Question about Aztec Influence and Power

Could it be argued that considering what they have to work with, their empire was as impressive or more so than the greatest of the Old World before their time? I know a guy who insists they would've been, but I'm not convinced. Thoughts? I know this isn't really alternate history, but I know everyone here knows a lot of real history ;).
 
Nowhere near as impressive as, say, the Romans, Achaemenids or the Caliphate.
Hell, even in the Americas the Incas could be considered much more impressive.
 
The Aztec Empire, as far as I can tell, was very much built on sand. Instead of annexing subject peoples, they kept them in a state of vassalage, then ensured that their vassals would always hate them by kidnapping their young men for human sacrifices. Hence, when the Spanish arrived, there was a huge reservoir of disaffected people ready to flock to their banner. So, whilst Tenochtitlan was undoubtedly an impressive city, in terms of statecraft I give them an F.
 
If we're comparing the Aztecs to Old World civs with similar technology/resources, then we compare them not to any Bronxe Age or Iron age civ, but to Neolithic civs like Egypt.
 
Frankly, I would be sceptical of anything other than highly specific comparisons. There are simply too many differences in the situation and too many factors in question to make any kind of valid conclusion by comparing the Aztec to another civilization or empire in a broad way. So, I would question the validity of comparing the Aztecs to, say, the Achaeminids (to use an example raised upthread) in general. Now, if you were comparing Aztec statecraft or diplomatic practices to the statecraft of the Achaeminid Empire, you'd be on firmer ground. You'd still have to make the argument for why it is valid to make the comparison, and why it leads to a meaningful conclusion, but you could at least attempt to do so with success as a genuine possibility. Additionally, I think any question of how impressive the Aztecs were, given their situation and limitations, compared to another empire or civilization with a different situation and different limitations is too dependent of personal opinion and the vagueries of individual variation to have a real historical answer.
 
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