the native name of the nation that last occupied the table-land of Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards in America. They came from a country in the N.W. of that continent, to which they gave the name of Aztlan, about the year 1160 of our era; and they settled at first on the banks of the Rio Gila. They gradually increased their influence among other tribes, until, by union with the Toltecs, who occupied the table-land before them, they extended their empire to an area of from 18,000 to 20,000 square leagues. The researches of Humboldt afforded us the first clear insight into those early periods of their history. See Mexico.