Which empire built the road system centered on the ancient city of Tenochtitlan?

The Aztec Empire built the road system centered on the ancient city of Tenochtitlan.

Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Mexica-led Aztec Empire, founded on an island in Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico around 1325. Causeways connected the island city to the lakeshore, while canals carried people and goods through the urban area. The city’s infrastructure included markets, temples, aqueducts, and raised agricultural plots called chinampas.

The Aztec Empire expanded rapidly in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, using military power and tribute relationships to control a large part of central Mexico. Its road network linked subject territories to the capital and supported armies, administrators, and commerce, although it was not as extensive or engineered in the same way as the Roman road system.

Spanish forces led by Hernán Cortés and Indigenous allies captured Tenochtitlan in 1521. Mexico City was later built over much of the former Aztec capital. The Aztec Empire is sometimes confused with the Maya civilization, which occupied different regions and had its own political history and cities.