At the time of Spanish conquests, Mexico City comprised both Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. [7] Teteuctin were the highest class, rulers of various parts of the empire, including the king. National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico City, monument commemorating the foundation of Tenochtitlan, "Newspaper About the Country that the Spaniards Found in 1521, Called Yucatan", "City Size in Late Post-Classic Mesoamerica", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tenochtitlan&oldid=1000081935, 14th-century establishments in the Aztec civilization, Populated places established in the 1320s, 16th-century disestablishments in the Aztec civilization, Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles containing Classical Nahuatl-language text, Wikipedia articles needing rewrite from November 2020, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2017, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from February 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from January 2018, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2020, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Charles Gibson devotes the final chapter of his classic work, The Aztecs Under Spanish Rule, to what he called "The City,"[31] with later historians building on his work. [21], They were then brought to a large house that would serve as their home for their stay in the city. "El sistema de mercado en Tenochtitlan." Bernardino de Sahagún provides a more conservative population estimate of 20,000 on ordinary days and 40,000 on feast days. This happened during their last days in Tenochtitlan. The date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city. Privacy Notice |  The great ruler declared that anything that they needed would be theirs to have. The aquarium had ten ponds of salt water and ten ponds of fresh water, containing various fish and aquatic birds. [29] While the people of Tenochtitlan were celebrating, the over 60 Spaniards who were captured were sacrificed while living, and then eaten by the locals. Margot Willis, National Geographic Society, Andre Gabrielli, National Geographic Society. Huitzilopochtli directed them to build where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus, eating a snake. At its peak, it was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. The membership of this class was based on heredity. The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors brought it to a sudden end. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society All constructions had to be approved by the calmimilocatl, a functionary in charge of the city planning. Cuauhipiltin, or eagle nobles, were commoners who impressed the nobles with their martial prowess, and were treated as nobles. ", Mundy, Barbara E. "Place-Names in Mexico-Tenochtitlan.". Definition of Tenochtitlan in the Definitions.net dictionary. Traditionally, the name Tenochtitlan was thought to come from Nahuatl tetl [ˈtetɬ] ("rock") and nōchtli [ˈnoːtʃtɬi] ("prickly pear") and is often thought to mean, "Among the prickly pears [growing among] rocks". The Destruction Of Tenochtitlan Wikimedia Commons Two years after Cortés landed on the coast of Mexico with an army of soldiers, he completely destroyed Tenochtitlan. Two double aqueducts, each more than 4 km (2.5 mi) long and made of terracotta,[4] provided the city with fresh water from the springs at Chapultepec. A thriving culture developed, and the Mexica civilization came to dominate other tribes around Mexico. About 300 people were dedicated to the care of the animals. At this event the most prominent warriors of altepetl[clarification needed] would dance in front of a huge statue of Huitzilopochtli. This was intended mainly for cleaning and washing. Print. It subsequently became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. Adding even more complexity to Aztec social stratification was the calpolli. People bought and sold many things there, including slaves (prisoners of war from states the Aztecs had taken over). [8] The calpullis were divided by channels used for transportation, with wood bridges that were removed at night. "Tenochtitlan in the Early Colonial Period." Since it formed in an endorheic basin, Lake Texcoco was brackish. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006. After a flood of Lake Texcoco, the city was rebuilt under the rule of Ahuitzotl in a style that made it one of the grandest ever in Mesoamerica. Most of the population liked to bathe twice a day; Moctezuma was said to take four baths a day. 1145 17th Street NW Tenochtitlán in British English. According to legend, the Mexica founded Tenochtitlan after leaving their homeland of Aztlan at the direction of their god, Huitzilopochtli. Tenochitlán weer de Hööftstadt vun de medelamerikaansch Hoochkultuur vun dat Aztekenriek an de Steed vun Mexiko-Stadt vun uns Tied. Tenochtitlan of the 14th and 15th centuries A.D. was excellently suited as a place for the Aztec culture to begin the conquest of Mesoamerica. Meaning of Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan had a twin city. Toussaint, Manuel, Federico Gómez de Orozco, and Justino Fernández, This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 13:47. The bridges could be pulled away, if necessary, to defend the city. Tenochtitlan was a Nahua altepetl located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Finally, the pochteca were merchants who traveled all of Mesoamerica trading. noun. [26] Though no serious conclusions were reached, this negatively affected the relationship between Moctezuma and the Spaniards. During this migration priests had carried a huge idol of the god Huitzilopochtli, who whispered directions, gave the Méxica their name and promised great wealth and prosperity if he was suitably worshipped. Terms of Service |  [34], There are a number of colonial-era pictorial manuscripts dealing with Tenochtitlan–Tlatelolco, which shed light on litigation between Spaniards and indigenous over property. [40], .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}19°26′06″N 99°07′53″W / 19.43500°N 99.13139°W / 19.43500; -99.13139 (Templo Mayor)Coordinates: 19°26′06″N 99°07′53″W / 19.43500°N 99.13139°W / 19.43500; -99.13139 (Templo Mayor), For the municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, see, Former city-state in the Valley of Mexico, Model of the temple district of Tenochtitlan at the, Bernal Diaz Del Castillo, "The Discovery And Conquest Of Mexico 1517 1521", Edited by Genaro Garcia, Translated with an Introduction and Notes?, pp. When they saw this exact scene on an island (located in what … The disc is 3.25 meters (10 ft 8 in) in diameter, and is held at the Templo Mayor Museum.[38]. [20], Nobles lined each side of the city's main causeway, which extended about a league. Scholars do not know where Aztlan was, but according to ancient accounts one of these Aztec groups, known as the Mexica, founded Tenochtitlán in 1325.The legend continues that Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, the sun and human sacrifice, is said to have directed the Mexica to settle on the island. ", Calnek, Edward. The date 13 March 1325 was chosen in 1925 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the city. The image of an eagle eating a snake atop a prickly pear cactus can also be seen on the modern day Mexican flag. [40] The burial dates back to the 1480s, ie before Cortez, and lies at the foot of the main temple in the sacred ceremonial precinct of the Aztec capital. This was also popular in other Mesoamerican cultures. Although many native residents died during the siege of Tenochtitlan, the indigenous still had a strong presence in the city, and were settled in two main areas of the island, designated San Juan Tenochtitlan and Santiago Tlatelolco, each with a municipal council that functioned the entire colonial period. The state religion of the Mexica civilization awaited the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy: the wandering tribes would find the destined site for a great city whose location would be signaled by an eagle with a snake in its beak perched atop a cactus (Opuntia). To reach the province, the officers would have to travel through hostile land. Dort, wo sich heute die Hauptstadt Mexicos befindet, war einmal die Hauptstadt der Azteken, Tenochtitlán. In. Atop the single complex were two temples, one for Tlaloc, the god of rain, and one for Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. [8] Having gained control, he then directed the systematic destruction and leveling of the city;[28] and began its rebuilding, despite opposition. This central area was where the temple of Huitzilopochtli, temples for other gods, and the rulers’ palaces lay. Mexico City's Zócalo, the Plaza de la Constitución, is located at the site of Tenochtitlan's original central plaza and market, and many of the original calzadas still correspond to modern city streets. Glass and Robertson. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Causeways that doubled as dikes connected the island to the mainland and separated freshwater from saltwater, protecting the chinampas. The Spanish conquistadors, aided by an alliance of indigenous peoples, laid siege to the Aztec capital for 93 days, until the Mexica surrendered on August 13, 1521. [7] The wealthy had houses of stone masonry with flat roofs. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. During the festival, the Spaniards came heavily armed and closed off every exit from the courtyard so that no one would escape. The diet of the people of Tenochtitlan consisted mainly of beans and maize products, such as tortillas. The complex system involved many social classes. Ordinary people lived in houses made of reeds plastered with mud and roofed with thatch. The reconstruction involved the creation of a central area designated for Spanish use (the traza). The macehualtin were commoners who lived outside the island city of Tenochtitlan. Also, the upper classes and pregnant women washed themselves in a temāzcalli, similar to a sauna bath, which is still used in the south of Mexico.