n.
or Moctezuma II
born 1466
died 0441; June 30, 1520, Tenochtitlán, near modern Mexico City
Ninth emperor of the Aztecs .
In 1502 he inherited from his uncle an empire of five to six million people that stretched from present-day Mexico to Nicaragua. Aztec belief in the prophesied return of the god Quetzalcóatl , whose description the conquistador Hernán Cortés resembled, contributed to his downfall. Cortés, who had made alliances with tribes eager to be rid of Aztec domination, held Montezuma prisoner in Tenochtitlán , and he died in custody.