The City of Tenochtitlan
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Around 700 years ago, the Aztec people left their homes in Atzlan, somewhere in North West Mexico. They were a poor, ragged people who ate rats, snakes and stole food. They were driven from one place to another because they were so nasty. The leader of the group, Tenoch, had a vision from a God. The God's name was Huitzilopochtli. He told Tenoch to lead his poeple to a swampy island in the middle of Lake Texocco. He was told to look for an eagle perched on a cactus, growing from a rock or cave surrounded by water. They were to build their city there and thank Huitzilopochtli for showing them the vision with human sacrifices. The city they built was called Tenochtitlan, the city of Tenoch in 1325.
It was difficult to build Tenochtitlan because the
Aztecs only had a small piece of land in surrounding marshes. They made the swampy,
shallow lake into chinampas.
They made islands by piling up mud form the lake bottom. They used them as their
city foundations. To start with they built a few thatched mud huts and some small
temples. Then they built causeways and bridges to connect the city to the mainland.
They dug canals and lined them with stone so that people could move around easily.
By 1376, the city was growing very quickly, they built larger and larger temples and people came from miles around to live in their city. The city centre was 400 metres squared, and it was dedicated to the Gods. Two large pyramids, each 45 metres in height topped with an altar, towered over more than one hundred other pyramids and towers. Below is a picture of 'The Pyramid of the Sun'. (click on it to see a bigger version!)
