1502

Events in 1502 1

• 1502 – 1520 Moctezuma II -- the emperor at the apex Moctezuma II (c.1466-1520), ninth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, rules at the absolute apex of Aztec power -- presiding over the most extensive empire in Mesoamerican history, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, and the most elaborate court in the New World. He is simultaneously the empire's most powerful and most unlucky ruler: he inherits a perfect system and watches it destroyed. His reign sees the final territorial expansion of the empire, the maximum development of court ceremonial (he eats alone, behind a screen, served from golden vessels; no one may look at him directly; visitors approach barefoot), and the arrival of Hernán Cortés in 1519. His response to Cortés -- initially hospitality, then captivity, then his unclear death -- remains the most debated series of decisions in New World history.