Azcapotzalco

Azcapotzalco stood on the western side of Lake Texcoco in the Basin of Mexico. It was the capital of the Tepanecs, whose rulers built one of the most powerful states in the valley. From here their authority extended over many neighbouring communities, including the Mexica settlements on the lake. The name Azcapotzalco means “place of the anthill” in Nahuatl.

Under Tezozomoc the Tepanec dominion reached its height, but his death was followed by a struggle over the succession. In 1428 Tenochtitlan and Texcoco, joined by Tlacopan, defeated Azcapotzalco and broke its supremacy. Tlacopan became the leading Tepanec partner in the new Triple Alliance. Azcapotzalco itself continued as a community divided between Tepanec and Mexica quarters, each with its own seat of government, a division that endured into the colonial period.