Pirámide del Sol y templos en la Avenida de la Muerte- Pyramid of the Sun and temples along the Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacán near Mexico City

Pirámide del Sol y templos en la Avenida de la Muerte- Pyramid of the Sun and temples along the Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacán near Mexico City, originally uploaded by hanneorla.

Pirámide del Sol y templos en la Avenida de la Muerte- Pyramid of the Sun and temples along the Avenue of the Dead, Teotihuacán near Mexico City. Teotihuacán was a large settlement by 150BC. Between 1AD and 250AD the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the Avenida de los Muertos were completed. The city flourished; 200,000 inhabitants are estimated to have lived there in at least 2000 "houses". It was the sixth largest city in the world. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. The buildings were red with gold decorations.There is little evidence of any hostility at Teotihuacán; there are no depictions of warfare or human sacrifice, unlike many contemporary cities in Mexico.However, in 650AD, a great fire swept through the city, devastating many communities, and the city was soon abandoned. - 600 years later the Aztecs arrived. To the Aztecs, Teotihuacán was a holy place, where the sun, moon and universe were created. They gave Teotihuacán its name, meaning "The place where men become gods". They also named the Calle de los Muertos, thinking (wrongly) that the many ruined temples and monuments along the "road" were burial places of early rulers who became gods when they died. - The Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II initially believed the landing of Cortés in 1519 was Quetzalcoatl's return. Cortes played off this belief to aid in his conquest of Mexico.