Flower War

A ritualized form of warfare practiced by the Aztecs and rival central Mexican states, often to capture opponents for sacrifice.

Aztec warfare: The military practices and conflicts of the Aztec Empire and its predecessor polities. Flower wars formed one part of a broader military system also used to conquer and control territory.
Aztec Triple Alliance: The alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan that dominated central Mexico from 1428. The alliance's expansion and rivalries provided the political setting for flower wars.
Aztec human sacrifice: The killing of human victims in religious ceremonies across Aztec society. The capture of victims for sacrifice is the practice's best-known consequence.
Chalco campaigns: A series of Mexica campaigns against the Chalca people in the Valley of Mexico. These conflicts are often discussed as an early setting for organized ritual warfare.
Aztec military: The armed forces, ranks, training, and institutions of the Aztec Empire. Military organization supplied the fighters and commanders who carried out ritual campaigns.
Tenochtitlan: The Mexica capital built on an island in Lake Texcoco, founded in 1325. The city was the alliance's leading power and a principal participant in ritual warfare.
Aztec Empire: A tributary empire centered on Tenochtitlan that ruled much of central Mexico before 1521. Flower wars unfolded within the empire's broader system of power, tribute, and military expansion.
Tlaxcalan–Aztec wars: A long series of conflicts between the Aztec Empire and Tlaxcala before the Spanish conquest. These recurring wars are the clearest historical context for accounts of flower warfare.
Aztec warrior societies: Prestigious military orders whose members earned status through battlefield achievement. Capturing enemies could advance a warrior's standing within elite military orders.
Tlaxcala: A confederation of Nahua city-states that resisted Aztec domination in central Mexico. Tlaxcala was the most prominent rival associated with recurring flower-war campaigns.

Linked from 6 pages