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Aztec Empire
1428–1521 (Tenochtitlan founded c. 1325)· Empire, kingdom or state· Americas & Oceania
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
The Mexica (Aztec) state, ruled from the island city of Tenochtitlan, dominated central Mexico through conquest and tribute until 1521.
See it on the History map →What happened
The Mexica, migrants from the north, founded Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco around 1325. In 1428 they formed the Triple Alliance with Texcoco and Tlacopan and conquered much of central Mexico. Rather than govern directly, they let conquered cities keep their rulers and collected tribute: maize, cotton cloth, cacao, feathers and captives. Tenochtitlan had causeways, aqueducts and raised farm plots called chinampas. Human sacrifice at the Templo Mayor was central to state religion.
Why it matters
It was the most powerful state in Mesoamerica when the Spanish arrived. Resentful tribute-paying peoples became Cortés's allies, and Mexico City now stands on its ruins.
Think of it like
A tribute empire worked like a ground lease: conquered cities kept running their own affairs but owed fixed dues on schedule.
How we know
Tribute lists such as the Codex Mendoza, Spanish and Nahuatl accounts like the Florentine Codex, and excavations of the Templo Mayor under Mexico City since 1978.
Still debated
Tenochtitlan's population (estimates run from under 100,000 to over 200,000) and the true scale of human sacrifice are still debated.
Connections (2)
▸Olmec civilization began traditions inherited by Aztec EmpireMostly agreed
The connection
The Olmec of Mexico's Gulf Coast set patterns that later Mesoamerican peoples, including the Aztecs, shared: pyramid-temple centers, a ritual ballgame played with rubber balls, jaguar and serpent imagery, and calendar-keeping. Over 2,000 years later the Aztecs collected Olmec carvings as sacred relics and buried some in offerings at their Templo Mayor.
When and how
Gulf Coast of Mexico, about 1200–400 BC, at San Lorenzo and La Venta; the Aztecs in central Mexico, 1300s–1521.
How sure are we?
Shared art, architecture and ballcourts across Mesoamerican sites, and Olmec greenstone objects excavated from Aztec offerings at the Templo Mayor.
Debates and open questions
Scholars debate whether the Olmec were a 'mother culture' for all Mesoamerica or one of several 'sister cultures' that influenced each other.
▸Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires destroyed Aztec EmpireWell documented
The connection
Cortés marched inland in 1519, gathered allies among Aztec subjects and enemies such as Tlaxcala, and took Emperor Moctezuma II hostage in Tenochtitlan. Driven out in 1520, the Spanish returned with small warships and perhaps 100,000 or more Native allies, besieging the smallpox-weakened city for nearly three months until it fell on August 13, 1521.
When and how
Central Mexico, 1519–1521; Hernán Cortés, his interpreter Malintzin (La Malinche), Moctezuma II, the last emperor Cuauhtémoc, and Tlaxcalan leaders.
How we know
Cortés's letters, Bernal Díaz's memoir, and Nahua accounts such as Book 12 of the Florentine Codex describe the siege from both sides.
Debates and open questions
Whether Moctezuma was killed by Spaniards or by his own people's stones is disputed. Siege deaths are put at about 100,000 to 240,000; estimates vary.