1704 Gemelli Map - According to legend on exactly May 24, 1065 CE, the Mexica (Aztec) began an epic migration from their ancestral homeland, Aztlan, which translated means Place of Reeds or Place of Egrets, to the shores of Lake Texcoco, in Mexicos Central Mesa. There they founded the city of Tenochtitlan which in time spawned the vast Aztec Empire. Date: 1065