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He is sometimes referred to as Moctezuma only. Montezuma is an older English spelling of the name, while Moctezuma is commonly used in Spanish. Motecuhzoma is the original name in Nahuatl, pronounced Mo-tek-w-zo-ma, meaning "he who makes himself ruler by his rage". It comes from mo, third person posessive, tecuhtli, "lord", and zoma, "angry" or "with frown face". The use of a regnal number is only for modern distinction from the "other" Moctezuma, referred to as Moctezuma I. Another way to distinguish them besides using Roman numerals is that Moctezuma I was Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina in Nahuatl and Moctezuma II Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin. The first of these epithets means "solitary one who shoots an arrow into the sky"; Xocoyotzin means "the honoured young one", pronounced Cho-co-yot-sin (whereas Xocoyotl would simply mean "the young one" or "junior").
Moctezuma II, heir of Auitzotl, was the ruler of the city of Tenochtitlán.
The personality of Moctezuma was more that of a scholar (tlatimine) than a warrior. He was a priest and the head of the Calmecac, the school of the upper classes. Legend says he did not want to be a Tlatoani. After he was elected, messengers were sent everywhere to look for him. They found him cleaning a temple.
In 1502, after he took the charge, he dismissed most of the autorities, and replaced them with his former students. His general dislike of people led him to create an elaborate ritual to separate him from common people.
Two of his official acts show a strange personality. He created a special temple, dedicated to the gods of the conquered towns, inside of the temple of Huitzilopochtli. He also built a monument dedicated to Tizoc, a tlatoani that has been considered weak and inept, and who may have been poisoned.
During his reign, he increased Tenochtitlán's power to utterly dominate its sister cities of Texcoco and Tlatelolco.
Legend has it that there were eight signs in the ten years prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, signalling the collapse of the Aztec empire:
In the spring of 1519Events March 4 Hernan Cortes lands in Mexico. June 28 Charles I of Spain becomes Emperor of Holy Roman Empire as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (ruled until 1556). September 20 Ferdinand Magellan leaves Europe to circumnavigate the world. November 8 Hernan, he received the first reports of aliens landing on the east coast of his empire. Moctezuma sent an ambassador with two costumes, one of TlalocTlaloc was, in Aztec mythology, the god of rain and fertility. Tlaloc was greatly feared among the Aztecs, who sacrificed humans to him to appease him. The Aztecs believed that Tlaloc was responsible for both floods and droughts, and that Tlaloc had been, and another of QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl ("feathered snake") is the Aztec name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations. Yaxchilan The name "Quetzalcoatl" literally means quetzal-bird sna. Each Aztec god had his own attributes: Tlaloc had a mask that looks like it is wearing eye glasses; Quetzalcoatl had a mask with a beard. The Aztec ambassador, upon meeting the Spaniard Hernán CortésHernan Cortes ( 1485 December 2, 1547) (who was known as Hernando or Fernando Cortes during his lifetime and signed all his letters Fernan Cortes was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. Early Life Cortes was born in Medellin, Extremadura prov, decided that the conquistador had the attributes of Quetzalcoatl, and dressed him like the god, then informed Moctezuma about it. Cortés decided to march to Tenochtitlan. Moctezuma tried to prevent his aproaching, sending more gifts, but the lure of gold was irresistible to the Spaniards. Moctezuma also sent wizards, priests, and even one of his ambasadors, Tzihuacpopoca, who pretended to be the emperor. Moctezuma sent yet more presents when Cortés arrived near Tenochtitlan. The Aztec account (compiled after the conquest by Sahagún) says:
An account by Hernando Tezozómoc (1598) records a story of how Moctezuma sent emissaries to find the legendary wizard and prophet, Huemac, (the legend says he predicted the arriving of Quetzalcoatl one thousands years before) to ask protection and be his servant. Three times he sent emissaries, and three times Huemac refused. He recommended instead that Moctezuma abandon all luxuries, the flowers and the perfumes, make penitence and eat the same food of the poor, and drink only boiled water, and maybe he would help him. This is only a legend, but it reflects the inner fears of Moctezuma.
On November 8, 1519, Moctezuma met Hernán Cortés, whom he believed to be the god Quetzalcoatl. When Cortés arrived in Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma honored him with flowers from his own garden, which was the greatest honor he could offer. Cortés ordered a halt to all human sacrifices: Moctezuma complied, the blood of the temple was scrubbed away, and the images of the Aztec gods were replaced with Christian icons. Moctezuma even agreed to be baptized and declared himself a subject of the Spanish king Charles I of Spain. Moctezuma received Cortez in the Axayacatl palace with all his men and 3,000 indian allies.
Much speculation surrounds this subject: writers like Leon Portilla and Laurette Séjourné think that the Aztec upper classes were aware that they had betrayed the ideals of the religion of Quetzalcoatl. The levels of human sacrifice among the Aztecs were a result of the reforms of Tlacaelel. Moctezuma was a scholar (tlatimine) and certainly knew all this. Moctezuma was not a coward — in Aztec society he would not have risen to the position of tlatoani had he not demonstrated bravery — yet he acted with fear in the presence of Cortés. He submitted willingly to all the Spaniard's requests.
During Cortés's absence, deputy governor Pedro de Alvarado interrupted the Aztec celebration of Toxcatl , killing the most prominent people of the Aztec upper classes in what is known as " The Massacre in the Main Temple"; estimates of the death toll range from 350 to 1,000. The people rose up in revolt, and the Spanish seized Moctezuma as a captive. On July 1, 1520, in an effort to assuage the raging mob, Moctezuma appeared on the balcony of his palace, appealing to his countrymen to retreat. The people were appalled by their emperor's complicity with the Spanish and pelted him with rocks and darts. He died a short time after the attack. But there are differing accounts of precisely how he died. According to Father Sahagun's Aztec informants, Alvarado 'garrotted all the nobles he had in power', Cortez reported he died wounded by a stone (in some history books, Cuautemoc was the culprit, but the source is not reported). In the Ramírez Codex , by an anonymous christianized Aztec, he criticizes the Spanish priests, because instead of administering the last sacraments to Moctezuma, they were occupied searching for gold.
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