The Aztecs replaced the Maya as the dominant power in the region, but the warlike Toltecs, who began coming down from what is now northern Mexico in the period from about 600 to 800, helped bridge the gap. The Toltecs worshiped the god Quetzalcoatl (kwet-zuhl-KWAH-tuhl), a feathered serpent-god that would later be adopted by the Aztecs. From the destruction of Teotihuacan in about 900, the Toltecs controlled central Mexico, but after they moved into Mayan lands, their departure opened the way for other groups.
Among the new arrivals were the Aztecs, who came from a place they called Aztlan (AHZ't-lahn) to the northwest. They reached central Mexico in about 1250, and established the city that would become their capital, Tenochtitlan (tay-nawch-teet-LAHN), around 1325. According to legend, the gods had told them to settle in a place where they saw a cactus growing from a rock, and an eagle perched on the cactus eating a snake. The Aztec priests claimed to have seen just such a sight on a tiny island along the marshy western edge of Lake Texcoco (tays-KOH-koh).
Today it is easy to find both the place they picked and an image of the strange scene. The area around Tenochtitlan became Mexico City, Mexico's capital, and the scene itself appears on the Mexican flag. Even the name "Mexico" is an inheritance from the Aztecs, who also called themselves Mexica.
World History
