<P> The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries . They called themselves Mexica (pronounced (meˈʃikaʔ)). </P> <P> The capital of the Aztec empire was Tenochtitlan . During the empire, the city was built on a raised island in Lake Texcoco . Modern - day Mexico City was constructed on the ruins of Tenochtitlan . The Spanish colonisation of the Americas reached the mainland during the reign of Huey Tlatoani Moctezuma II (Montezuma II). In 1521, Hernán Cortés, along with an allied army of other Native Americans, conquered the Aztecs through germ warfare, siege warfare, psychological warfare, and from direct combat . </P> <P> From 1376 until 1427, the Mexica were a tributary of Azcapotzalco . The Aztec rulers Acamapichtli, Huitzilihuitl and Chimalpopoca were, in fact, vassals of Tezozomoc, the Tepanec ruler of Azcapotzalco . </P> <P> When Tezozomoc died in 1425, his son Maxtla ascended to the throne of Azcapotzalco . Matla sought to tighten Azcapotzalco's grip on the nearby city - states in the Valley of Mexico . In the process, Chimalpopoca, tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, was assassinated by Maxtla's agents while Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco was forced into exile . </P>

The maya was the chief city of the aztec civilization