Who founded the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire?

The Mexica founded Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

The Mexica established Tenochtitlan around 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. According to later Mexica tradition, their patron deity Huitzilopochtli instructed them to settle where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus. That image remains central to Mexico’s national symbolism.

Tenochtitlan grew into a highly organized city connected by causeways and supplied by canals. Its ceremonial center included the Templo Mayor, a major religious complex. The city was linked politically and militarily with Texcoco and Tlacopan in the Triple Alliance, which expanded Mexica power across much of central Mexico.

Spanish forces and their Indigenous allies captured Tenochtitlan in 1521. Mexico City was subsequently built over much of the former island capital. “Aztec” is a later, broader label; “Mexica” more specifically identifies the people who founded Tenochtitlan.