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4. Tenochtitlan
4．特诺奇提兰（Tenochtitlan）
Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire. It was built on an island surrounded by Lake Texcoco deep inside the jungles of Central America. By the time the Spanish Conquistadors were aware of its existence, the population was around 200,000. This was a city very different from what the Europeans were used to. Founded in 1325 AD, the Aztec capital was joined to the mainland by three causeways. It was laid out in straight street grids and encompassed enormous pyramids at its center, which were surrounded by the skulls of the dead and elaborate ceremonial sculptures.
特诺奇提兰曾是阿兹台克帝国（Aztec Empire）的首都。它位于中美洲丛林深处的一个岛上，周围环绕着特斯科科湖（Lake Texcoco）。当时西班牙征服者已经知道它的存在，它的人口大约是20万。特诺奇提兰与欧洲城市大不相同。阿兹台克首都建立在公元前1325年，由三座堤道连接到大陆。城市街道笔直，纵横交错，中心是巨大的金字塔，金字塔周围布满了死人头骨和精心制作的祭祀雕塑。
With only a handful of men, Herman Cortez managed to take over the city in 1521. It’s true that they were wielding firearms and had help from other local tribes, but if it hadn’t been for the frenzy of human sacrifice to appease the gods and the scourge of smallpox, it’s likely they would have never succeeded. In any case, the capital city was conquered and razed to the ground by the Spanish, only for them to build present-day Mexico City on the same spot.
1521年，带着寥寥几个士兵，赫尔曼·科尔特斯（Herman Cortez）占领了这座城市。尽管他们火力全开，获得了当地部落的支持，但活人祭祀引起的愤恨以及天花的肆虐却是他们取得胜利的关键因素。无论如何，西班牙人攻占了特诺奇提兰并且将它夷为平地，只是为了在同一地点建立现在的墨西哥城而已。
