Mexica
The Mexica (Nahuatl: Mēxihcah, [meːˈʃiʔkaʔ]; the singular is Mēxihcatl [meːˈʃiʔkat͡ɬ]) or Mexicas — were an indigenous people of the Valley of Mexico, known today as the rulers of the Aztec empire.
The Mexica were a Nahua people who founded their two cities Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco on raised islets in Lake Texcoco around AD 1200. After the rise of the Aztec Triple Alliance, the Tenochca Mexica (that is, the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan), assumed a senior position over their two allied cities — Texcoco and Tlacopan.