Read "Different Accounts of the Death of Aztec King Motecuhzoma (Montezuma) Excerpts from the "Account of Alva Ixtlilxochiltl" (1519) 1966. “The Account of Alva Ixtlilxochitl." The Broken Spears. Edited and Translated by Miguel León-Portilla. Boston: Beacon Press. Bernal Díaz. 1956. "Account of Moctezuma's Death." The Bernal Díaz Chronicles. Edited by Albert Idell. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company. Following the treaty with the Tlaxcalans, the Spaniards marched to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán (present site of Mexico City) where they captured the Aztec emperor Montezuma. Subsequently, a battle took place between Cortéz's men and the Aztecs, forcing the conquistador and his men to flee the city. During the flight and ensuing battle, Montezuma was killed. His death marked a point of no return for Spaniards and Aztecs alike, though there is considerable debate over who exactly killed Montezuma. That the Aztecs and Spaniards each tried to vilify and hold accountable the other is not surprising. Excerpts from two versions -- one Aztec and one Spanish -- of what happened, though, demonstrate more than just finger-pointing and the inability to determine exactly what happened. They demonstrate the divisions and tensions that the Aztecs experienced even at the heart of their own empire. Moreover, they suggest that the Spaniards, in assuming Montezuma had no cause to be accountable to his people, might have allowed their own assumptions about kingship in Europe to mislead them. Excerpts from the "Account of Alva Ixtlilxochitl" Cortes turned in the direction of Tenochtitlan and entered the city of Tezcoco. He was received only by a group of knights, because the legitimate sons of King Nezahualpilli had been hidden by their servants, and the other lords were being held by the Aztecs as hostages. He entered Tenochtitlan with his army of Spaniards and allies on the day of St. John the Baptist, without being molested in any way. The Mexicans gave them everything they needed, but when they saw that Cortes had no intention of leaving the city or of freeing their leaders, they rallied their warriors and attacked the Spaniards. This attack began on the day after Cortes entered the city and lasted for seven days. On the third day, Motecuhzoma climbed onto the rooftop and tried to admonish his people, but they cursed him and shouted that he was a coward and a traitor to his country. They even threatened him with their weapons. It is said that an Indian killed him with a stone from his sling, but the palace servants declared that the Spaniards put him to death by stabbing him in the abdomen with their swords. On the seventh day, the Spaniards abandoned the city along with the Tlaxcaltecas, the Huexotzincas and their other allies. They fled down the causeway that leads out to Tlacopan. But before they left, they murdered King Cacama of Tezcoco, his three sisters and two of his brothers. There are several accounts by Indians who to ...