Aztec empire was made up of city-states. Its very unique
because usually an emperor ruled the whole empire. Aztec had a emperor who lived in Tenochtitlan but he didnt rule the whole empire. Each city-state had each local government and the government made their own decision. But dont think Aztec was a weak empire. The reason the Aztec emperor the ruled empire in city-states is because it would keep citizens happy, and that there will be more loyalty to emperor and stability in the empire.