Texcoco

▪ ancient city, Mexico

      city built in the present-day Valley of Mexico by the Acolhuas, a pre-Columbian people of the Nahuatl-speaking group of tribes, which gained mastery of the valley after the collapse of the Toltec hegemony in the mid-12th century AD. The rulers of Texcoco were the first among Nahuatl tribal leaders to establish their rule over Anáhuac (the Valley of Mexico). By the turn of the 15th century, Texcoco fell into tributary status to the Tepanec rulers of Azcapotzalco, until that city was destroyed in 1428. The revival of Texcoco independence was accompanied by the formation of a triple alliance between the Acolhua city and its neighbours, Tacuba and Tenochtitlán. In the later 15th century the Aztec rulers of the latter overshadowed their allies and established an empire over most of central and southern Mexico. The Alcolhuas were responsible for the preservation of remnants of Toltec culture after the destruction of the Toltec centre at Tollán. Lake Texcoco, now drained, was located in the area of present-day Mexico City; along its shores were located Texcoco and other cities, and on the islands in the lake the Aztecs built Tenochtitlán.

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