Tetzcoco (altepetl)

Tetzcoco
1200–1521
Glyph
The Valley of Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest, showing Texcoco in relation to Tenochtitlan and other cities in the Valley of Mexico.
Capital	Tetzcoco
Common languages	Classical Nahuatl
Religion	Aztec religion
Government	Monarchy
Historical era	Pre-Columbian
• Established	1200
• Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire	1521
Succeeded by New Spain

Tetzcoco (Classical Nahuatl: Tetzco(h)co pronounced [tetsˈkoʔko], Otomi: Antamäwädehe) was a major Acolhua altepetl (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 Tetzcoco 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.

Pre-Columbian Tetzcoco is most noted for its membership in the Aztec Triple Alliance. At the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, it was 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 Tetzcoco had a population of 24,000+ and occupied an area of 450 hectares.^[1]

The people of Tetzcoco were called Tetzcocatl [tet͡sˈkokat͡ɬ] (singular) or Tetzcocah [tet͡sˈkokaʔ] (plural).