Cortes Enters Tenochtitlan: Fall of the Aztec Empire Begins
Hernán Cortés marched into Tenochtitlán, where Aztec ruler Moctezuma II welcomed the Spanish with lavish celebrations that masked a fatal miscalculation of foreign intent. This initial reception allowed Cortés to seize the emperor and destabilize the Aztec command structure, setting the stage for the empire's rapid collapse within two years.
November 8, 1519
507 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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