Altepetl
![](/Images/godic/202412/20/Aztec_calendar.svg4412.png")
![Representación pictográfica de tres altepetl, a saber, los que integraron la Triple Alianza.](/Images/godic/202412/20/Codex_Osuna_Triple_Alliance4412.JPG")
The altepetl (Classical Nahuatl:āltepētl[aːɬ.ˈté.peːtɬ]) – in pre-Columbian and Spanish conquest-era Aztec society – was the local, ethnically based political entity. It is usually translated into English as "city-state". The word is a combination of the Nahuatl words ā-tl (meaning "water") and tepē-tl (meaning "mountain").