Montezuma Lord Of The Aztecs

*Discusses the legends and controversies surrounding Montezuma's life and death, and the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Cortes *Describes the Aztec Empire, the city of Tenochtitlan, and the human sacrifice rituals. *Includes pictures of historic art depicting Montezuma and important people, places, and events. "Cortés and all of us captains and soldiers wept for him, and there was no one among us that knew him and had dealings with him who did not mourn him as if he were our father, which was not surprising, since he was so good. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, and that he had personally triumphed in three wars against countries he had subjugated. I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercederian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian." - Bernal Díaz del Castillo Nearly 500 years after his death and the demise of his empire, Moctezuma II is the most famous ruler of the most famous civilization in the New World, the Aztec. For centuries the legends surrounding his life and the conquest of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes have fascinated readers and historians alike. Moctezuma was born around 1466 in the legendary Aztec city of Tenochtitlan and into the ruling family of the Aztec Confederacy. In the Nahuatl language, his name means "Angry Lord" or "Strong Armed Lord," and he was the ninth ruler of the Aztecs, who called their leaders tlatoani. Though he is the best known ruler of the Aztec today, he was actually the second Aztec tlatoani to bear the name Moctezuma, after he assumed the throne from his uncle. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec and some of the myths and legends surrounding it have made his name (and variations of it like Montezuma) instantly recognizable around the globe, his life is shrouded in mystery; Bernal Diaz del Castillo's The Conquest of New Spain and Miguel Leon-Portilla's translation of the Aztec observation of the conquest, The Broken Spears, recorded but a few details about the last Aztec ruler's life. Also, these two sources are only concerned with the circumstances surrounding the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and therefore only deal with the very end of Moctecuma II's life and reign. Thus, his early life largely remains a mystery. So what is known about the famous Aztec ruler? Naturally, there is still a fierce debate over what happened during the conquest of the Aztec, and one of the most controversial episodes of the conquest was Moctezuma's death. But all of the sources agree that Moctezuma - sometimes called Moctezuma the Younger - generally possessed a reputation as a valiant warrior and was considered a courageous combat leader among his people. Myths and legends have helped fill in the blanks, regardless of their accuracy, and many of them have since become the best known details of Moctezuma's life. The Last Emperor of the Aztecs chronicles the life and legacy of the famous ruler and examines the myths, legends and historical accounts in an attempt to separate fact from fiction. Along with pictures of famous art depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Moctezuma II like you never have before.

A dramatic rethinking of the encounter between Montezuma and Hernando Cortés that completely overturns what we know about the Spanish conquest of the Americas On November 8, 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This introduction—the prelude to the Spanish seizure of Mexico City and to European colonization of the mainland of the Americas—has long been the symbol of Cortés’s bold and brilliant military genius. Montezuma, on the other hand, is remembered as a coward who gave away a vast empire and touched off a wave of colonial invasions across the hemisphere. But is this really what happened? In a departure from traditional tellings, When Montezuma Met Cortés uses “the Meeting”—as Restall dubs their first encounter—as the entry point into a comprehensive reevaluation of both Cortés and Montezuma. Drawing on rare primary sources and overlooked accounts by conquistadors and Aztecs alike, Restall explores Cortés’s and Montezuma’s posthumous reputations, their achievements and failures, and the worlds in which they lived—leading, step by step, to a dramatic inversion of the old story. As Restall takes us through this sweeping, revisionist account of a pivotal moment in modern civilization, he calls into question our view of the history of the Americas, and, indeed, of history itself.

Discusses Montezuma's life and death, and the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Cortes.

In this astonishing work of scholarship that reads like an edge-of-your-seat adventure thriller, acclaimed historian Buddy Levy records the last days of the Aztec empire and the two men at the center of an epic clash of cultures perhaps unequaled to this day. It was a moment unique in human history, the face-to-face meeting between two men from civilizations a world apart. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico, determined not only to expand the Spanish empire but to convert the natives to Catholicism and carry off a fortune in gold. That he saw nothing paradoxical in carrying out his intentions by virtually annihilating a proud and accomplished native people is one of the most remarkable and tragic aspects of this unforgettable story. In Tenochtitlán Cortés met his Aztec counterpart, Montezuma: king, divinity, commander of the most powerful military machine in the Americas and ruler of a city whose splendor equaled anything in Europe. Yet in less than two years, Cortés defeated the entire Aztec nation in one of the most astounding battles ever waged. The story of a lost kingdom, a relentless conqueror, and a doomed warrior, Conquistador is history at its most riveting.

Places Aztec civilization and history in the context of world history Montezuma (ca. 1466-1520), who had been educated as a priest and had served well as a military commander, ascended to the Aztec throne in about 1502 on the basis of his military record and reputation for piety. As Peter G. Tsouras demonstrates, almost immediately Montezuma transformed himself from a man of good judgment to a pitiless autocrat. He killed indiscriminately at home and waged wars of conquest against his neighbors, adding territory in contemporary Honduras and Nicaragua to his empire. In 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico at the head of a Spanish expedition. Montezuma believed the invaders to be gods fulfilling the prophecy that the god Quetzalcoatl would return. He failed to resist and cautiously offered gifts. As a result, Cortés and the conquistadors marched on the capital and seized Montezuma. The monarch fell, surrendering his power, wealth, and even the sovereignty of his people, almost gladly. He became a puppet of the Spaniards and finally allied himself in battle against his own people. When the emperor's brother at last led an uprising, the ungrateful Spaniards killed Montezuma. Against the backdrop of ancient Mexico's rich cultural heritage, Tsouras captures the tragedy that befell Mexico during Montezuma's reign.