Texcoco was a major site and city-state in the central Mexican plateau region of Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology. It was situated on the eastern bank of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico, to the northeast of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The site of pre-Columbian Texcoco is now subsumed by the modern Mexican municipio of Texcoco and its major settlement, the city formally known as Texcoco de Mora. It also lies within the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City. A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ... Lake Texcoco is a lake in Mexico. ... The Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with the present-day Distrito Federal and the eastern half of Estado de Mexico. ... The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries who built an extensive empire in the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. ... Tenochtitlan, looking east. ... A municipio (Spanish for municipality) is a second-level political and administrative division in Mexico. ... Texcoco is a municipio (municipality) of México State, located in the Valley of Mexico to the east of the national capital, Mexico City. ... It has been suggested that Mexican Federal District be merged into this article or section. ...

Pre-Columbian Texcoco is most noted for its membership in the Aztec Triple Alliance. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, it was the one of the largest and most prestigious cities in central Mexico, second only to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. A survey of Mesoamerican cities estimated that pre-Conquest Texcoco had a population of 24,000 and occupied an area of 450 hectares.^[1] The Aztec Triple Alliance, also known as The Aztec Empire, was an alliance of three Aztec city-states: Tenochtitlán; Texcoco; and Tlacopán. ... Aztec empire The Spanish conquest of Mexico was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. ... The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries who built an extensive empire in the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. ... Tenochtitlan, looking east. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ...

History

Texcoco was founded in the 12th century, on the eastern shore of Lake Texcoco, probably by the Chichimecs. In or about 1337, the Acolhua, with Tepanec help, expelled Chichimecs from Texcoco and Texcoco became the Acolhua capital city, taking over that role from Coatlinchan. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Lake Texcoco is a lake in Mexico. ... Chichimeca was the name that the Aztecs generically gave to a wide range of nomadic groups that inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico. ... The Acolhua are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in or around the year 1200 CE.[1] The Acolhua were a sister culture of the Aztecs (or Mexica) as well as the Tepanec, Chalca, Xochimilca and others. ... The Tepanec are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. ...

In 1418, Ixtlilxochitl I, the tlatoani (ruler) of Texcoco, was dethroned by Tezozomoc of Azcapotzalco. Ten years later, in 1428, Ixtlilxochitl's son, Nezahualcoyotl allied with the Aztecs to defeat Tezozomoc's son and successor, Maxtla. Texcoco and the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan, with the Tepanecs of Tlacopan, subsequently formalized their association as the Triple Alliance. For others with similar names, see Ixtlilxochitl Ixtlilxochitl I was the ruler (tlatoani) of the Acolhua city-state of Texcoco from 1409 to 1418 and the father of the famous poet-king Nezahualcoyotl. ... A tlatoani was a member of the Aztec nobility. ... Tezozomoc was a Tepanec leader who ruled the city-state of Azcapotzalco from 1371 to 1426. ... Azcapotzalco (Place of the ants in Nahuatl) is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexicos Federal District is divided. ... This article is about the Texcocan philosopher-king. ... Maxtla was a Tepanec ruler of Azcapotzalco from 1426 to his death in 1428. ... The Tepanec are a Mesoamerican people who arrived in the Valley of Mexico in the late 12th or early 13th centuries. ... Tlacopan means florid plant on flat ground or also named Tacuba was one of the mesoamericans kingdoms of the prehispanic age Triple Alianza (together with Tenochtitlan and Texcoco). ... The Aztec Triple Alliance, also known as The Aztec Empire, was an alliance of three Aztec city-states: Tenochtitlán; Texcoco; and Tlacopán. ...

Texcoco thereby became the second-most important city in the eventual Aztec empire, by agreement receiving two-fifths of the tribute collected.

Texcoco was known as a center of learning within the empire, and had a famed library including books from older Mesoamerican civilizations. The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity...

Palace, gardens and canal system

Erected by the hill of Texcotzingo, the royal residence had aqueducts, baths, gardens, stairways and over 300 separate chambers.

The palace gardens were a vast botanical collection that included plants from not only the growing Aztec Empire but also the most remote corners of Mesoamerica. Remnants of the gardens still exist to this day and have recently been studied by a team of Discovery Channel scientists, who were able to demonstrate by means of modeling and computer simulation that the layout of the site had been carefully planned to be in alignment with astronomical events, with an emphasis on Venus, and not simply aligned with the cardinal directions as previously assumed. Discovery Channel is a property of Discovery Communications primarily packaged as a network entertainment brand distributed in virtually every pay-television market in the world. ... Adjectives: Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean Atmosphere Surface pressure: 9. ...

The water used to irrigate the gardens was obtained from the springs beyond the mountains to the east of Texcoco. The water was channeled through canals carved into the rock. In certain areas, rock staircases were used as waterfalls. After clearing the mountains, the canals continued downhill to a point a short distance from Texcotzingo. There the path to the city was blocked a deep canyon that ran from north to south. Nezahualcoyotl ordered that the gap be filled with tons of rocks and stones, thus creating the first known aqueduct in the New World.

Sacred hill

The whole hill of Texcotzingo was also served by this canal system and converted by his designers into a sacred place for the rain god Tláloc, complete with waterfalls, exotic animals and birds. Tlaloc, as depicted in the Magliabechi Codex Tlaloc was, in Aztec mythology, the god of rain and fertility. ...

On the summit of the mountain he constructed a shrine to the god, laid out in hanging gardens reached by an airy flight of five hundred and twenty marble steps, a significant number, since according to Aztec mythology the gods have the choice to destroy humanity once every 52 years.

Rulers of Texcoco

Nezahualcoyotl (1403 - 1473) was a noted poet, philosopher, and patron of the arts. He also had a large botanical and zoological garden, with specimens of plants and animals from throughout the empire and from the more distant lands with which the Empire traded. This article is about the Texcocan philosopher-king. ...

Nezahualcoyotl's son Nezahualpilli (1464-1515) continued the tradition of patronizing the arts. Nezahualpilli (1464-1515) was king of Texcoco. ...

In 1520 the troops of Hernán Cortés occupied the city and killed Cacamatzin, Nezahualpilli's son and the last independent tlatoani, installing Ixtlilxochitl II as a puppet ruler. Cortés made Texcoco his base and employed Texcoco warriors in the Siege of Tenochtitlan. mary elline m. ... Hernán(do) Cortés, Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) was the conquistador who became famous for leading the military expedition that initiated the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. ... Cacamatzin (1483 - 1520) was the king of Texcoco, the second most important city of the Aztec Empire. ... Ixtlilxochitl II was the son of Nezahualpilli. ... Combatants Spain Tlaxcallān Aztec Empire Commanders Hernán Cortés Pedro de Alvarado Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc Strength 86 cavalry 900 infantry 80,000 natives 300,000 warriors [1] Casualties 20,000 natives dead 100,000 dead 100,000 civilian dead The Siege of Tenochtitlan ended in Spanish conquistador...

Subsequent history

From 1827 to 1830 Texcoco was the capital of Mexico State. Naval Battle of Navarino by Carneray 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 (MDCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The State of México (often abbreviated to Edomex from Estado de México in Spanish) is a state in the center of the nation of Mexico. ...

Footnotes

References

• Smith, Michael E. (2005). "City Size in Late Post-Classic Mesoamerica" (PDF). Journal of Urban History 31 (4): pp.403-434.

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

External link

• (Spanish) Government site, with historic and tourist information