1398-1468

Aztec Emperor

Though he is not as well-known today as Montezuma II (r. 1502-20), last of the Aztec emperors, Montezuma I was among the greatest of the empire's rulers. It was under the reign of Montezuma I, who became noted for his conquests, that Aztec lands first extended to the Gulf of Mexico, or the "Sea of the Sky".

Like most Aztec rulers, Montezuma (sometimes rendered as Moctezuma) was born into the nobility, and rose to the empire's highest position not by means of a hereditary claim, but after winning an election among the nobles. After taking the throne in 1440, when he was 42 years old, he set about consolidating the gains of his predecessor, Itzcoatl (r. 1427-40), first to establish full Aztec control over the Valley of Mexico. In 1445, Montezuma led the Aztecs in their conquest of the neighboring state of Oaxaca.

Montezuma's reign was...