This mural of Tenochtitlán is on display in Mexico City's great acheology museum. This piece was painted by Mexican Artist, José Miguel Covarrubias (1904- 1957).
Tenochtitlán was an enormous city that rivaled Paris, Europe's metropolis at the time of the Spanish arrival in the Americas (Mann, 2005, pg. 140). It is suggested that at the time of Cortés' arrival, Tenochtitlán had at least 200,000 - 300,000 inhabitants, five times larger than London at the time of Henry the VIII (Coe, and Koontz, 2008, pg. 193). Founded in 1325, Tenochtitlán was the capital city of the Mexica people (Aztecs), located on the lake Texcoco in the Valley of Mexico . Today, Ciudad de México Distrito Federal (Mexico City) resides on the ruins of Tenochtitlán.
When the Spaniards arrives, they were stunned by what these "barbarians" had accomplished. The streets were wide enough for ten horses, and while the streets were crowded, they weren't ankle deep in sewage like the cities of Europe, a concept unimaginable at the time. The buildings were ornate, the city was devided by canals and built on artifical islands, and markets were filled with good from hundreds of miles away. Boats filled the causeways that connected Tenochtitlán. The city even had botanical gardens, something that did not exist in Europe at the time (Mann, 2005, pg. 140).
This model of the temple disctrict of Tenochtitlán is on display at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, the National Museum of Mexico, Chapultepec Park in Mexico City.
On November 8th, 1511, Hernán Cortés and his Spanish soldiers arrived at the Island City. The following quote is from Bernal Diáz, one of the soldiers with Cortés (Coe, and Koontz, 2008, pg. 190):
"During the morning, we arrived at a broad causeway and continued our march towards Iztapalapa, and when we saw so many cities and villages built in the water and other great towns on dry land and that straight and level causeway going towards Mexico, we were amazed and said that it was like the enchantments they tell of in the legend of Amadis, on account of the great towers and temples and buildings rising from the water, and all built of masonry. And some of our soldiers asked whether the things that we saw were not a dream"
This statue, found in Mexico City, commerates the foundation of Tenochtitlán.
The Foundation of Tenochtitlán
As legend states, the Mexica people first immigrated from the mythical Seven Caves to an island on a lake called Aztlán. The word Aztec actually means "People from Aztlán." In 1116, they started on an epic journey, guided by their major deity, Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and war, in search of a new home. They were told in a vision that they will find this promised land when they see an Eagle perched on a fruit bearing cactus, while eating a snake. This symbol is seen today on the Coat of Arms of Mexico. Upon finding this location, the Aztecs began to build their empire (Rothstein, 2005).
A couple short videos, depicting the origin of the Aztecs, and the choosing of the site for their capital city:
