Migration of the Mexica from Aztlan Southward

Timeline

1. c. 1200–1250Aztlan (legendary homeland) · MexicoAztlan is the mythical homeland of the Aztec/Mexica people; the word 'Aztec' itself means 'people from Aztlan.' Documents also state that the seven tribes emerged from Chicomoztoc (the Seven Caves). The war god Huitzilopochtli guided them during the migration narrative, prompting the renaming to Mexica. This stage belongs to founding mythology and cannot be treated as a chronological fact of departure in 1205.
2. c. 1200–1300Valley of Mexico · Valley of MexicoAfter Toltec hegemony declined around the late twelfth century, several nomadic Nahuatl-speaking groups entered the Valley of Mexico, with the Mexica recorded as the last to arrive. They successively lived under the rule of city-states such as Culhuacan and Azcapotzalco, performing military service. Specific locations and years vary across codices.
3. c. 1325Island in Lake Texcoco · Valley of MexicoAccording to tradition, after seeing the oracle of an eagle perched on a cactus, the Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on a small island in Lake Texcoco. This year is the traditional endpoint of the migration narrative and a common anchor point in imperial history, but it belongs to the documentary tradition rather than precise archaeological dating.