Moctezuma II

1466–1520

Moctezuma II was ruler of the Aztec Empire when Hernán Cortés reached central Mexico in 1519. He received the Spaniards in Tenochtitlan, was taken under their control and died during the uprising of 1520, with the exact circumstances of his death disputed.

Moctezuma’s authority collapsed after the Spaniards took him captive inside his own capital; during the uprising of 1520 he died in disputed circumstances, after which the Mexica resistance passed first to Cuitláhuac and then Cuauhtémoc.

In Gary Jennings’ Aztec, born near the lakes of the Basin of Mexico, he moves through schooling, trade, war, court service and long journeys that reveal the social worlds of commoners, merchants, warriors, priests and rulers. His rise brings him into the imperial capital of Tenochtitlan during the reigns of Ahuitzotl and Moctezuma II, while family loyalties and private losses remain entwined with the demands of empire. In G. A. Henty’s By Right of Conquest, Historical figures including Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma II connect the fictional action directly to the documented events. Military action is combined with travel, escape and survival, so the wider conflict is repeatedly experienced through immediate personal danger. Further fictional perspectives on Moctezuma II can be found in Gary Jennings’ Gary Jennings’ the 2012 Codex, Manolo Palomares’ Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico, H. Rider Haggard’s Montezuma’s Daughter, and Colin Falconer’s Feathered Serpent.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Moctezuma II (2 series)

Aztec in Order

by Gary Jennings 6 books 4.2(30,419)

The Aztec sequence follows Indigenous and mixed-ancestry protagonists through five centuries of Mexican history, from the height of Tenochtitlan to the wars that ended Spanish rule. The first novel gives Mixtli’s account of the empire under Ahuitzotl and Moctezuma II and carries his life into the conquest. Later…

All books in this series

1. Aztec

First published 1980 · 4.3(22,651)

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2. Aztec Autumn

First published 1997 · 3.9(3,691)

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3. Aztec Blood

First published 2001 · 3.9(2,172)

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4. Aztec Rage

First published 2006 · 3.9(1,053)

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5. Aztec Fire

First published 2009 · 3.8(556)

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6. Aztec Revenge

First published 2012 · 3.9(296)

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Epic Historical Adventure in Order

by Colin Falconer 14 books 4.3(129,144)

Epic Historical Adventure is Colin Falconer's publisher-defined collection of stand-alone historical thrillers rather than a continuous narrative sequence. The novels range from Alexander the Great, Cleopatra and the Mongol Empire to the Ottoman court, the conquest of Mexico, colonial India, shipwreck and twentieth-century Palestine. Most volumes can be…