More than a thousand years ago, the Aztecs lived in Mexico. They were a Native people. And they had a powerful empire. The capital of their empire was a big city. The city was built on a lake. It was called Tenochtitlán.
The Aztec city was powerful for a long time. But then Spanish explorers came to Mexico. They took over Tenochtitlán. They destroyed much of the city. Then, they built a new city over the Aztec city. The new city was Mexico City.
Today, Mexico City is the capital of Mexico. Lots of people live there. It is a center for business, government, and religion. And it still has some ancient Aztec ruins!
