or Guatimozin
born 0441; 1495
died Feb. 26, 1522
Last Aztec emperor, nephew and son-in-law of Montezuma II .
He became emperor on the death of Montezuma's successor in 1520, while Hernán Cortés was marching for the second time on Tenochtitlán , the Aztec capital. He defended the city during a four-month siege that left most buildings destroyed and few Indians surviving. Tortured by the Spaniards in an effort to make him reveal the location of hidden Aztec wealth, his stoicism became legendary. Later Cortés, hearing of a plot against the Spaniards, had Cuauhtémoc hanged.