Aztec Triple Alliance

Timeline

1. 1428Tenochtitlan · Central Mexican PlateauThe three city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan jointly defeated the Tepanecs, overthrowing the hegemony of Azcapotzalco, formally proclaiming the Triple Alliance and opening the era of Aztec imperial expansion.
2. 1440–1469Tenochtitlan · Central Mexican PlateauMoctezuma I (Moctezuma Ilhuicamina) ascended to the tlatoani throne of Tenochtitlan, leading the Triple Alliance into its most aggressive phase of expansion, conquering the Mixtec and Zapotec peoples to the south and controlling the Gulf Coast region to the north.
3. 1451–1460Tenochtitlan and conquered territories · MesoamericaA severe drought in the Aztec calendar year "One Rabbit" (Ce Tochtli, 1450–1454) caused a grave famine; Moctezuma I responded religiously and politically by strengthening Flower War (Xochiyaoyotl) sacrificial rites and expanding conquest wars. After the famine, around 1455 the alliance resumed offensives, extending the empire toward Oaxaca and Veracruz, while massively building Tenochtitlan's urban infrastructure.
4. 1519–1521Tenochtitlan · Central Mexican PlateauHernán Cortés led Spanish forces and Tlaxcalan allies to besiege Tenochtitlan, capturing the city on August 13, 1521; the last tlatoani Cuauhtémoc was taken prisoner, the Triple Alliance perished, and the Viceroyalty of New Spain was established in its wake.