Tenochtitlan in Its Formative Period

Timeline

1. 1325–1350Tenochtitlan Island, Lake Texcoco · Lake TexcocoFollowing an oracle, the Mexica founded Tenochtitlan on a lake island, initially building a great temple and the chieftain's residence, constructing embankments of wooden stakes and reeds, and beginning to convert the marsh into arable chinampas, forming an early religious-political center.
2. 1371–1380Tenochtitlan urban area and lake shore · Valley of MexicoIn the 1370s the city greatly expanded its chinampa farming areas to feed a growing population, built causeways and bridges toward Tlacopan and Texcoco, and extended markets and artisan districts along the main streets, as the city's form transitioned from an island village to a structured capital.
3. c. 1376–1380Tenochtitlan royal palace and great temple precinct · TenochtitlanAcamapichtli became Tenochtitlan's first hereditary ruler (tlatoani); under the overlordship of the Tepanec power Azcapotzalco, royal authority and a noble council were established, shifting the city's political organization from tribal chieftainship to hereditary city-state rule and providing an institutional framework for later military expansion.