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Moctezuma II (c.1466-1520), more popularly known to history as Montezuma, was the ninth tlatoani (speaker) or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520. Moctezuma was also the huey tlatoani (great speaker) or emperor of the Aztec Empire.
During his reign the Aztec Empire reached its greatest size. Through warfare, Moctezuma expanded the territory as far south as Xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and incorporated the Zapotec and Yopi people into the empire. He changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and widened the divide between pipiltin (nobles) and macehualtin (commoners) by prohibiting commoners from working in the royal palaces
Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his men were the first Europeans to contact the Aztecs. While Moctezuma initially welcomed the Spanish, relations soured in the face of Spanish proselytizing. Cortés seized Moctezuma in a bid to keep the Aztecs in line. After a tense period of violence that climaxed with the Spanish massacre of a number of Aztec nobles, the Spanish fought their way out of Tenochtitlan after Montezuma was killed. The circumstances of Montezuma's death are disputed with some claiming the Spaniards murdered him, others asserting his own people murdered him in revenge.
Montezuma II in "Eyewear"[]
Montezuma II died over a decade before Estevánico came into position of his magical eyewear. When Esperanza/Amal told Estevánico that Hernán Cortés had possessed a similar device when he conquered the Aztec, Estevánico was willing to believe it. However, he could not believe that Montezuma himself had given the device to Cortés, although this was precisely what had happened in multiple timelines.[1]
References[]
- ↑ The Mask of the Sun, Fred Saberhagen, Ch. 3.
| Royal offices (OTL) | ||
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| Preceded by Ahuitzotl |
Tlatoani (Speaker) of Tenochtitlan Huey tlatoani (de facto emperor) of the Aztec Empire 1502-1520 |
Succeeded by Cuitláhuac |
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