The Aztecs had many gods who they worshiped by conducting human sacrifices. Human sacrifices took on an unusually important role in Aztec life and reasoning during the 15th century (Strayer, 583). Tlacaelel, a prominent official of the Aztec empire, is often credited with establishing the state ideology that placed such immense importance on human sacrifice. According to Aztec religion, the Aztec patron deity Huitzlipochtli, tended to lose his energy in a constant battle against the darkness. The Aztec world has always been on the brink of catastrophe due to the possibility of infinite darkness. To replenish the god's energy and postpone the darkness, the sun needed the life-giving force present in human blood. The Aztecs believed that the god's sacrifices for the creation of the human race warranted the sacrifice of his own blood and that of other humans. Because of this belief, the Aztecs were responsible for providing blood to their gods. This blood was supplied largely through wars of expansion and from prisoners of war captured for sacrifice (Strayer,