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Moctezuma II
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin (c. 1466 – 29 June 1520), retroactively referred to in European sources as Moctezuma II, and often simply called Montezuma, was the ninth emperor of the Aztec Empire (also known as the Mexica Empire), reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. Through his marriage with Queen Tlapalizquixochtzin of Ecatepec, one of his two wives, he was also the king consort of the altepetl.
The first contact between the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign. He was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire when Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, and his men seized the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. 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.
Though two other Aztec rulers succeeded Moctezuma after his death, their reigns were short-lived and the empire quickly collapsed under them. Historical portrayals of Moctezuma have mostly been colored by his role as ruler of a defeated nation, and many sources have described him as weak-willed, superstitious, and indecisive. However, depictions of his person among his contemporaries are divided; some depict him as one of the greatest leaders Mexico had, a great conqueror who tried his best to maintain his nation together at times of crisis, while others depict him as a tyrant who wanted to take absolute control over the whole empire. Accounts of how he died and who were the perpetrators (Spaniards or natives) differ. His story remains one of the most well-known conquest narratives from the history of European contact with Native Americans, and he has been mentioned or portrayed in numerous works of historical fiction and popular culture.
The Classical Nahuatl pronunciation of his name is [motɛːkʷˈs̻oːmaḁ]. It is a compound of a noun meaning 'lord' and a verb meaning 'to frown in anger', and so is interpreted as 'he frowns like a lord' or 'he who is angry in a noble manner'. His name glyph, shown in the upper left corner of the image from the Codex Mendoza below, was composed of a diadem (xiuhuitzolli) on straight hair with an attached earspool, a separate nosepiece, and a speech scroll.
The Aztecs did not use regnal numbers; they were given retroactively by historians to more easily distinguish him from the first Moctezuma, referred to as Moctezuma I. The Aztec chronicles called him Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, while the first was called Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina or Huehuemotecuhzoma ('Old Moctezuma'). Xocoyotzin (IPA: [ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sin̥]) means 'honored young one' (from xocoyotl 'younger son' + suffix -tzin added to nouns or personal names when speaking about them with deference).
Moctezuma II was the great-grandson of Moctezuma I through his daughter Atotoztli II and her husband Huehue Tezozómoc (not to be confused with the Tepanec leader). According to some sources, Tezozómoc was the son of emperor Itzcóatl, which would make Moctezuma his great-grandson, but other sources claim that Tezozómoc was Chimalpopoca's son, thus nephew of Itzcóatl, and a lord in Ecatepec. Moctezuma was also Nezahualcóyotl's grandson; he was a son of emperor Axayácatl and one of Nezahualcóyotl's daughters, Izelcoatzin or Xochicueyetl. Two of his uncles were Tízoc and Ahuizotl, the two previous emperors.
As was customary among Mexica nobles, Moctezuma was educated in the calmecac, the educational institution for the nobility. He would have been enrolled into the institution at a very early age, likely at the age of five years, as the sons of the kings were expected to receive their education at a much earlier age than the rest of the population. According to some sources, Moctezuma stood out in his childhood for his discipline during his education, finishing his works correctly and being devout to the Aztec religion.
Moctezuma was an already famous warrior by the time he became the tlatoani of Mexico, holding the high rank of tlacatecuhtli (lord of men) and/or tlacochcalcatl (person from the house of darts) in the Mexica military, and thus his election was largely influenced by his military career and religious influence as a priest, as he was also the main priest of Huitzilopochtli's temple.
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Moctezuma II
Moctezuma Xocoyotzin (c. 1466 – 29 June 1520), retroactively referred to in European sources as Moctezuma II, and often simply called Montezuma, was the ninth emperor of the Aztec Empire (also known as the Mexica Empire), reigning from 1502 or 1503 to 1520. Through his marriage with Queen Tlapalizquixochtzin of Ecatepec, one of his two wives, he was also the king consort of the altepetl.
The first contact between the indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign. He was killed during the initial stages of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire when Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, and his men seized the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. 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.
Though two other Aztec rulers succeeded Moctezuma after his death, their reigns were short-lived and the empire quickly collapsed under them. Historical portrayals of Moctezuma have mostly been colored by his role as ruler of a defeated nation, and many sources have described him as weak-willed, superstitious, and indecisive. However, depictions of his person among his contemporaries are divided; some depict him as one of the greatest leaders Mexico had, a great conqueror who tried his best to maintain his nation together at times of crisis, while others depict him as a tyrant who wanted to take absolute control over the whole empire. Accounts of how he died and who were the perpetrators (Spaniards or natives) differ. His story remains one of the most well-known conquest narratives from the history of European contact with Native Americans, and he has been mentioned or portrayed in numerous works of historical fiction and popular culture.
The Classical Nahuatl pronunciation of his name is [motɛːkʷˈs̻oːmaḁ]. It is a compound of a noun meaning 'lord' and a verb meaning 'to frown in anger', and so is interpreted as 'he frowns like a lord' or 'he who is angry in a noble manner'. His name glyph, shown in the upper left corner of the image from the Codex Mendoza below, was composed of a diadem (xiuhuitzolli) on straight hair with an attached earspool, a separate nosepiece, and a speech scroll.
The Aztecs did not use regnal numbers; they were given retroactively by historians to more easily distinguish him from the first Moctezuma, referred to as Moctezuma I. The Aztec chronicles called him Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, while the first was called Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina or Huehuemotecuhzoma ('Old Moctezuma'). Xocoyotzin (IPA: [ʃoːkoˈjoːt͡sin̥]) means 'honored young one' (from xocoyotl 'younger son' + suffix -tzin added to nouns or personal names when speaking about them with deference).
Moctezuma II was the great-grandson of Moctezuma I through his daughter Atotoztli II and her husband Huehue Tezozómoc (not to be confused with the Tepanec leader). According to some sources, Tezozómoc was the son of emperor Itzcóatl, which would make Moctezuma his great-grandson, but other sources claim that Tezozómoc was Chimalpopoca's son, thus nephew of Itzcóatl, and a lord in Ecatepec. Moctezuma was also Nezahualcóyotl's grandson; he was a son of emperor Axayácatl and one of Nezahualcóyotl's daughters, Izelcoatzin or Xochicueyetl. Two of his uncles were Tízoc and Ahuizotl, the two previous emperors.
As was customary among Mexica nobles, Moctezuma was educated in the calmecac, the educational institution for the nobility. He would have been enrolled into the institution at a very early age, likely at the age of five years, as the sons of the kings were expected to receive their education at a much earlier age than the rest of the population. According to some sources, Moctezuma stood out in his childhood for his discipline during his education, finishing his works correctly and being devout to the Aztec religion.
Moctezuma was an already famous warrior by the time he became the tlatoani of Mexico, holding the high rank of tlacatecuhtli (lord of men) and/or tlacochcalcatl (person from the house of darts) in the Mexica military, and thus his election was largely influenced by his military career and religious influence as a priest, as he was also the main priest of Huitzilopochtli's temple.
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