Azcapotzalco was a pre-Columbian Nahua altepetl (state), capital of the Tepanec empire, in the Valley of Mexico, on the western shore of Lake Texcoco. The name Azcapotzalco means "at the anthill" in Nahuatl. Its inhabitants were called Azcapotzalca. According to the 17th-century annalist Chimalpahin, Azcapotzalco was founded by Chichimecs in the year 995 AD. The most famous ruler (tlatoani) of Azcapotzalco was Tezozomoctli.