The Aztecs were the last great empire of the native people of Mexico. They had an amazing society that was destroyed and almost lost. Tenochtitlan was one of the most amazing cities in existence during its time, and definitely one of the largest. I would have loved to see Tenochtitlan as it was during the Conquest of Mexico. The architecture of the city would have to have been amazing to withstand and sustain such a large population. Their society, architecture, art, and many other things are not only a legacy to Mexico but also to the entire world.
             Beginning in around 2500 BC, during the Mesoamerican Pre-classic period, there was a group of farming peoples living around Lake Texcoco. Until the Aztecs began to move into this land, it was still occupied by these peoples. For 3,800 years these people had lived on and cultivated the land the Aztecs would now call their home. (Serrato-Combe 13)
             History shows that around 1000 AD the Aztecs left a place called Aztlan, their island, and moved into the Valley of Mexico. Most likely Aztlan was one of the farthest outposts of the Toltec empire. To this day nobody can be sure where Aztlan really is, the best guesses have included some of the northern states of Mexico. The Aztecs traveled from their home south to Coatepec, an area near Tula. The Aztecs stayed at Coatepec for many years, and set up an irrigation system on which to survive. In Aztec myth the sister of Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauqui, thought that the Aztecs should stay at Coatepec as their permanent home, but Huitzilopochtli had different plans for them. This caused problems between the people south of Coatepec. Huitzilopochtli led his people to victory over the people of the south, and around 1165 AD the Aztecs arrived in Tula. Tula was destroyed around this time, so it is thought that the Aztecs had something to do with its demise. After defeating their enemies, the Aztecs moved inland towards the Valley of Mex...