place_of_birth cacamatzin 
The Mexica ( Nahuatl : " Mxihcah ", ; the singular is " Mxihcatl " ) or Mexicas were an indigenous people ___MASK21___ the Valley ___MASK21___ Mexico , known today as the rulers ___MASK21___ the Aztec Empire . Tlacaelel I ( 1397  1487 ) was the principal architect ___MASK21___ the Aztec Triple Alliance and hence the Mexica ( Aztec ) empire . He was the son ___MASK21___ Emperor Huitzilihuitl and Queen Cacamacihuatl , nephew ___MASK21___ Emperor Itzcoatl , and brother ___MASK21___ Emperors Chimalpopoca and Moctezuma I . Chimalpopoca ( for " smoking shield ," modern Nahuatl pronunciation ) ( 1397  1427 ) was the third ___MASK63___ ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ ( 1417  1427 ). Cacamatzin was a 15th - century Aztec noble -- the eldest son ___MASK21___ the cihuacoatl , Tlacaelel -- and warrior who held the title ___MASK21___ Tlacochcalcatl . His mother was princess Maquiztzin . He had twelve children , only three ___MASK21___ whom are known : A female ( name unknown ) , who married Nezahualpilli , the tlatoani ___MASK21___ Texcoco . The pair had a son , named Cacamatzin after his grandfather , who succeeded his father as ruler ___MASK21___ Texcoco . Tlacaelel II , named after his grandfather , who also became cihuacoatl . Chicuey or Chicome Axochitzin , a warrior whose daughter became the mistress ___MASK21___ Juan Rodríguez de Villafuerte , a Spanish conquistador . Cacamatzin was killed by the Purépecha after being captured in battle . Moctezuma I ( c . 1398 - 1469 ), also known as Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina ( modern Nahuatl pronunciation ), Huehuemotecuhzoma or ___MASK53___ I , was the second Aztec emperor and fifth ___MASK63___ ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ . During his reign , the Aztec Empire was consolidated , major expansion was undertaken , and ___MASK69___ started becoming the dominant partner ___MASK21___ the Aztec Triple Alliance . ___MASK3___ (, modern Nahuatl ), officially the United Mexican States , is a federal ___MASK25___ in the southern half ___MASK21___ North America . It is bordered to the north by the United States ; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean ; to the southeast by ___MASK75___ , Belize , and the Caribbean Sea ; and to the east by the Gulf ___MASK21___ ___MASK3___ . Covering almost two million square kilometers ( over 760 , 000 sq mi ), ___MASK3___ is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world . With an estimated population ___MASK21___ over 120 million , it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish - speaking country in the world while being the second most populous country in Latin America . ___MASK3___ is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city . Other metropolises include Guadalajara , Monterrey , Puebla , Toluca , Tijuana and León . </ div > War is a state ___MASK21___ armed conflict between societies . It is generally characterized by extreme aggression , destruction , and mortality , using regular or irregular military forces . An absence ___MASK21___ war is usually called " peace ". Warfare refers to the common activities and characteristics ___MASK21___ types ___MASK21___ war , or ___MASK21___ wars in general . Total war is warfare that is not restricted to purely legitimate military targets , and can result in massive civilian or other non - combatant casualties . The plural ( abbreviated ), in many languages , is one ___MASK21___ the values ___MASK21___ the grammatical category ___MASK21___ number . Plural ___MASK21___ nouns typically denote a quantity other than the default quantity represented by a noun , which is generally one ( the form that represents this default quantity is said to be ___MASK21___ " singular " number ). Most commonly , therefore , plurals are used to denote two or more ___MASK21___ something , although they may also denote more than fractional , zero or negative amounts . An example ___MASK21___ a plural is the English word " cats ", which corresponds to the singular " cat ". Mesoamerica was a region and cultural area in ___MASK39___ , extending approximately from ___MASK23___ ___MASK3___ to Belize , ___MASK75___ , El Salvador , Honduras , Nicaragua , and northern Costa Rica , within which pre - Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of ___MASK39___ in the 15th and 16th centuries . It is one of six areas in the world where ancient civilization arose independently , and the second in ___MASK39___ along with Norte Chico ( Caral - Supe ) in present - day northern coastal Peru . The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups ___MASK21___ central Mexico , particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts ___MASK21___ Mesoamerica from the 14th to 16th centuries . The Nahuatl words " aztecatl " ( singular ) and " aztecah " ( plural ) mean " people from Aztlan ", a mythological place for the Nahuatl - speaking culture ___MASK21___ the time , and later adopted as the word to define the Mexica people . Often the term " Aztec " refers exclusively to the Mexica people ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ ( now the location ___MASK21___ Mexico City ), situated on an island in Lake Texcoco , who referred to themselves as " Mxihcah Tenochcah " or " Clhuah Mexihcah " . Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions , forces , weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations ___MASK21___ Mesoamerica , including particularly the military history ___MASK21___ the Aztec Triple Alliance involving the city - states ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ , Texcoco , Tlacopan and other allied polities ___MASK21___ the central Mexican region . Tlacochcalcatl (" The man from the house ___MASK21___ darts ") was an Aztec military title or rank ; roughly equivalent to the modern title ___MASK21___ General . In Aztec warfare the " tlacochcalcatl " was second in command only to the " tlatoani " and he usually lead the Aztec army into battle when the ruler was otherwise occupied . Together with the " tlacateccatl " ( general ), he was in charge ___MASK21___ the Aztec army and undertook all military decisions and planning once the " tlatoani " had decided to undertake a campaign . ___MASK3___ - ___MASK69___ , commonly known as ___MASK69___ was a Mexica ( city - state ) located on an island in Lake Texcoco , in the Valley ___MASK21___ ___MASK3___ . Founded on June 20 , 1325 , it became the capital ___MASK21___ the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century , until it was captured by the Spanish in 1521 . A clan is a group ___MASK21___ people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent . Even if lineage details are unknown , clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor . The kinship - based bonds may be symbolic , whereby the clan shares a " stipulated " common ancestor that is a symbol ___MASK21___ the clan ' s unity . When this " ancestor " is non - human , it is referred to as a totem , which is frequently an animal . The word clan is derived from the Gaelic " clann " meaning " children or progeny " but not " family " in the Irish and the Scottish Gaelic languages . According to the " Oxford English Dictionary ", the word was introduced into English in around 1425 , as a label for the nature ___MASK21___ the society ___MASK21___ the Scottish Highlands ll . Clans in indigenous societies tend to be exogamous , meaning that their members cannot marry one another . Clans preceded more centralized forms ___MASK21___ community organization and government and are in every country . Members may identify with a coat ___MASK21___ arms or other symbol to show they are an independent clan . Cacamatzin ( or Cacama ) ( 1483  1520 ) was the ___MASK63___ ___MASK21___ Texcoco , the second most important city ___MASK21___ the Aztec Empire . Tlatoani (, " one who speaks , ruler " plural ' ) is the Classical Nahuatl term for the ruler ___MASK21___ an " altepetl ", a pre - Hispanic state . It may be translated into English as " king ". A ' is a female ruler , or queen regnant . Itzcoatl (" Obsidian Serpent ," modern Nahuatl pronunciation ) was the fourth ___MASK63___ ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ , ruling from 1427 ( or 1428 ) to 1440 , the period when the Mexica threw off the domination ___MASK21___ the Tepanecs and laid the foundations for the eventual Aztec Empire . Lake Texcoco was a natural lake within the Anáhuac or Valley ___MASK21___ Mexico . Lake Texcoco is most well known as where the Aztecs built the city ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ , which was located on an island within the lake . After the Spanish conquest ___MASK21___ the Aztec Empire , efforts to control flooding by the Spanish led to most ___MASK21___ the lake being drained . The entire lake basin is now almost completely occupied by Mexico City , the capital ___MASK21___ the present - day nation ___MASK21___ Mexico . Caste is a form ___MASK21___ social stratification characterized by endogamy , hereditary transmission ___MASK21___ a lifestyle which often includes an occupation , status in a hierarchy , and customary social interaction and exclusion . Its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division ___MASK21___ Indian society into rigid social groups , with roots in India ' s ancient history and persisting until today . However , the economic significance ___MASK21___ the caste system in India has been declining as a result ___MASK21___ urbanization and affirmative action programs . A subject ___MASK21___ much scholarship by sociologists and anthropologists , the Indian caste system is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study ___MASK21___ caste - like social divisions existing outside India . The term is also applied to non - human populations like ants and bees . ___MASK3___ City , officially City ___MASK21___ ___MASK3___ (, ; abbreviated as " CDMX "), is the capital and most populous city ___MASK21___ the United Mexican States . As an " alpha " global city , ___MASK3___ City is one ___MASK21___ the most important financial centers in the Americas . It is located in the Valley ___MASK21___ ___MASK3___ (" Valle de México "), a large valley in the high plateaus at the ___MASK61___ ___MASK21___ ___MASK3___ , at an altitude ___MASK21___ . The city consists ___MASK21___ sixteen municipalities ( previously called boroughs ). A ___MASK92___ is a person specializing in combat or warfare , especially within the context ___MASK21___ a tribal or clan - based ___MASK92___ culture society that recognizes a separate ___MASK92___ class or caste . In the Aztec military , tlacateccatl was a title roughly equivalent to general . The tlacateccatl was in charge ___MASK21___ the " tlacatecco ", a military quarter in the ___MASK61___ ___MASK21___ the Aztec capital , ___MASK69___ . In wartime he was second - in - command to the " tlatoani " (" ruler ", " king ") and the " tlacochcalcatl " (" high general "). The tlacateccatl was always a member ___MASK21___ the military order ___MASK21___ the " Cuachicqueh ", " the shorn ones ". Huitzilihuitl ( Nahuatl language ; English : " Hummingbird Feather ") ( d . " ca ." 1417 ) was the second " tlatoani " ___MASK21___ ___MASK69___ , governing from 1396 to 1417 , ( or 1390 to 1410 according to other sources ).