However, a number of large, border-zone areas did manage to maintain independence from the empire despite facing many military conflicts with such adversaries as the empire of the Tarascans in the west. 3 Economically, the Aztecs did openly encourage growth which resulted in "a complex interlocking market system," 4 based on trade with other Mesoamerican cultures which some scholars believe stretched as far south as Tierra del Fuego, to the north into present-day Texas and even across the Atlantic Ocean into the western fringes of Continental Europe. In military terms, the Aztecs were fully aware of their limitations, due to the existence of numerous enemy states, such as the Tarascans and the Tlaxcallans,...

. .in selected locations," 5 much like their far earlier European counterparts, the ancient Romans. One other important aspect of the Aztec Empire was its agricultural system which, due to being so well-organized, managed to properly feed its citizens and retain sufficient surpluses of food to either sell or keep as a reserve in case of famine or drought.
1 The Ancient Americas: A Brief History and Guide to Research. 1997. University of Utah Press, 47.

2 Ibid, 48.

3 Ibid, page #?

4 Nichols, Deborah L. 1998. Aztec imperial strategies. Journal…