page_title: Azcapotzalco
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Azcapotzalco / History
caption_attribution_description: Glifo proveniente del Códice García Granados correspondiente a Azcapotzalco (siglo XVII)
context_page_description: Azcapotzalco is one of the 16 municipalities into which Mexico's Mexico City is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City. The town began in the pre-Hispanic era and was the seat of the Tepanec dominion until the Aztec Triple Alliance overthrew it. After that it was a rural farming area becoming part of the Federal District of Mexico City in the mid-19th century. In the 20th century the area was engulfed by the urban sprawl of Mexico City. Today it is 100% urbanized and is a center of industry.
context_section_description: The name is derived from Nahuatl and means “ant hill” with the municipality Aztec glyph depicting a red ant surrounded by corn. It comes from a legend that says that after the creation of the Fifth Sun, the god Quetzalcoatl was tasked with recreating man. To do this, he needed to enter the realm of the dead, Mictlan, to recover the bones of men from the Fourth Sun. Ants helped Quetzalcoatl to find the realm of the dead and bring the bones up as well as grains of corn. Another version of the legend relates to the discovery of corn by observing that ants had put grains underground and corn plants grew there.
  The very early history of the area follows that of the rest of the Valley of Mexico. About 7,000 years ago, hunter/gatherers arrived to the valley attracted by the vegetation and large game such as mammoths. Fossilized mammoth, bison and other bones were found when Line 6 of the Metro was constructed. When the large game died out, the inhabitants of the valley turned to agriculture, forming permanent villages sometime between 5000 and 2000 BCE. Plants were domesticated — the most important of which were corn, squash, chili peppers, avocados and beans.
  Pottery and villages were founded all over the Valley of Mexico from 2200 BCE to 1200 BCE, supported by agriculture with some hunting and fishing. From 1200 to 700BCE the most important villages were in the south of the valley. Around 200 BCE, the Teotihuacan civilization arose and the Azcapotzalco area rose in importance as well, being in the empire's political and cultural sphere. Villages that grew during this time included San Miguel Amantla, Santiago Ahuixotla and Santa Lucia which are in the south of the modern municipality. When Teotihuacan waned in 800 CE, the Azcapotzalco area remained important as a center of that culture, becoming an important ceremonial center. When Tula rose, Toltec influence then dominated Azcapotzalco and the rest of the Valley of Mexico. Toltec influence is most evident in ceramic finds from Santiago Ahuizotla and was possibly a Toltec tribute city.
  When Tula fell, there were new migrations into the Valley of Mexico including Otomis, Mazahuas and Matlatzincas. One of these groups was led by a chieftain called Matlacoatl in the 12th century. Legend states that he established the village of Azcapotzaltongo, which is now Villa Nicolás Romero in 1152, but its development is best documented between 1200 and 1230. The village grew to become the Tepanec Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries with a ruling dynasty with the territory expanding over the Valley of Mexico. Acolhuatzin was leader from 1283 to 1343. He married a daughter of Xolotl of Tenayuca and then moved the capital of the dominion to what is now the historic center of Azcapotzalco, on the edge of what was Lake Texcoco. He allowed the Mexica to settle on Tepaneca lands, founding Tenochtitlan, in exchange for tribute and military service. The last major ruler of Azcapotzalco was Tezozomoc who ruled from 1367 to 1427. Under him the empire reached over most of the Valley of Mexico into Cuernavaca and north into Tenayuca and Atotonilco. This made Azcapotzalco the most important city in the Valley of Mexico and archeological work related to this dominion continues to this day.
  In 2012, burials and remains of buildings were found the San Simon Pochtlan neighborhood, believed to have belonged to Tepaneca traders between 1200 and 1300CE. Other settlements were found in the same area when Line 6 was constructed in 1980.
  Under the Tepanecas, conquered areas were allowed to keep their own leadership as long as they paid tribute and performed military service. In 1427, these leaders included Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco, Izcoatl of Tenochtitlan and Totoquihuaztli of Tlacopan. When Tezozomoc died, there was a power struggle for the throne which allowed these tribute-paying entities a chance to rebel, forming the Triple Alliance and defeating Azcapotzalco in 1428. The former Tepanec lands were divided among the three leaders and the city of Azcapotzalco was destroyed and turned into a slave market.
  Wi
caption: 17th century glyph to denote Azcapotzalco
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