Purépecha Empire

A powerful pre-Columbian state centered around Lake Pátzcuaro in western Mexico, ruled by the Purépecha people until the Spanish conquest.

Tzintzuntzan: A Purépecha city on Lake Pátzcuaro that served as the empire’s capital. Its royal center and monumental architecture anchored imperial rule.
Lake Pátzcuaro: A highland lake in Michoacán, Mexico, surrounded by settlements and islands. Its basin was the empire’s political and demographic heartland.
Aztec Empire: A Nahua-led empire in central Mexico that dominated a large tributary network before the Spanish conquest. It was the Purépecha state’s powerful eastern rival, never able to conquer it.
Spanish conquest of the Purépecha Empire: The Spanish takeover of the Purépecha state in the early sixteenth century. The conquest ended independent imperial rule and brought the region under Spain.
Cazonci: The title of the supreme ruler of the Purépecha state. The cazonci directed the empire’s government, diplomacy, and warfare.
Michoacán: A state in western Mexico whose territory includes the Purépecha highlands and Lake Pátzcuaro. The empire developed within the region now largely contained in Michoacán.
Mexica: The Nahua people who founded and ruled the Mexica-led empire from Tenochtitlan. Mexica expansion repeatedly met resistance from Purépecha rulers.
Nuño de Guzmán: A Spanish conquistador and colonial official who led a violent campaign in western Mexico. His 1530s campaign devastated Purépecha communities and their political leadership.
Purépecha language: The language spoken by the Purépecha people, an isolate with no established relationship to other language families. A shared language connected communities within the state.
Relación de Michoacán: A sixteenth-century account of Purépecha history, religion, and society compiled in colonial Michoacán. Its narratives preserve a major account of the state’s origins and rulers.

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History of MexicoBroader topic: Its distinct political center shows that preconquest Mexico was not ruled by one empire.