Anahuac is the ancient core of
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. Anahuac is a
Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
name which means "close to water." It can be broken down like this: ' + '. ' means "water" and ', which is a relational word that can be affixed to a noun, means "close to." Anahuac is sometimes used interchangeably with "
Valley of Mexico
The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...
", but Anahuac properly designates the south-central part of the valley, where well-developed
pre-Hispanic culture traits had created distinctive landscapes now hidden by the
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...
of
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
. In the sense of modern geomorphological terminology, "Valley of Mexico" is misnamed.
Boundaries
According to the
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Anáhuac (''sic'') is "limited by the traditional and vaguely defined boundaries of an ancient American empire or confederation of that name previous to the
Spanish conquest
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...
."
One of the possible etymologies proposed for the name "
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
" is that it is derived from any of the following Nahuatl words: ', which meant "Anahuac reached this far", or "the
Nahuas
The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...
came this far", or "those who come from Anahuac came this far"; ', which meant "here are the Nahuas"; or ', which meant "here by the water" or "surrounded by water".
The first two explanations would have a bearing on the above issue of the borders.
See also
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Cemanahuac
References
Sources
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Geography of Mesoamerica
History of Mesoamerica