Published on May 31, 2014
Tlacopan, Mexico. In 1431, the Aztecs forged an alliance with this northern kingdom and Texcoco to the east. The Triple Alliance defeated the eastern kingdoms of Tlaxcala and Huejotzingo, making the Aztecs the dominant rulers of central Mexico.
Texcoco, Mexico. This junior member of the Triple Alliance of 1431, with the Aztecs and Tlacopan to the west, benefited from Aztec dominance in the region. But it was also one of the first kingdoms to feel the wrath of Cortez and his anti-Aztec allies, as the Spanish conquistador made his scorched-earth march toward Tenochtitlan in 1520.
Tenochtitlan, Mexico. The Aztecs founded their capital city on an island in Lake Texacoco after seeing an eagle perched on a cactus. Today, the Venice-like city of canals, grand plazas, and temples is hidden by the modern construction of Mexico City, one of the world's largest settlements.
To their neighbors, they were fierce and annoying nomads who called themselves the Mexica. For hundreds of years, they were pushed from settlement to settlement, their aggressive behavior too rude for several hosts to stand.But today, we know the Mexica as the Aztecs, the fierce people highlighted in the fourth episode of SPIRITS OF THE JAGUAR, who came to rule much of what we now call Mexico.
The Aztecs believed they were born in the bowels of the earth and entered the world through seven caves. At first, they settled in Aztlan, a still undiscovered city that archaeologists believe was somewhere along Mexico's northwest coast. About 1100, however, the Aztecs left Aztlan and headed south, settling for short periods in various cities ruled by their neighbors. By the 1300s, they had reached the marshy shores of Lake Texacoco in the broad Valley of Mexico. They found the best land already occupied by more powerful immigrants who had arrived earlier. So they settled for an empty island in the middle of the lake, serving as mercenaries for more powerful tribes for more than 50 years and learning how to coax food from the wet soils.
Texcoco, Mexico. This junior member of the Triple Alliance of 1431, with the Aztecs and Tlacopan to the west, benefited from Aztec dominance in the region. But it was also one of the first kingdoms to feel the wrath of Cortez and his anti-Aztec allies, as the Spanish conquistador made his scorched-earth march toward Tenochtitlan in 1520.
Tenochtitlan, Mexico. The Aztecs founded their capital city on an island in Lake Texacoco after seeing an eagle perched on a cactus. Today, the Venice-like city of canals, grand plazas, and temples is hidden by the modern construction of Mexico City, one of the world's largest settlements.
To their neighbors, they were fierce and annoying nomads who called themselves the Mexica. For hundreds of years, they were pushed from settlement to settlement, their aggressive behavior too rude for several hosts to stand.But today, we know the Mexica as the Aztecs, the fierce people highlighted in the fourth episode of SPIRITS OF THE JAGUAR, who came to rule much of what we now call Mexico.
The Aztecs believed they were born in the bowels of the earth and entered the world through seven caves. At first, they settled in Aztlan, a still undiscovered city that archaeologists believe was somewhere along Mexico's northwest coast. About 1100, however, the Aztecs left Aztlan and headed south, settling for short periods in various cities ruled by their neighbors. By the 1300s, they had reached the marshy shores of Lake Texacoco in the broad Valley of Mexico. They found the best land already occupied by more powerful immigrants who had arrived earlier. So they settled for an empty island in the middle of the lake, serving as mercenaries for more powerful tribes for more than 50 years and learning how to coax food from the wet soils.
