The Power Balance of the Triple Alliance

While the Aztec Empire can be seen as a unified state in many ways it is still technically an alliance of the three cities of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. When the alliance was created the first two could be said to have been of equal strength with Tenochtitlan being the center of a stronger military culture while Texcoco was the center of law, engineering and the arts. These roles have only become more pronounced as our empire has grown. Tenochtitlan, as the dominant city in all military matters has therefore come to rise to a position above the others and many of our subservient chiefs now send their tribute directly to Tenochtitlan.