| The name can also be spelled as Moctezuma, and he | | | | We cannot talk about Montezuma without referring to |
| was the ninth Aztec emperor of Mexico. Montezuma | | | | his profound belief in the god Quetzalcoatl. The Aztecs |
| is particularly famous for his confrontation with Hernán | | | | expected the return of Quetzalcoatl, a white bearded |
| Cortés, the Spanish conquistador. He was the leader | | | | god that ruled the Toltec empire. Some historians |
| of the Aztec empire from 1502 until his death in the | | | | suggest that Quetzalcoatl was, in fact, a Viking that |
| year 1520. During this time, the Aztec empire extended | | | | arrived to Mexico before Columbus. The legend of |
| from central Mexico to what is today Honduras in | | | | Quetzalcoatl talks about a white god that brought with |
| Central America. | | | | him the knowledge of handling metal, and when looking |
| Montezuma reached the Aztec throne as a | | | | into the Aztec codex, the pictographic representations |
| successor of his uncle Ahuizotl. During this time, he | | | | of the god Quetzalcóatl resemble the image of a |
| organized military expeditions that extended the scope | | | | Nordic person. |
| of the Aztec influence, however, he also built | | | | When the Spaniards arrived to Mexico, and |
| resentment among various tribes in the region, who | | | | Montezuma heard about white bearded men arriving |
| were not willing to pay the tributes that Montezuma | | | | by sea on the east, he mistakenly believed that the |
| demanded. This resentment, among other | | | | god Quetzalcoatl had returned. Hernán Cortés was |
| circumstances, was what helped the Spanish | | | | aware of this belief and used it in his advantage during |
| conquistadores submit the Aztec tribe. | | | | his expedition across Mexico. |