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Aztecs arrived in the valley of Mexico. It was home to a number of small city-states that had survived the collapse of Toltec rule. At the time they were poor nomadic people.
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The Aztecs founded their city, Tenochtetlan. It was an island in the Texacoco Lake. They saw an eagle sitting on a cactus and it dropped a snake and that marked where they would build.
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They joined two other city-states Texcoco and Tlacopanto form a triple alliance. This alliance became the leading power in the Valley of Mexico. They soon gained control over neighboring regions.
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They controlled a vast Mesoamerican empire, which stretched from Mexico to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and south into Oaxaca
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Tenochtetlan had become a ordinary urban center. It had an estimated population of 200,000 people. It was larger than any other European capital at it's time.
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They had to figure out how to connect the mainland to the island. Aztec engineers built three raised roads called causeways over the water and marshland. The other cities ringed the lake, creating a dense concentration of people in the Valley of Mexico.
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The empire was divided into 38 provinces. The estimated population was between 5 and 15 million people. The Aztecs gained power by conquering many people.
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Many nobles owned vast estates, which they ruled like lords. They lived a life of great luxury and wealth. The middle class consisted of merchants, artisans, soldiers, and farmers who owned their own land. Also the lowest class was made up of slaves.
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The Aztecs controlled an extensive trade network. It brought many products and goods from faraway regions to their capital. The economic heart of the city was the huge market of Tlatelolco.
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The Aztecs gained a new ruler, Montezuma II, was crowned emperor.
