Eagle warrior
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Eagle warriors or eagle knights (Classical Nahuatl: cuāuhtli) were a special class of infantry soldier of the Aztec army. Along with the Jaguar warriors, Eagle warriors were the only Aztec warrior society for which access was not restricted to the nobility, but to which even commoners "macehuales" could be admitted for special merit.
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[edit] Education
As parts of their education, all Aztec boys learned about weaponry and warfare at school. However, only the best students could progress to become eagle warriors.
Until the age of fourteen, the education of children was in the hands of their parents, but supervised by the authorities of their Calpulli. Periodically they attended their local temples, to test their progress.
[edit] Rite of passage
To become an adult, a boy had to capture his first prisoner. Usually, like jaguar warriors, 4 or 5 prisoners were required to be caught in one battle to earn the title of Eagle warrior.
[edit] Uniform
The uniform of Eagle warriors were worn to signify both courage on the battlefield and physical strength. Their shields were brightly coloured and covered in feathers. On a warrior's legs would be leather strips, an archaic version of greaves.
On their heads they wore the heads of eagles, and also used eagle feathers as adornments.
[edit] Weaponry
The warriors would use a number of weapons, including an atlatl, bows, spears and daggers. The Aztec blades were made from obsidian, which was sharper than steel but quickly lost its edge. The Aztecs wore a lightweight close-fitting breastplate which suited the Mesoamerican climate.
[edit] Pop culture
- Eagle warriors were featured in the video games Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion its sequel Age of Empires III, and Medieval Total War 2.
- The athletics teams of San Diego State University are known as the Aztecs, and their mascot is the Aztec Warrior.
