The next tlatoani was Motecuhzoma II (r. 1502-1520), who was also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin—Motecuhzoma the Younger. This distinguished him from his great-grandfather, Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina.
Motecuhzoma Il’s father, another Axayacatl (dates unknown), died when his son was 1 year old. Motecuhzoma II was raised in the royal household, studied to be a priest, and knew a great deal about the Aztec religion. He was in his early 20s when Ahuitzotl died.
The new, young tlatoani was a gifted leader. He personally led his armies in 43 military victories. But Motecuhzoma II was not just a warrior. He built a double aqueduct to deliver more fresh water to Tenoch-titlan. At times, he sneaked into the city wearing a disguise to discover if his latest orders were being carried out. In disguise, he offered bribes to the city judges to find out if any were dishonest. He wanted the Aztecs to have an efficient, honest legal system.
Motecuhzoma II believed that it was important to set nobles apart from commoners (ordinary people). He introduced laws about what clothing people were allowed to wear and the size of their houses. Only nobles were allowed to wear cotton, and only certain nobles could wear red or purple. Nobles could live in two-story homes; commoners could not.
To make sure that members of the royal court were loyal to him, Motecuhzoma II removed from office anyone he distrusted and filled palace jobs with people close to him. He also removed servants who had served previous tlatoque. He won the loyalty of leaders from the
Throughout the 14th and early 15th centuries, Aztec rulers accumulated more territory for their empire. This map shows the Aztec Empire at its height, before the arrival of the Spanish in 1520.
Provinces by giving palace jobs to their sons. He thought rebellious leaders would think twice before attacking the city where their sons lived and worked.
Motecuhzoma II’s palace had no equal. The grand home was basically a square. Inside was a central plaza that featured lush gardens and peaceful courtyards and fishponds. The tlatoani also had a zoo, complete with jaguars, coyotes, and snakes. The sprawling stone building constructed around the plaza had more than 300 rooms. The Aztecs bathed daily, and the palace had more than 100 bathing rooms
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Two Views of Motecuhzoma II
The Aztecs and the Spanish regarded Motecuhzoma ii in very different ways. A description from the codex mendoza focuses on his qualities as a great leader. the Codex Mendoza was written about 20 years after the spanish conquest by aztec speakers of Nahuatl. it contains a history of the aztec rulers and their conquests, a list of the tribute paid by the conquered peoples, and a description of daily aztec life.
It was most likely commissioned by a spanish governor named antonio de Mendoza (1495-1552) to give to Charles V, the king of Spain. The document is in aztec hieroglyphs with Spanish explanations and commentary. This is some of what it said about Motecuhzoma ii.
Motecuhzoma was by nature wise, an astrologer, a philosopher, and skilled in all the arts, civil as well as military. His subjects greatly respected him because of his gravity, demeanor, and power; none of his predecessors, in comparison, could approach his great state and majesty.
The Spanish were interested in very different aspects of the tlatoani. Bernal Diaz del Castillo (ca. 1492-ca. 1581), a Spanish priest who traveled with the invading Spanish, focused on Motecuhzoma ii's appearance.
The Great Montezuma was about 40 years old, of good height and well proportioned, slender and spare of flesh, not very swarthy, but of the natural colour and shade of an Indian. He did not wear his hair long, but so as just to cover his ears, his scanty black beard was well shaped and thin. His face was somewhat long, but cheerful, and he had good eyes and showed in his appearance and manner both tenderness and, when necessary, gravity. He was very neat and clean and bathed once every day in the afternoon.
(Source: McNeill, William, Sr., ed. The Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, Vol. 3. Great Barrington, Mass.: Berkshire Publishing Group, 2005. available online. URL: Http://drs. asu. edu/fedora/get/asulib:144831/PDF-1. accessed October 15, 2008; and Dfaz del Castillo, Bernal. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 2004.)
And steambaths. The two-story building needed so many rooms and baths because the royal household included several main wives and a number of secondary wives. Also in the palace were the tlatoanis children, servants, and guards.
There were libraries to store government documents and music rooms for entertainment. Bustling kitchens served up meals in sprawling dining halls, feeding guests on venison (deer meat), turkey, fish, wild ducks and geese, and the ever-present dishes made from maize. Honored guests were served roasted agave worms
World History
