Mexica

(noun)

Called Aztecs in occidental historiography (although this term is not limited to the Mexica), they were an indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico, known today as the rulers of the Aztec Empire. A Nahua people who founded their two cities Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco on raised islets in Lake Texcoco around 1200 CE.

Related Terms

Examples of Mexica in the following topics:

  • Conclusion: Pre-Colonial Development of North America

    • The Mexicas, or Aztecs, were one of the most powerful and advanced civilizations of the ancient world.
    • The Mexica migrated to present-day central Mexico and created a triple alliance with other dominant tribes in the area.
    • Because of the Empire’s high rate of literacy, political and technological accomplishments, and economic unity, elements of Mexica and Nahua culture spread throughout Meso-America and remain culturally significant today.

  • Meso-American Culture

    • The Mexicas, or Aztecs, were one of the most powerful and advanced civilizations of the ancient world.
    • This group were the Mexica who, over the course of the next 300 years, became the dominant ethnic group of Meso-America, ruling from Tenochtitlan, their island capital.

  • Enduring Cultures

    • Into this new political game of contenders to the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the Mexica.

  • European Empires in North America

    • This campaign was led by Hernán Cortés and featured the Tlaxcala and other indigenous peoples allied against the Mexica/Aztec Empire.