Montezuma and the Aztecs: The Life and Death of an Empire and Its Emperor

*Includes pictures of Aztec art, ruins, and more. *Includes art depicting Montezuma and important people, places, and event in his life. *Describes daily life for the Aztecs, including the legendary city of Tenochtitlan and their infamous human sacrifice rituals. *Includes Hernan Cortés's Second Letter to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, one of the most descriptive firsthand accounts of the Aztecs and Tenochtitlan. "Cortés and all of us captains and soldiers wept for him, and there was no one among us that knew him and had dealings with him who did not mourn him as if he were our father, which was not surprising, since he was so good. It was stated that he had reigned for seventeen years, and was the best king they ever had in Mexico, and that he had personally triumphed in three wars against countries he had subjugated. I have spoken of the sorrow we all felt when we saw that Montezuma was dead. We even blamed the Mercederian friar for not having persuaded him to become a Christian." –