Many ancient civilizations have risen and fallen over the course of our history. Among these were the Aztec. The Aztec arose in the Valley of Mexico, or present-day central Mexico. Many things affected the Aztec way of life including both physical and human characteristics of their regions. The Aztec built their city on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. Since their city was completely surrounded by water other groups should have found it easy to attack. However, the water actually helped protect their city, which they called Tenochtitlan. Tenochtitlan eventually become the most powerful city in the valley of Mexico. Aztec farmers had the difficult job of growing food on water. To solve this problem they built chinampas, fertile islands