428, 460, 462, 468-70, 480-81, 493, 497
Who: Triple alliance refers to the alliance between the Mexica, the Acolhua, and the Tepanecs
Mexica: Aztec ethnic group that settled on the adjacent islands of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, These were distinct communities, each with its own ruling lineage, but eventually Tenochtitlan overpowered Tlatelolco. The Mexica were so dominant in Mesoamerica in AD 1519 that their name was subsequently applied not only to their capital city, Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolco (Mexico City), but also, in the 19th century, to the whole nation: Mexico.
Alcolhua: Aztec ethnic group that occupied the eastern Basin of Mexico, and became the strongest allies of the Mexica. Their capital was at Texcoco.
Texcoco: Tollan (Tula)
Dominated northern and southern Mexico, Guatemala highlands, Yucatan peninsula and costa Rica
Population 30,000-60,000
40% worked obsidian mines
Contact and trade with:
Chichen Itza
Southwest US- Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois
Tepanecs: Aztec ethnic group that occupied the western Basin of Mexico, and were overlords of the Mexica before the Tepanec War of c. 1430 forced a reversal of political dominance, and they became the Mexica’s second most powerful allies. Their capitals were at Tacuba/Tlacopan and Azcapotzalco
What: Aztec empire is the territory dominated by the Triple Alliance
The spoils—at the end of the Tepanec War and throughout the Late Postclassic—were divided unequally, with Tenochtitlan maintaining leadership, Texcoco taking a lucrative second position, and Tlacopan receiving a smaller portion of the tributes and having no real decision-making power.
The venture also made the Tenocha rulers, Itzcoatl and Tlacaelel into major landholders. They took over lands that had supported Azcapotzalco commoners, and from then on, took the rents form them as private income.
In another region southwest of Tenochtitlan, the same