Final answer:
Moctezuma I used diplomatic alliances as a key tactic to promote harmony with other Central American civilizations. Such alliances, alongside cultural assimilation and economic trade agreements, were pivotal in the integration and maintenance of relations with surrounding city-states.
Step-by-step explanation:
Of the tactics employed by Moctezuma I to promote harmony between the Aztecs and other Central American civilizations, diplomatic alliances were significant. The Aztec Empire, under Moctezuma I, often sought to incorporate other city-states into its sphere of influence not just through warfare but also by establishing peaceful alliances.
For instance, the Aztecs formed a notable Triple Alliance with Texcoco and Tlacopan. This pact covered political, military, and economic matters, ensuring that these city-states did not fight each other, but cooperated in wars against other city-states and shared the resulting spoils.
Beyond alliances, the Aztecs and particularly King Moctezuma I, utilized a variety of methods, including the offering of lavish gifts, offers of friendship, and membership in military alliances as a means to avoid overt conflict and to ensure subjugation of cities with less bloodshed.
Cultural assimilation and economic trade played roles too, as the empire could be visualized as a series of interconnected marketplaces, suggesting that trade agreements were also a part of maintaining harmony and integrating the economy of the region. These markets allowed for the mingling of different cultures and promoted a degree of interdependence between the Aztecs and other city-states.
During his reign, Moctezuma I solidified control over subdued cities by levying taxes, but also ensured the prosperity of trade and commerce which facilitated interactions. The Aztec legal code further structured society and provided a stable environment for these interactions to take place, thus promoting harmony through a mixture of methods.