The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico, was a pivotal event that took place during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Azte
Cortés and his counselor, the Nahua woman La Malinche, meet Moctezuma in Tenochtitlan, 8 November 1519.
The death of Moctezuma, depicted in the Florentine Codex
Smallpox depicted in Book XII on the conquest of Mexico in the Florentine Codex
The Capture of Cuauhtemoc, 17th century, oil on canvas
Moctezuma II
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Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, retroactively referred to in European sources as Moctezuma II, and often called Montezuma, was the ninth emperor of the Aztec Empire, reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. Through
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
…and the large allied army of Indian auxiliaries, overthrew the most powerful pre Columbian empire to exist in Mesoamerica. Led by the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II, the Aztec Empire had established dominance over modern central Mexico through military conquest and intricate alliances. The Aztecs ruled hegemonically…
Moctezuma depicted in the Codex Mendoza
1892 illustration of Moctezuma II
Headdress traditionally attributed to Moctezuma II in the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna. The object, however, might not have 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.