Between 1325 the time it was founded and its fall almost two centuries later, Tenochtitlan which received its name from the prickly pear plants which grew among the rocks near the site of its construction – was among the world’s most magnificent cities. Sometimes known as Mexico Tenochtitlan, Tenochtitlan was undeniably incredible and a majestic site to behold; It is the Aztec’s empire capital and most significant city and its construction and flourishing represented nothing compared to a prophecy which was perfectly fulfilled, and even to the European invaders who aided to finally to conquer it.

Together with its sister city known as Tlatelolco, Teotihuacan was amongst the two major altered (an Aztec word which means a self-contained political unit) found in the so called today’s Mexico City. Ranging between 8 and 14 square kilometers, its centre was found on a small island which faces the western side of Lake Texcoco. During its peak, over 200,000 souls made Teotichuacan as a home. Owing to its size, population, as well as importance, it was deemed to be a truly world-class metropolis; in Europe, only the ancient and great cities such as Seville, Paris, and Constantinople can be made as a good comparison.

The Condition Of The Land

A series of causeways which pointed in each of the cardinal directions serve as connection between the city centre and the mainland. Their bridges allowed canoes and various other river traffic to pass through but they are built to be removed and made for defensive purposes in times of siege or warfare. Aside from that, the city centre was maintained by a network of canal which enabled all parts of the metropolis to be reached by means of canoe and even by foot.

During the reign of Moctezuma, a levee was built. By feeding them from surrounding spring water, it kept the waters around Tenochitilan fresh; the normal component of the lake was partially salty water and was kept away behind a dike to the east. Double aqueducts worked to supply the city with fresh water from springs at Chapultepec. Farming was carried out primarily by way of chinampa; popularly known as “floating gardens”, these were in fact man made islands, developed by walling off rectangular areas of lake bed and overlaying them with deposit as well as fertilizer, making perfect plots for growing beans, squash, maize, tomatoes, along with other renowned Mesoamerican crops.

Temples And Palaces Of Grandeur

Tenochtitlan was split up into twenty districts, having 3 vast main streets bridging its whole width. Although every district had its very own market (known as a tiyanquztli in the Nahuatl language), the main commercial centre of the region was only nearby, within the sister city of Tlatloco – A huge market that can accommodate 60,000 people during ceremonial occasions.

Other than the incredible Moctezuma’s temple, which contained its own aquarium, zoo and botanical gardens, several public buildings of Tenochtitlan included a number of temples, schools, and also a 300-meter wide walled centre for religious rituals. The Temple of Quetzelcoatl, the enormous Templo Mayor and a tlatchtli ball court are actually a few of the most famous buildings which have been excavated and rediscovered. Damaged by the Spanish invaders, its ruins had sunk into the soft lake bed sediment right until they were excavated during the 1980s, unveiling (among various other artifacts) enormous ceremonial discs and the priceless Aztec Calendar Stone. Monstrous as it may seem, the city was built with temples that are intended for sacrificial combat by ritual gladiators as well as tzompantli which are racks where skulls of dead gladiators and other sacrificial victims are displayed.

Partly, Tenochtitlan turned out to be like a notable city due to the uncommon instances encompassing its beginning. As stated by their legends, prior to Tenochtitlan was constructed, the Aztecs were a culture of the homeless; having been offered agreement to stay in Mexico’s fertile valley, they harboured a prediction that they will know the ideal place to find the city that would certainly turn out to be their permanent dwelling place by the sight of a hawk eating a snake while perched on a cactus. According to all accounts, the place where this oracular vision manifested itself was not ideal; a little more than a small swampy island in a brackish lake was actually the future site of Tenochtitlan. Nevertheless, it was developed by the hardworking Aztecs, increasing the size of the small natural island to Mesoamerica’s greatest polity, which in turn discovered to rule every encompassing settlement. Tenochtitlan would after that get to be the lynchpin of Aztec religious and political unity, and also the heart of trade channels which extended so far as the Gulf of Mexico and also the Pacific Ocean – and according to some experts, they arrived at the very door of the Incas, their southern neighbors, creating the hemisphere’s first intercontinental economic highway.

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