Ideology of Conquest
	l The third division had the gods of warfare and sacrifice, among them Huitzilopochtli, the tribal patron. l He became the paramount deity and was identified with the old sun god; he drew strength from the sacrifice of human lives. l The Aztecs expanded the existing Mesoamerican practice of human sacrifice to an unprecedented scale. l Symbolism and ritual, including ritual cannibalism, accompanied the sacrifices.