A centuries-old document telling the story of the Aztec civilisation and its fall after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in pictograms is going on display in Mexico for the first time in 186 years.

The manuscript, known as Codex Azcatitlán, has been held in France's Bibliothèque Nationale since 1898, but had already spent decades outside of Mexico before that.

It is thought to have been drawn in the 16th Century – a few years after the arrival of the conquistadors in what is now Mexico – and is widely considered one of the most valuable and insightful tellings of the history of the Aztecs.

France has lent Codex Azcatitlán to Mexico to mark 200 years of Franco-Mexican relations.

In return, Mexico has agreed to lend another priceless document, the Codex Boturini, to France for display there.

The pictograms in the Codex Boturini narrate the story of the migration of the Aztecs, also known as Mexica, from their ancestral homeland to the shores of Lake Texcoco, where they built Tenochtitlán.

The temporary exchange of the two codices was agreed by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and her French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during a visit by the latter to Mexico last year.

Mexico has long lobbied for the return of historical artefacts taken from the country in past centuries.

According to Mexico's ministry of foreign relations, last year more than 2,000 objects were successfully repatriated.

The Codex Azcatitlán will be exhibited at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City from Thursday.