The (, plural altepeme or altepemeh) was the local, ethnically-based political entity, usually translated into English as "city-state," of pre-Columbian Nahuatl-speaking societies in the Americas. The altepetl was constituted of smaller units known as calpolli and was typically led by a single dynastic ruler known as a tlatoani, although examples of shared rule between up to five rulers are known. Each altepetl had its own jurisdiction, origin story, and served as the center of Indigenous identity. Residents referred to themselves by the name of their altepetl rather than, for instance, as "Mexicas." "Altepetl" was a polyvalent term rooting the social and political order in the creative powers of a sacred mountain that contained the ancestors, seeds and life-giving forces of the community. The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words (meaning "water") and (meaning "mountain"). A characteristic Nahua mode was to imagine the totality of the people of a region or of the world as a collection of units and to speak of them on those terms. The concept is comparable to Maya and Mixtec ñuu. Altepeme formed a vast complex network which predated and outlasted larger empires, such as the Aztec and Tarascan state. Established altepeme were characterized by a central temple dedicated to a patron god particular to the identity of the altepetl and a central market. Altepeme were typically multiethnic and communal cohesion was often maintained through territorial exclusiveness. Mesoamerican politics Local rulers of altepeme generally retained their authority over taxation and land distribution while under the indirect rule of an empire in exchange for their submission, participation in military campaigns, and tribute payments. However, starting with Moctezuma Ilhuicamina I in the 1440s, Aztec imperialist efforts over the altepetl deepened by removing the powers of taxation from local rulers and replacing non-compliant rulers with military governors. These heightened pressures produced unstable conditions in Mesoamerica in which altepetl frequently rebelled by withholding tributes and pursuing secession. Cuauhnahuac, a major altepetl of the southern Aztec empire, rebelled on three occasions. The Aztecs responded with intense violence, which only fueled more violence in response. At the time of Spanish invasion in 1519, the Aztec Empire alone consisted of approximately 450 altepeme. The Spanish recognized and exploited the preexisting political divisions among the various altepeme and the Aztecs, inciting dissident city-states to rebel. No "super-altepetl" identity existed to unite against the Spanish. The Totonacs of Cempoala were among the first