The Aztecs began as a nomadic tribe called the Mexica. During the twelve-century A.D. they moved into the central Mexican basin. They were a crude people and were driven from place to place before they finally found refuge on a marshy island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. The native inhabitants of the region could not be bothered to settle there, on account of its miserable state. Yet the indomitable will of the Aztecs eventually transformed this poor piece of land into an impressive city which when the Spanish arrived 200 years later, in 1521 A.D. thought it could rival any of the great cities they had seen in Europe. It was from this city that the Aztecs based their empire. They waged ritualistic war against their neighbors to take captive for their religion of human sacrifice, which they believed was required to prevent the end of the world. However their world did end with the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish had only a few hundred men, but they were armed with weapons for which the Aztecs were ill prepared for. These were guns, horses, smallpox and legions of native allies. For in the years that the Aztecs achieved empire, they created a lot of enemies who resented their dominance. So it was in 1521 A.D. that the last of the Aztec Emperors surrendered the city and its empire to Hernando Cortez.