Empire · 100 BCE – 550 CE · Southern North America
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan, in the Valley of Mexico north-east of modern Mexico City, grew from about 100 BCE into one of the largest cities in the ancient world, home to perhaps 100,000 people at its height around 450 CE. It was laid out on a grid along a great avenue, later called the Avenue of the Dead, lined with the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.
Its people lived in large apartment compounds, some housing migrants from Oaxaca and the Gulf Coast. Teotihuacan controlled the obsidian trade and influenced cities across Mesoamerica; in 378 its envoys intervened in the Maya city of Tikal and installed a new dynasty. Around 550 the city centre was burned, perhaps in an internal revolt, and the population dispersed.
- Years
- 100 BCE – 550 CE
- Capital
- Teotihuacan
- Greatest extent
- 450, about 40,000 km²
- Region
- Southern North America
A city of perhaps 100,000 people dominating the Valley of Mexico, with influence reaching the Maya region (rough estimate)
Legacy
The Aztecs revered the ruined city, naming it Teotihuacan, the place where the gods were created, and it is now one of Mexico's most visited ancient sites.
Rulers
- Rulers unknown c. 100 BCE – 550 CE
No royal portraits or names survive; the city may have been governed by councils
- Spearthrower Owl c. 374 – 439
Possible Teotihuacan ruler named in Maya inscriptions, whose son became king of Tikal
Realms on the map
- Teotihuacan 50 BCE – 704 CE