In search of the last great Aztec ruler

Montezuma inherited an empire of five million people from his uncle, stretching from present-day Mexico to Nicaragua. At the time, the empire was made up of semi-independent city-states. One of the Aztec King’s greatest achievements was to expand and centralize this empire.

Within months of taking the throne in 1502, he changed from a man of good reason into a pitiless autocrat who declared himself a god. He wanted people to be afraid of him, as he believed that fear and ruthlessness were the only ways to stop the empire falling apart.

Yet it was at the hands of Cortes and the Spanish conquistadors that Montezuma met his downfall – captured and humiliated. The facts surrounding his death are contradictory. But what was his relationship with Cortes, and why did such a ruthless leader submit to his captors with such relative ease?

Presenter Dan Snow Producer John Trefor Executive Producer Ludo Graham