tenochtitlan was the capital city of the aztec empire initially.
what were the capital cities of the aztec empire initially?
tenochtitlan
altepetl states would normally strive to dominate neighboring altepetl through warfare. weak altepetl would be subjugated by stronger ones and made to pay tribute. often subordinate altepetl would form alliances in order to overthrow a dominant altepetl. some alliances were short-lived and others were long term relationships wherein a group of altepetl would converge to form what could almost be considered a single political entity. one example of a long term alliance between independent city-states would be that between the four altepetl of tlaxcallan, ocotelolco, tizatlan, quiyahuiztlan and tepeticpac, which is normally thought of as a single entity even though it had four independent rulers and a certain level of internal competition. another is the so-called aztec triple alliance between tlacopan, texcoco and tenochtitlan which was originally formed to end the dominance of the altepetl azcapotzalco. the aztec triple alliance eventually achieved political hegemony and control over the greater part of mesoamerica, becoming known to posterity as the aztec empire. recent studies have countered the claim that the aztec empire ran the triple alliance by suggesting that tenochtitlan was actually the dominant altepetl all along.
aztec society
bullet::::- dams – the aztec in tenochtitlan constructed great dams during the heyday of the aztec empire. tenochtitlan, the capital of the aztec empire, was first built on a small island that was located in the western section of lake texcoco in 1325 ce. the aztec created various large artificial island around the small island using a system that was similar to building the chinampas (floating gardens in the lake that was used to grow food for the cities' population). to provide drinking water to the cities' population of over a quarter of a million inhabitants, the aztec built a system of dams that separated the salty waters of the lake from the rainwater that was accumulated during periods of heavy rains. the aztec also used the dam to control the level of water in the lake and prevent their city from being flooded during times of heavy rains. to prevent flooding, the aztec constructed an inner system of channels that helped to control the water level and held the level steady during flooding and periods of intense rains. hernán cortés, and the other spanish conquistadors, destroyed these engineering marvels that the aztec had developed during the previous 200 years.
list of inventions and innovations of indigenous americans