Teotihuacán

Largest (though not most populous) city of pre-Columbian central Mexico, about 30 mi (50 km) northeast of modern Mexico City. Teotihuacán wielded its greatest influence in the first 900 years AD, after which it was sacked by the Toltecs. At its height, some 150,000 people lived in the city, which covered about 8 sq mi (21 sq km). Its plazas, temples, and palaces are dominated by the Pyramid of the Moon and the huge Pyramid of the Sun. Teotihuacán was the capital of one of the earliest Mesoamerican civilizations, and some consider it also to have been the centre of Toltec civilization. See also Tula.