Founding of Tenochtitlan
According to Mexica oral tradition, the god Huitzilopochtli had commanded his people to wander until they found an eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent — a sign indicating where they should establish their permanent home. After decades of migration from their legendary homeland of Aztlan, the Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico around the early fourteenth century and discovered this omen on a small, marshy island in the western part of Lake Texcoco. There, in 1325 CE, they began constructing what would become Tenochtitlan. The site presented formidable challenges but also strategic advantages. The island's isolation offered natural defense against hostile neighbors such as the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco, who initially dominated the region and forced the Mexica to pay tribute. The Mexica engineers responded to the marshy terrain by building chinampas — artificial floating gardens created by layering mud, vegetation, and stakes in the shallow lake bed — which simultaneously expanded the island's surface area and provided extraordinary agricultural productivity. Causeways were eventually constructed to connect the island to the mainland, and an aqueduct brought fresh water from Chapultepec. Over the following two centuries Tenochtitlan grew from a modest settlement into one of the largest cities in the world, with an estimated population of 200,000 to 300,000 by the early sixteenth century — larger than any contemporary European city. Its grid of canals, markets, temples, and palaces astonished the Spanish conquistadors who first entered it in 1519. The modern-day Mexico City is built directly atop its ruins, and the eagle-and-serpent emblem remains at the center of the Mexican national flag.
- Year: 1325 CE
- Category: Political
