What was the name of the Aztec capital city?

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What was the name of the Aztec capital city? The capital was Tenochtitlan.

Also called Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the city was built on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico. It became the capital of the Mexica state and, after the formation of the Aztec Empire in 1428, the political and ceremonial center of a powerful regional alliance.

Traditional accounts place its founding in 1325, although the precise historical date is uncertain. The Mexica origin story describes an eagle with a snake in its beak perched on a cactus, a sign that identified the destined settlement site. That image remains central to Mexico’s national emblem and flag.

Tenochtitlan is often confused with its neighboring island city, Tlatelolco, or with the allied city-states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. At its height, the metropolis had a population of more than 200,000 and featured causeways, canals, markets, temples, and chinampa agriculture. Spanish and Indigenous forces captured it on August 13, 1521; Mexico City was later built over much of its ruins.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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