eagle Warriors were the scouts of the Aztec Warriors as well as being good fighters. They were the eyes, ears, the messengers who would find the information necessary to lead and strategize an attack. These warriors often wore helmets adorned with eagle feathers and heads. They adorned their armor with feathers and carried brightly colored shields.

Jaguar Warriors
The second type of Aztec warrior were the Jaguar Warriors. The Jaguar Warriors were considered to be the all out fighting troops and full time warriors. The brute force of the Aztec army, they wore Jaguar skins over their heads with their faces peering out beneath the jaguar mouth.

Otomies
The Otomi name was based on the Otomi who were respected for their vicious fighting style. It is not clear whether the otami were a true type of Aztec rank or whether it was clearly a band of outsiders who found alongside the Aztec’s. Whichever way they were considered allies and fierce fighters.

Shorn Ones
The Shorn Ones were the most respected and prestigious Aztec warrior rank. Once again as we have seen before in the Aztec warriors their dress was unique to the rank. The Shorn Ones would have cleanly shaved heads with a single long braid in tact from the back of their head. The shorn ones painted their faces with vivid colors to show their ferocity and were renowned for not taking a backwards step in combat.

Depending on their rank and status the Aztec warriors would be armed with various weapons from wooden spears tipped with sharpened rock tips. Slings were used to catapult rocks and stones at their enemies from distance and Wooden maces or clubs were used in closer combat, again with inset stones and rocks what would be use to cut and slice into their opponents. Spears and Shields were also common weapons by the Aztec warriors.