To begin with, the mighty Aztec sustained their empire—the triple alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan—for less than a century before it was eviscerated by European conquerors.

A 1428 alliance between Tenochtitlán and its neighboring states of Texcoco and Tlacopan cemented the Mexica’s dominance, giving rise to the Aztec Empire. Spanish forces and their Indigenous ...