Mexica

The Mexica (Nahuatl: Mēxihcah; singular Mēxihcātl) are a Nahuatl-speaking people of the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of the Triple Alliance, more commonly referred to as the Aztec Empire. The Mexica established Tenochtitlan, a settlement on an island in Lake Texcoco, in 1325. A dissident group in Tenochtitlan separated and founded the settlement of Tlatelolco with its own dynastic lineage. In 1521, their empire was overthrown by an alliance of Spanish conquistadors and rival indigenous nations, most prominently the Tlaxcaltecs.

Today, descendants of the Mexica and other Aztec peoples are among the Nahua people of Mexico.

Since 1810, the broader term Aztec is often used to describe the Mexica. When a distinction is made, Mexica are one (dominant) group within the Aztecs.