Writing Resources
It ruled much of the region from the 1400s until the Spanish arrived in 1519 Much of the Aztec society centered around their religion and gods They built large pyramids as temples to their gods and went to war to capture people they could sacrifice to their gods The capital city of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan This city was founded in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco At the height of its power the city likely had a population of 200 000 people At the center of the city was a large temple complex with pyramids and a palace for the king The rest of the city was planned out in a grid like fashion and divided up into districts It had causeways built to get to the mainland and aqueducts to bring fresh water into the city The Aztec called their ruler the Tlatoani The Empire reached its height under the rule of Tlatoani Montezuma I Around 1517 the priests of the Aztecs began to see omens of doom They felt that something bad was going to happen They were right In 1519 Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico By 1521 the Spanish had conquered the Aztecs They tore down much of the city of Tenochtitlan and built their own city on the site called Mexico City Maya
