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CuauhtmocCuauhtmoc (also Cuauhtemotzin or Guatimozin; also written Cuauhtemoc without the diacritical mark) was the last Aztec ruler (Tlatoani) of Tenochtitln and the last "Aztec Emperor". The name means "descending eagle", from Nahuatl cuauhtli (eagle) and temoc (descent); by extension it can be interpreted as "setting sun". He lived c. 1502 - February 26, 1525. Cuauhtmoc took power in 1520 as successor of Cuaitlhuac and was a nephew of the emperor Moctezuma II, and his young wife was one of Moctezuma's daughters. He ascended to the throne as his city was being besieged by the Spanish and devastated by an epidemic of smallpox. He was about 18 years of age at the time. Probably after the killings in the main temple, there were few Aztec captains available. On August 13, 1521, Cuauhtmoc went to call for reinforcements from the countryside to aid the falling Tenochtitln, after eighty days straight of urban warfare against the Spanish. He was captured while crossing Lake Texcoco in disguise, he surrendered to Hernn Corts in the Tlatelolco section of Tenochtitln, with that the great Aztec civilization came to an end. Cuauhtmoc was tortured by having his feet put to a fire, but even so refused to divulge information about the treasures the Spanish coveted. Corts eventually ordered him hanged on 26 February 1525, on his trip to Honduras. Corts proabably took Cuauhtmoc with him so he wouldn't have to kill him close to his fellow Aztecs. The modern-day Mexican town of Ixcateopan in Guerrero state is home to an ossuary purportedly containing Cuauhtmoc's remains.
Many places in Mexico are named in honour of Cuauhtmoc. These include Ciudad Cuauhtmoc in Chihuahua and the Cuauhtmoc borough of the Mexican Federal District. There is also a Cuauhtmoc station on the Mexico City metro. Cuauhtmoc is also the name of a training ship belonging to the Mexican Navy.
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