Around 1200, the Mexica (Aztecs) reached the Valley of Mexico, a fertile basin already home to established city-states. Their migration tradition traces them from Aztlán, whose precise location remains disputed. They encountered Teotihuacan, whose major urban life had ended roughly 550–650 years earlier. Mexica traditions describe repeated displacement before their eventual settlement at Tenochtitlan. Their arrival came about 320 years before Cortés reached Mexico in 1519. Maize was domesticated in southern Mexico long before the migration; the Valley was not its first growing region.
Aztecs reach the Valley of Mexico around 1200
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Key facts
- The Mexica reached the Valley of Mexico around 1200 or in the early 13th century; they founded Tenochtitlan around 1325.
- Their traditional homeland, Aztlán, has not been securely located, so a specific American Southwest desert-cliff origin is not established.
- An arrival around 1200 was about 320 years before Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519, not 400 years.
- The Valley of Mexico was fertile and already contained established city-states, but maize was first domesticated elsewhere in southern Mexico.
- Teotihuacan's major urban life ended around 550–650 CE, so it had lacked a major urban population for roughly 550–650 years by 1200, not 1,000 years.
- Mexica migration traditions describe repeated displacement before their settlement at Tenochtitlan.
Sources
The Founding of Tenochtitlan and the Origin of the Aztecsthoughtco.com
Aztec Arrival in Tenochtitlán. When the Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico in about 1200, both Teotihuacán and Tula had been abandoned ...
Aztec | Calendar, Empire, Gods, History, Facts, Location, & ...britannica.com
The Aztec people, also known as the Mexica or Tenochca, primarily inhabited the Valley of Mexico. was founded around 1325 on islands in Lake ...
The Aztecsembamex.sre.gob.mx
They left Aztlán in the 12th century, settling in various places before finally, in the 13th Century, arriving in the Valley of Mexico.
Aztecsen.wikipedia.org
The Mexica were late-comers to the Valley of Mexico, and founded the city-state of Tenochtitlan on unpromising islets in Lake Texcoco, later becoming the ...
Aztecs: Empire, Culture & Factshistory.com
The Aztecs, who probably originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arrived in Mesoamerica around the beginning of the 13th century.
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