| Traditionally, provinces and altepetl were governed by hereditary tlatoani. |
|
| This event was when the most prominent warriors of altepetl would dance in front of a huge statue of Huitzilopochtli. |
|
| Even after the empire was formed in 1428 and began its program of expansion through conquest, the altepetl remained the dominant form of organization at the local level. |
|
| The efficient role of the altepetl as a regional political unit was largely responsible for the success of the empire's hegemonic form of control. |
|
| On the occasion that a recently conquered altepetl was seen as particularly restive, a military governor, or cuauhtlatoani, was placed at the head of provincial supervision. |
|
