Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, referred to retroactively in European sources as Moctezuma II, was the ninth Emperor of the Aztec Empire, reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. Through his marriage with Queen Tlapalizquixochtzin of Ecatepec, one of his two wives, he was also king consort of that altepetl.
1892 illustration of Moctezuma II
Headdress traditionally attributed to Moctezuma II in the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna. The object, however, might have not belonged to Moctezuma and, contrary to popular belief, it was not used as his crown. It might have been a religious headdress to represent the god Quetzalcoatl during religious events, a battle standard, or a military device worn in the back.
Stone of the Five Suns, a stone with inscriptions in Nahuatl writing depicting the date 15 July 1503 in the Aztec calendar. Some historians believe this to be the date on which Moctezuma was crowned.
Moctezuma's Palace from the Codex Mendoza (1542)
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexico from 1428 until the combined forces of the Spanish conquistadores and their native allies who ruled under Hernán Cortés defeated them in 1521.
First page of the Codex Boturini, showing the migration of the Mexica.
Jaguar warriors in a flowery war from the Codex Zouche-Nuttall
Codex Azcatitlan depicting the Spanish army, with Cortés and Malinche in front
Cristóbal de Olid led Spanish soldiers with Tlaxcalan allies in the conquests of Jalisco and Colima of West Mexico.
