Codex Azcatitlán has returned to Mexico for the first time in 186 years, giving visitors a rare chance to see one of the most important surviving records of Aztec history.
The centuries-old manuscript uses pictograms to tell the story of the Aztec civilisation. It also depicts events surrounding the arrival of Spanish conquistadors and the fall of the Aztec Empire.
France has kept the codex at the Bibliothèque Nationale since 1898. However, the manuscript had already spent decades outside Mexico before France acquired it.
Experts believe Indigenous artists created the document during the 16th century. They produced it only a few years after Spanish conquistadors arrived in what is now Mexico.
Codex Shows the Arrival of Hernán Cortés
The manuscript contains detailed images of important moments in Aztec history.
One folio shows Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arriving in Mexico. The scene depicts Spanish soldiers wearing armour and carrying weapons and shields.
Indigenous people also appear in the image. Some carry loads on their backs as the Spanish group moves through the landscape.
The pictorial record offers historians valuable insight into how Indigenous artists documented the major changes that followed the Spanish arrival.
France Lends Historic Manuscript to Mexico
France has lent the Codex Azcatitlán to Mexico as part of celebrations marking 200 years of Franco-Mexican relations.
The manuscript will go on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
The temporary exhibition gives Mexican visitors access to an important part of their country’s pre-Hispanic and colonial history.
The agreement also reflects broader cultural cooperation between Mexico and France.
Mexico Sends Codex Boturini to France
The exchange works both ways.
Mexico has agreed to lend France another important manuscript, the Codex Boturini.
That document records the migration of the Aztecs, also known as the Mexica. Its pictograms describe their journey from their ancestral homeland toward Lake Texcoco.
The Mexica eventually established Tenochtitlán on the lake. The city later became the centre of the Aztec Empire.
The temporary exchange of the two manuscripts followed an agreement between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and French President Emmanuel Macron during Macron’s visit to Mexico last year.
Mexico Seeks Return of Historical Artefacts
Mexico has long called for the return of historical objects taken from the country over previous centuries.
According to Mexico’s foreign ministry, more than 2,000 objects returned to the country last year.
The government has continued to pursue agreements that bring important pieces of Mexican heritage back for public display.
The return of the Codex Azcatitlán therefore carries significance beyond its temporary exhibition.
For the first time in nearly two centuries, people in Mexico can see the historic manuscript in person.
The exhibition also gives visitors an opportunity to explore a visual account of Aztec history, Indigenous migration and the arrival of Spanish conquistadors.
