Ancient History
Personalities of the Past
Montezuma II
Montezuma II was a very interesting personality of the past with many conflicting views from historians about him. He took control of the Aztec empire at a difficult time of prosperity but throughout his early life lead up to being and an influx of his family and other rulers he was successful in his first part of the ruling. Montezuma II as a result of upbringing accomplished many things for the empire, both good and bad, he handled many rebellions since the beginning of his reign accordingly. Many of his accomplishments have either benefited the empire of hastened the downfall both in the long term and in the short term. Because of Montezuma’s blind religious beliefs he was seen to
…show more content…
He proved his mighty power through various wars and conquests but more so by progressing the noble class and minimising the power of commoners and meritocratic leaders. Montezuma’s cruel war decisions led to many enemies among his era. In his reign Tenochtitlan (the capital) was at its peak being the largest and most attractive city, with approximately 1 million people within the city and 1.5 million in the surrounding valley of the city (source 4). Throughout history, historians suggest the Montezuma was an inspirer worldwide and a “battle-hardiness” emperor. Within and around the empire he was feared for his military deprived human sacrifices and was untrusted by many people. He was a tough in-battle general and was appointed supreme military commander before becoming the emperor. His achievements were not only military oriented he successfully built a new palace in the capital of Mexico, Tenochtitlan (source3). His reforms were in favour of the nobility which removed commoners from important official posts and replaced them with noblemen, however, this created more jobs for the commoners in the process as all royal servants without a title were removed. This won him gratitude and support of nobility, as well as the support of the