Aztlán — The Mythical Homeland of the Aztecs
Aztlán is the mythical ancestral homeland of the Aztec (Mexica) peoples, a legendary island paradise from which they began their long migration southward to central Mexico around 1064 CE. According to the Codices Aubin, Boturini, and Azcatitlan, the Mexica left Aztlán guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, who forbade them from calling themselves Azteca and commanded they be known as Mexica. The 200-year journey brought them to Lake Texcoco where they saw the prophesied sign: an eagle on a cactus holding a serpent. There they built Tenochtitlan, which became the capital of the Aztec Empire. In t