When was moctezuma ii born

This only whetted the appetite of the Spaniards. Using Montezuma as his mouthpiece, he governed from behind the throne. Montezuma summoned all his caciques chiefs , ordering them to obey the Spaniards and to collect tribute and gold for the Spanish monarch.

He ordered Montezuma to arrange for supplies, but the Emperor refused. Instead, Cuitlahuac assumed the leadership of the revolt. There was furious fighting in the capital. The angry Indians, however, refused to listen to their captive emperor and showered him with stones. Many may have been happy for the chance to free themselves from the powerful Aztecs. But was it Moctezuma II that was really the target of this hate, or just the powerful Mexica culture?

When it came to conquering and expansion, it was really the previous emperor that steals the spotlight - Ahuitzotl. The empire went through stages of expansion, and Ahuitzotl was the emperor in charge of the most recent one.

He more than doubled the area of dominance. One of the great generals that fought his battles, however, was his nephew - Moctezuma. When he came to power after Ahuitzotl's death, it was natural that his job should be to consolidate the power that had come so recently to the Aztecs.

He strengthened the reign of himself and his nobles, though his conquests were not as widespread as the ruler before him. It may be that he has been misjudged from his encounter and loss to the Spanish as indecisive, superstitious and capitulating.

He ruled an empire of million people. Would that empire have continued a thousand years? Or was it already about to be torn apart by civil war? Either way, many today suggest that he accomplished a lot in the building and maintaining of the empire, until its fall.

See a larger photo of Montezuma's headdress click the images. You can read about the fall of the empire elsewhere. What hand Moctezuma II had in that fall may never be known. He was certainly faced with a difficult situation when the powerful strangers landed. Map showing the expansion of the Aztec Empire through conquest. Quick facts for kids. The swollen tide of their passions broke through all barriers of ancient reverence 2. All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles including the article images and facts can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise.

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