city state · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean

Cholula

1168 CE – 1521 CE (approx.) · capital Cholula

A great holy city of the Puebla valley, home to the largest pyramid by volume in the world and a centre of the cult of Quetzalcoatl.

Origins

Cholula was inhabited from the Preclassic, and its Great Pyramid, Tlachihualtepetl, was built in stages from about 200 BCE. Traditions in the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca say Tolteca-Chichimeca groups took control of the city in 1168, founding the Postclassic state.

Rule and society

Postclassic Cholula was ruled by two high priests and a council of nobles rather than a king. It was a famous pilgrimage centre of Quetzalcoatl and a market city, known for fine polychrome pottery. Cholula had shifting alliances with Tlaxcala and Huexotzinco and at times with the Aztec Empire.

Decline and legacy

In 1519 Hernán Cortés and his Tlaxcalan allies massacred thousands of Cholulans in the main temple precinct. The Spanish built churches over its shrines, including one atop the Great Pyramid, and Cholula became a Spanish town.

Lineage

CholulaNew Spain 1521 CE – 1821 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cholula. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cholula
MLA
“Cholula.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cholula. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cholula.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cholula.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cholula’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cholula (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻