Under the Aztecs, why was Tenochtitlán a site of encounter?

Download Primary Source Set: Tenochtitlan 

Tenochtitlán was a site of encounter because. as the capital of the Aztec Empire, it was a center of political and military power. The Aztecs required conquered city-states to pay tribute periodically to Tenochtitlán. Receipt of this tribute enriched the Aztec state and stimulated markets in Tenochtitlán. The Aztec ruler and state officials engaged in diplomacy with rulers and important foreigners. Students explore these factors and see that Tenochtitlán and the Aztec empire had many of the same power dynamics and social systems as Afroeurasian capitals and empires, even though the Aztecs expressed these in very different ways.