Tenochtitlan

Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire and one of the largest cities in pre-Columbian America. It stood on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, within what is now Mexico City. According to tradition, the Mexica founded the city in 1325 after migrating to the region and establishing a settlement in the marshy island. The city was linked to the mainland by three causeways and employed an extensive system of canals and dikes. Agriculture on the lake’s chinampas—raised field beds—supported the city’s growth and supplied food for its growing population.

As the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, Tenochtitlan served as the political, religious, and economic center of the empire. Its ceremonial heart centered on the Templo Mayor, a twin-temple complex that honored Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. The city housed grand palaces, important markets such as those at Tlatelolco, and a sprawling administrative apparatus. The city’s aqueduct supplied fresh water from the surrounding hills.

In 1521, Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés captured Tenochtitlan after a siege, and the city was largely destroyed and rebuilt as the base of colonial Mexico City. In the centuries that followed, the ruins were partially buried and later excavated, with the Templo Mayor rediscovered and excavated in the 20th century. Today, Tenochtitlan is remembered as a major center of pre-Columbian civilization and a symbol of Aztec political and religious life.