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Aztec Empire Timeline: The Spanish Conquest and the Full History of Tenochtitlan's Rise and Fall

A Mesoamerican empire built from a lake-bound city that grew to dominate central Mexico before falling to Spanish conquest within two years.

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1325 Tenochtitlan founded 1428 Triple Alliance formed 1430s–1502 Empire expands across Mesoamerica 1487 Great Temple dedicated 1502 Moctezuma II becomes emperor 1519 Cortés arrives 1521 Fall of Tenochtitlan

1325 The Mexica found Tenochtitlan

According to tradition, the Mexica people found their capital city, Tenochtitlan, on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco after seeing a prophesied eagle perched on a cactus; the exact founding date is debated but conventionally placed around 1325.

1428 Tenochtitlan joins the Triple Alliance

Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan form a military alliance that overthrows the dominant regional power and becomes the political foundation of what is commonly called the Aztec Empire.

1430s–1502 Military expansion extends Aztec influence

Under a succession of rulers, the alliance expands through conquest and tribute demands across much of central and southern Mexico, governing largely through indirect tribute rather than direct administration.

1487 The Templo Mayor is rededicated in Tenochtitlan

A major expansion of the Templo Mayor, the empire's principal religious complex, is dedicated in the capital, reflecting the scale of resources and labor the empire could command at its height.

1502 Moctezuma II ascends to the throne

Moctezuma II becomes the ninth ruler (tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan, presiding over the empire at its territorial height in the years before Spanish contact.

1519 Hernán Cortés lands in Mexico

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés lands on the Gulf coast, forms alliances with peoples resentful of Aztec rule, and marches inland to Tenochtitlan, where he is initially received by Moctezuma II.

1521 Tenochtitlan falls to Spanish and allied forces

After a prolonged siege compounded by a devastating smallpox epidemic among the city's defenders, Tenochtitlan falls in August 1521, effectively ending the Aztec Empire and beginning Spanish colonial rule.

Last updated: August 2026

History Timelines. (August 2026). Aztec Empire Timeline: Conquest and the History of Tenochtitlan. Retrieved from https://history-timelines.org.uk/places/aztec-empire/

This aztec empire timeline of events traces the rise of a lake-bound city-state into the dominant power of central Mexico, and the history of the aztec empire timeline’s rapid end at the hands of Spanish conquest within barely two years.

Aztec Empire Timeline: Founding of Tenochtitlan and Early History

The Aztec Empire grew from Tenochtitlan, a city founded by the Mexica people on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. According to tradition, the Mexica settled the site after seeing a prophesied sign, an eagle perched on a cactus, and conventional accounts place the city’s founding around 1325, though exact dating relies on colonial-era historical sources rather than contemporary written records. Initially a tributary of a more powerful neighboring city-state, Tenochtitlan’s fortunes changed dramatically in 1428, when it joined with the cities of Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance, overthrowing the region’s dominant power. This alliance, with Tenochtitlan as its senior partner, became the political core of what is generally known today as the Aztec Empire, though the Mexica themselves used other terms for their own identity and state.

Expansion and Life Before the Conquest

Over the following decades, the Triple Alliance expanded rapidly through military conquest and the imposition of tribute obligations on subject peoples across much of central and southern Mexico. Rather than governing conquered territories directly, the empire typically left local rulers in place and demanded regular tribute in goods, labor, and sometimes captives, a system that generated resentment among many subject peoples and would prove significant once conquest by outsiders became a real threat. Tenochtitlan itself grew into one of the largest cities in the world at the time, built on reclaimed land and interlaced with canals, with a population plausibly estimated in the tens of thousands to low hundreds of thousands, though precise figures are debated among historians. Its ceremonial center included the Templo Mayor, a great pyramid dedicated to the deities Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc, which underwent a major expansion dedicated in 1487, reflecting the resources and organized labor the empire commanded at its peak under rulers such as Ahuitzotl and, from 1502, Moctezuma II.

A carved stone serpent head at the base of a stepped temple pyramid

Spanish Conquest and the Fall of Tenochtitlan

The empire’s rapid end began in 1519, when Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés landed on Mexico’s Gulf coast with a small force and marched inland toward Tenochtitlan. This chapter turns on the alliances Cortés secured with Indigenous peoples, including the Tlaxcalans, who resented Aztec tribute demands and provided troops that vastly outnumbered his own Spanish force. Initially received in the capital by Moctezuma II, the Spanish expedition’s presence soon turned violent, and Moctezuma died in 1520 amid disputed circumstances during an uprising against the Spanish conquest force, which was then pushed to retreat from the city with heavy losses. Cortés regrouped, and with his Indigenous allies laid siege to Tenochtitlan in 1521. The siege was compounded by a smallpox epidemic, introduced from Europe, that killed large numbers of the city’s inhabitants and severely weakened its defense against the conquest. Tenochtitlan fell in August 1521, bringing the Aztec Empire to an end and beginning nearly three centuries of Spanish colonial rule over the region, though many Indigenous communities, languages, and traditions from before the conquest persisted well beyond it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded the Aztec Empire?

The Mexica people founded the city of Tenochtitlan around 1325; the empire itself formed in 1428 when Tenochtitlan allied with Texcoco and Tlacopan to form the Triple Alliance, the starting point for this aztec empire timeline of events.

What language did the Aztecs speak?

The Aztecs spoke Nahuatl, a language still spoken today by more than a million people in Mexico and parts of Central America.

How did the Aztec Empire fall?

It fell to Spanish forces under Hernán Cortés, allied with Indigenous groups resentful of Aztec rule, in a conquest that culminated in the siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521, worsened by a smallpox epidemic introduced from Europe, the decisive chapter in the history of the aztec empire timeline.

How large was the Aztec Empire?

It covered much of central and southern Mexico at its height, though it was governed largely through tribute obligations imposed on subject city-states rather than direct administration, and precise population estimates remain debated among historians.