Mesoamerican indigenous people who migrated from the north of what is now Mexico after the decline (about AD 650) of the great city of Teotihuacán and established an empire in the central valley during the 10th century AD.

Their arrival is thought to mark the rise of militarism in Mesoamerica, as their army used its superior force to dominate neighboring societies.

The Toltec built their capital at Tula, sometimes called Tollán. The ruins of this city, about 64 km (about 40 mi) north of Mexico City, include three pyramidal temples. The largest of them, which is surmounted by columns 4.6 m (15 ft) high in the form of stylized human figures, is thought to be dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, an ancient deity the Toltec adopted from earlier cultures and worshiped as the god of Venus.

According to legend, a rival Toltec deity, Tezcatlipoca, drove Quetzalcoatl and his followers out of Tula about AD 1000. The legend holds that Quetzalcoatl and his band migrated eastward.

The Maya city of Chichén Itzá, which emerged as a major center of power in northern Yucatan in the mid-9th century, shows extensive Toltec influence in its art and architecture, probably due to close interaction between the Maya people and the Toltec.

The Toltec civilization declined in the 12th century as the Chichimec and others invaded the central valley and eventually sacked Tula.

* see also Pre Columbian Art & Architecture, Mesoamerican Area, Post-Classic Period, Toltec *

"Toltec," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.