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between the ages of 20 and 40, and 43 percent were between 20 and 50.
84 Thus in an ordinary offensive war a city with a population of 200,000 could muster 43,000 warriors, if every male between 20 and 50 was called up. Since the nobility constituted 10 percent of the population,85 the 43,000 figure represented the total potential manpower and not that available through all the calpolli (which would be 38,700). Moreover, the number of nobles recorded in the "palace guard," and hence in military orders (600 to 2,000 at the 1-to-4 ratio suggested by the historical accounts), virtually equaled the total noble population of Tenochtitlan (1,612 to 2,150 noble males from the ages of 20 to 50). |
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On the basis of these ratios a basinwide population of 1,200,000 to 2,650,000 could generate an offensive army of 258,000 to 569,750, far exceeding the military forces in cities elsewhere in central Mexico. However, there are no records of an army that large ever having been raised, and when large armies were mustered, they were drawn from an area much greater than the basin of Mexico. Even an army composed of men age 20 to 25 would generate a minimum of 54,000 men in the basin, and one composed of those 20 to 30 would generate 105,000. So it is apparent that the full military force of the basin of Mexico was not used in an offensive war (and a sizable defensive contingent always remained in Tenochtitlan to protect the city from an opportunistic sneak attack). |
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But as the Aztec Empire expanded and wars required more soldiers, there was a net increase in the number of commoner soldiers, because the elites participated in virtually all of the wars. |
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Recognizing a threat and then ordering a response were only the first steps in warfare. Actually gathering, arming, training, and provisioning troops and then directing them to war required more than legislative fiat. Most of the men needed some retraining, which they underwent daily in each ward before departing.86 Arms also had to be prepared and supplies gathered, and these tasks were placed under the direction of the cuauhhuehuetqueh, the old captains.87 |
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The men in Tenochtitlan did not wear arms in peacetime.88 Weapons were kept in the numerous armories of the city.89 At each of the four entrances to the main ceremonial precinct of Tenochtitlan was a |
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