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Aztec Empire Timeline

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

c. 12th century ce

Aztec round danceAztec round dance for Quetzalcóatl and Xolotl (a dog-headed god who is Quetzalcóatl's companion), detail from a facsimile Codex Borbonicus (folio 26), c. 1520; original in the Chamber of Deputies, Paris, France.
Courtesy of the Newberry Library, Chicago

From the northern Mexican plateau the Aztec people migrate southward into Mesoamerica in perhaps the 12th century ce. Their migration may be part of a general movement of peoples that follows, or perhaps that helps trigger, the collapse of the Toltec civilization. They settle on islands in Lake Texcoco. The Aztec are skilled agriculturists who construct artificial island farms called chinampas and plant crops, such as maize (corn), beans, and squash. Their success in creating a great state and ultimately a powerful empire is due in part to their remarkable system of agriculture, which features intensive cultivation of all available land and elaborate systems of irrigation.

1325

The Aztec establish the city of Tenochtitlán, which becomes the capital of the empire. Located at the site of what is now Mexico City, Mexico, Tenochtitlán is built on two islands in Lake Texcoco and is connected to the mainland by several causeways. Through the construction of artificial islands, Tenochtitlán grows to cover more than 5 square miles (13 square kilometers).

1428–40

*Great City of Tenochtitlán*Detail from Mexican artist Diego Rivera's mural *Great City of Tenochtitlán* depicting market day in the Aztec capital, with the city's great temple complex in the background.
© El Comandante (CC BY-SA 3.0)

During the reign of the Aztec ruler Itzcóatl, an alliance is formed between Tenochtitlán and the neighboring states of Texcoco and Tlacopan. This alliance allows the Aztec to become the dominant power in central Mexico.

1486–87

Aztec sacrificeAztec priest performing a sacrificial offering of a living human heart to the war god Huitzilopochtli, illustration from a reproduction of the Codex Magliabecchi.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZC4-743)

Ahuitzotl becomes the Aztec ruler in 1486. The following year Ahuitzotl’s new temple at Tenochtitlán is dedicated to the gods in a ceremony that lasts four days and with as many as 20,000 prisoners of war sacrificed at the altar. As the captives are marched up to the altar, priests and Aztec nobles, including Ahuitzotl, cut open their chests and tear out their hearts.

1502

Aztec: Stone of the SunThe face of the Aztec sun god, Tonatiuh, appears at the center of this Aztec calendar stone.
© jejim/Shutterstock.com

Montezuma II succeeds his uncle Ahuitzotl and begins his 18-year reign as leader of the empire. The empire has reached its greatest extent, stretching to what is now Honduras and Nicaragua. During Montezuma’s reign, however, the empire is weakened by the resentment of the subject tribes to the increasing demands for tribute and victims for religious sacrifices.

1519

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and about 500 soldiers and 100 sailors set sail from Cuba on February 18, 1519, with 11 ships. After rounding the Yucatán Peninsula, they arrive in March on the coast of what is now the Mexican state of Tabasco. Local Indians give the Spaniards a peace offering of presents, including a group of enslaved women. One of the women is Marina, or Malinche. She becomes concubine, guide, and interpreter to Cortés during his subsequent conquest of Mexico.

November 8, 1519

Cortés enters Tenochtitlán. Montezuma receives Cortés with great honor. Cortés, however, soon decides to take Montezuma captive in order to control the empire through its monarch.

1520

Cortés leaves to combat a rival Spanish force on the coast, giving Pedro de Alvarado charge of the Aztec capital. Upon his return, Cortés finds the Spanish garrison in Tenochtitlán besieged by the Aztecs after Alvarado massacred many leading Aztec chiefs. Montezuma dies in Spanish custody. Cortés decides to retreat from the capital at night, but in doing so the Spanish suffer heavy casualties. After six days of retreat Cortés wins the battle of Otumba over the Aztecs sent in pursuit (July 7). Cuitláhuac becomes the next Aztec leader.

1521

Aztec: TenochtitlánThe Aztec built their capital of Tenochtitlán on islands in Lake Texcoco. Spanish conquerors destroyed the city in the 1500s and later built Mexico City, Mexico, on the same site.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Cortés mounts an offensive against Tenochtitlán, beginning on May 22 with the help of native rivals of the Aztec. He defeats Cuitláhuac’s successor, Cuauhtémoc, on August 13, and the capital falls into the hands of the Spanish, marking the end of the Aztec Empire.

Aztec summary

Key People of the Aztec Empire

Aztec Empire | Key People

Decline of the Aztec Empire

Aztec Empire | Decline