Death of Moctezuma II (1520): The Last Days of the Aztec Ruler

The death of Moctezuma II in late June 1520 ended the reign of the most famous ruler of the Aztec (Mexica) Empire. He died in the palace where the Spaniards under Hernán Cortés had held him captive for seven months, as Tenochtitlan rose in revolt against them. Spanish and Indigenous sources give conflicting accounts of who killed him, and the question has never been settled.

Background: Moctezuma the ruler

Moctezuma II, in Nahuatl Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (“the younger”), was born around 1466. He became huey tlatoani (great ruler) of Tenochtitlan in 1502 and led the empire at the height of its power. He expanded its tribute network, reorganised the court to favour high nobility and was known for strict ceremony; few people were allowed to look him in the face.

In the years before the Spaniards arrived, Moctezuma’s armies had fought long wars against Tlaxcala and other independent states, with mixed success. His court was rich and highly organised, with a large palace, gardens and a zoo that amazed later Spanish visitors.

When Cortés landed on the Gulf coast in 1519, Moctezuma sent envoys with rich gifts, perhaps hoping to persuade the strangers to leave. The Spaniards kept coming. On 8 November 1519 Moctezuma met Cortés on the southern causeway and lodged the Spaniards in the palace of his father Axayacatl, in the heart of the city.

Captivity

About a week later Cortés, fearing that his small force could be trapped, seized Moctezuma during a visit and moved him into the Spanish quarters. His pretext was an attack on Spaniards near the coast by a Mexica official, Qualpopoca, who was later burned alive on Cortés’s orders.

For months Moctezuma remained the formal ruler while living under guard. According to Cortés, he declared himself a vassal of the Spanish king and handed over large quantities of gold. Historians debate how far Moctezuma was a helpless prisoner and how far he was trying to manage a dangerous situation. Many Mexica nobles grew angry at his apparent submission, and some, such as Cacama of Texcoco, were also arrested after resisting.

The Toxcatl massacre and uprising

In May 1520 Cortés left Tenochtitlan to confront a Spanish force under Pánfilo de Narváez on the coast, leaving Pedro de Alvarado in command. During the festival of Toxcatl, held in honour of the god Tezcatlipoca, Alvarado’s men attacked the unarmed nobles and dancers in the temple precinct and killed many of them. Alvarado later claimed he had acted to prevent an uprising.

The killing turned the city against the Spaniards. The Mexica besieged the palace of Axayacatl and cut off food. When Cortés returned on 24 June 1520 with reinforcements, he was allowed to enter, but the fighting soon resumed with great intensity. At Moctezuma’s suggestion, Cortés released his brother Cuitláhuac to reopen the markets. Instead Cuitláhuac became the leader of the resistance and was chosen as the new ruler.

How did Moctezuma die?

The two main traditions disagree sharply.

The Spanish account. Cortés and Bernal Díaz del Castillo write that Moctezuma was brought onto a roof or terrace of the palace to tell his people to stop fighting. Warriors below, now following new leaders, answered with stones and arrows, and Moctezuma was struck on the head. According to Díaz, he refused treatment and died about three days later.

The Indigenous accounts. Several later Indigenous and mestizo sources state that the Spaniards killed Moctezuma themselves before abandoning the city, either by strangling or stabbing him. Book 12 of the Florentine Codex says the Mexica found the bodies of Moctezuma and of Itzquauhtzin, ruler of Tlatelolco, thrown out of the palace. Other sources record that other captive lords were also killed at this time.

Mestizo and Indigenous historians writing later in the 16th and early 17th centuries, such as Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, generally repeated the claim that the Spaniards were responsible, though they disagreed on details. The friar Diego Durán, who gathered Nahua testimony in the 1570s and 1580s, also reported that Moctezuma was found dead with stab wounds. These writers had no direct knowledge of the events, but they recorded what had become the Indigenous memory of his death.

Both versions have weaknesses. The Spaniards had strong reasons to blame the Mexica, while Indigenous accounts were written decades later and may reflect anger at the conquerors. Some historians suggest he may have been wounded by stones and later killed by his captors. The exact date is also uncertain, but he died in the last days of June 1520, most often given as 29 or 30 June.

Aftermath

Moctezuma’s body was handed over or thrown from the palace, and the Mexica cremated it. Within a day or two, on the night of 30 June to 1 July 1520, the Spaniards and their allies tried to escape the city and suffered heavy losses in La Noche Triste.

Cuitláhuac ruled for only about 80 days before dying in the smallpox epidemic of 1520. His successor Cuauhtémoc led the defence of Tenochtitlan until its fall in August 1521.

The Spanish chroniclers’ version became the standard story in Europe for centuries, and it was repeated in classic works such as William H. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Mexico (1843). Modern historians are more cautious and usually present both accounts side by side.

Moctezuma’s family survived in the new colonial world. His daughter Tecuichpo, baptised Isabel Moctezuma, received large estates, and the Spanish noble title Count of Moctezuma was later created for his descendants.

Moctezuma’s reputation also changed over time. Colonial writers often portrayed him as weak and superstitious, while 19th-century Mexican nationalists preferred to celebrate Cuitláhuac and Cuauhtémoc, who fought the Spaniards openly. Recent scholarship tends to see Moctezuma as a capable ruler whose choices in 1519-1520 were shaped by politics, diplomacy and the very limited information he had about the newcomers.

Key people

• Moctezuma II (c. 1466-1520): Huey tlatoani of Tenochtitlan from 1502 until his death.
• Hernán Cortés (1485-1547): Spanish commander who held Moctezuma captive.
• Pedro de Alvarado (c. 1485-1541): Cortés’s deputy, responsible for the Toxcatl massacre.
• Cuitláhuac (died 1520): Moctezuma’s brother, who led the uprising and succeeded him.

Myths and facts

• Myth: Moctezuma welcomed Cortés as the god Quetzalcoatl. This story appears only in sources written decades later and is now widely doubted by historians.
• Myth: Moctezuma was a coward who surrendered his empire. This image comes partly from post-conquest writers seeking someone to blame. Modern historians see a ruler facing an unprecedented crisis with limited choices.
• Fact: The headdress in Vienna is not proven to be his. A famous quetzal-feather headdress in the Weltmuseum Wien is popularly called “Moctezuma’s headdress”, but there is no evidence that he wore it.

Timeline

• 1502: Moctezuma II becomes ruler of Tenochtitlan.
• 1519, 8 November: Moctezuma meets Cortés and lodges the Spaniards in his father’s palace.
• 1519, mid-November: Cortés takes Moctezuma into custody.
• 1520, May: Alvarado’s men attack the Toxcatl festival and the city rises.
• 1520, 24 June: Cortés returns to the besieged palace.
• 1520, late June: Moctezuma dies in Spanish custody.
• 1520, 30 June - 1 July: The Spaniards flee Tenochtitlan.

Why it matters

Moctezuma’s death marked the collapse of the uneasy arrangement through which Cortés had tried to control Tenochtitlan without open war. It opened the violent phase of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and left behind a lasting historical mystery about the last days of the Aztec ruler.