The Aztecs were a Nahua-speaking civilization centered in central Mexico, most famously based in the Valley of Mexico with their capital at Tenochtitlán on an island in Lake Texcoco. At their height in the 15th and early 16th centuries, they built a powerful empire formed through the Triple Alliance (Mexico-Tenochtitlán, Texcoco, and Tlacopan) and exerted influence across much of central Mexico before the Spanish conquest. Key points about their location and geography:
- Core homeland: Valley of Mexico in central Mexico, in and around what is now Mexico City.
- Capital city: Tenochtitlán, founded on an island in Lake Texcoco (later drained by the Spanish).
- Territorial span: The Aztec Empire dominated large parts of central Mexico through tribute, military conquest, and alliances, though it was a loose network of city-states rather than a unified nation in a modern sense.
Additional context:
- The people who formed what historians call the Aztec Empire were originally Mexica (often called Mexica or Mexica-Aztec). Their identity and name “Aztec” are tied to later historiography; their own references often center on their empire’s core city-states and their mythic origins, including belief in Aztlán as part of their origin story.
- The empire’s expansion relied on complex political marriages, militarized tribute systems, and strategic alliances with neighboring city-states, as well as the rich agricultural base around Lake Texcoco, where they developed chinampas (floating gardens) to support a large urban population.
If you’d like, I can provide a brief timeline of key events (founding of Tenochtitlán, formation of the Triple Alliance, major conquests, and the fall of Tenochtitlán) or a map-style description of the regions under Aztec influence.
