Tenochtitlan, << tay nohch TEE tlahn, >> was the capital of the Aztec Empire. It stood at the site of present-day Mexico City. The Aztec established Tenochtitlan between about 1325 and 1350 on an island in what was then Lake Texcoco. From the city, the Aztec ruled most of central and southern Mexico and parts of Guatemala in the 1400’s and early 1500’s. By 1520, Tenochtitlan ranked as one of the world’s largest cities in population. It had about 200,000 people and covered approximately 8 square miles (20 square kilometers). Spain controlled the city briefly in 1519 and 1520 and conquered and destroyed it in 1521. The Spaniards built Mexico City on top of the ruins. Lake Texcoco was drained in the 1600’s.
Tenochtitlan contained plazas, palaces, and pyramids topped with temples, as well as ball courts and a zoo. The Great Temple, a pyramid that stood about 130 feet (40 meters) tall, dominated the center of the city. The people grew much of their food on small islands called chinampas, which they made by scooping up mud from the bottom of Lake Texcoco. Canals crisscrossed the city, and raised earthen roads linked it to the mainland. Parts of Tenochtitlan’s buildings can still be seen in Mexico City.
