France loans Mexico rare Aztec manuscript as nations celebrate 200 years of diplomatic ties

The codex will be on display until December. As part of the exchange, Mexico will loan France another important historical document, the Codex Boturini.

The Azcatitlan Codex, a rare manuscript that recounts the founding of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and the subsequent arrival of Spanish conquistadores, is back in Mexico for the first time since 1840.

The 16th-century artifact, considered one of the most important visual records of Aztec history, is on loan from France's Bibliotheque Nationale, where it has been held since 1898. The two nations are celebrating 200 years of diplomatic ties.

Combining Mesoamerican pictograms with European writing, the Azcatitlan Codex is divided into three sections. It traces the Mexicas' migration from Aztlan, the mythical birthplace of Aztec civilization, to the founding of Tenochtitlan (in present-day Mexico City).

It also recounts the succession of the city's tlatoanis, or rulers, and depicts the arrival of the Spanish, the conquest and the subsequent evangelization, according to Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.

"These codices are extremely important to us because they continue to give us identity and value as human beings during these very special times we are experiencing," said Maria Eugenia Castañeda, representative of the Mexica peoples. "They elevate our morale, our customs, our culture, and our sense of who we are."

Codex to be displayed until December

More than five centuries have passed since the fall of Tenochtitlan to Hernan Cortes, the leader of the invading Spanish force. After defeating the Aztec leaders and the Mexica people who lived in Tenochtitlan, Cortes and his allies looted and razed the city, ushering in three centuries of Spanish domination.

An Indigenous craftsman from the Otomi people created the Azcatitlan Codex, according to Maria Castañeda de la Paz, historian at the Institute of Anthropological Research at Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM).

The codex will be on display until December at Mexico City's famed National Museum of Anthropology. As part of the exchange, Mexico will loan France another important historical document, the Codex Boturini.