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Montezuma II (c. 1466 – June 1520) was the ninth ruler of the Aztec Empire. He leads the Aztecs in Civilization IV.

Montezuma was killed during the Spanish conquest. According to the Spanish, he was killed by his own subjects; however, it is believed to be more likely that the Spanish murdered him after he served his purpose to them.

General Info[]

Montezuma has a reputation amongst Civilization IV players as a psychopath who will almost always declare war on you, even if he is the lowest in score. He trains a lot of units and usually defeats even the most advanced military with overwhelming numbers, so if you encounter him it is recommended to build a large military. Since Montezuma is not good at research, a large and sufficiently advanced army will be able to beat him.

Unique Unit: Jaguar

Unique Building: Sacrificial Altar

Starting Techs: Mysticism, Hunting

AI Traits[]

Montezuma is one of the leaders who will plan wars when pleased.

  • Strategy: military (5) and religion (2).
  • Wonder Construct random: 0 (from 0 to 50).
  • Base Attitude: -1 (from -1 to 2).
  • Base Peace Weight: 0 (from 0 to 10).
  • Warmonger Respect: 2 (from 0 to 2).
  • Espionage Weight: 80 (from 50 to 150).
  • Refuse To Talk War Threshold: 10 (from 6 to 10).
  • No Tech Trade Threshold: 5 (from 5 to 20).
  • Tech Trade Known Percent: 50% (from 0 to 100).
  • Max Gold Trade Percent: 5% (from 5 to 20).
  • Max War Rand: 50 (from 50 to 400).
  • Raze City Prob: 50 (from 0 to 75).
  • Build Unit Prob: 35 (from 0 to 40).
  • Close Borders Attitude Change: -4 (from -4 to -2).
  • Same Religion Attitude Change Limit: 2 (from 2 to 7).
  • Different Religion Attitude Change: -2 (from -2 to 0).
  • Favorite Civic Attitude Change Limit: 2 (from 1 to 6).
  • Demand tribute will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request help will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request technology will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request strategic bonus will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request happiness bonus will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request health bonus will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request map will be refused when: pleased or worse.
  • Request declare war will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request declare war them will be refused when: pleased or worse.
  • Request stop trading will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request stop trading them will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request adopt civic will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request convert religion will be refused when: cautious or worse.
  • Request open borders will be refused when: annoyed or worse.
  • Request defensive pact will be refused when: pleased or worse.
  • Request permanent alliance will be refused when: pleased or worse.
  • Request vassal will be refused when: pleased or worse.
  • Max War Nearby Power Ratio: 130 (from 80 to 130).
  • Max War Distant Power Ratio: 80 (from 30 to 100).
  • Max War Min Adjacent Land Percent: 0 (from 0 to 4).
  • Limited War Rand: 40 (from 40 to 200).
  • Limited War Power Ratio: 130 (from 80 to 130).
  • Dogpile War Rand: 25 (from 25 to 100).
  • Make Peace Rand: 80 (from 10 to 80).
  • Demand Rebuked Sneak Prob: 60 (from 0 to 100).
  • Demand Rebuked War Prob: 10 (from 0 to 50).
  • Base Attack Odds Change: 4 (from 0 to 6).
  • Worse Rank Difference Attitude Change: -3 (from -3 to 0).
  • Better Rank Difference Attitude Change: 0 (from 0 to 4).
  • Share War Attitude Change Limit: 4 (from 2 to 4).
  • Vassal Power Modifier: 0 (from -20 to 50).

Civilopedia entry[]

Montezuma was Emperor of the Aztec nation from approximately 1502 until its dissolution in 1520. At the start of his reign he was considered a god and was absolute monarch of the entire known world; at the end of his reign he watched a small group of foreigners destroy his empire with ease.

Montezuma ruled the Aztecs at the height of their power. His empire controlled a large portion of what is now modern Mexico. They had conquered virtually all other people around them, except for a few other nations, which they deliberately left free (so that they would have somebody left to make war against and to use as sacrifices).

Though extremely rich and powerful, Montezuma's nation shamelessly squandered a great portion of its wealth and might. Much like the Egyptians, the Aztecs built huge monuments to their gods and held ever-increasing numbers of expensive religious festivals in which they slaughtered tens of thousands of prisoners and their own people. Montezuma himself lived in great splendor, his clothing made of silver, gold, and brightly-colored feathers. His court was brilliant, though much riddled with corruption and intrigue.

In 1519, Hernando Cortes led 600 Spanish adventurers with 20 horses and 10 cannon to the shores of Mexico on a mission of exploration. Hearing of the great wealth of the Aztecs, he took his tiny force west, determined to conquer this massive nation of five million. At the start of the march Cortes burned his ships to ensure that his men would not desert him.

The natives that first faced Cortes were primitive and divided. They were terrified of the Spanish "demonic" horses and cannon and broke before their accurate musket-fire. Cleverly exploiting their political divisions, Cortes then enlisted the defeated peoples' aid by promising them revenge against the hated Aztecs.

Montezuma watched Cortes' approach with fear and bewilderment. His religion told him that one day the god Quetzalcoatl would return in the guise of a light-skinned bearded man, and when that day occurred, the Aztecs were to welcome him with open arms. Surely Cortes was Quetzalcoatl, else how could he command an army of demons? On the other hand, Cortes was clearly bent on the conquest of the empire - should Montezuma not oppose him? Perhaps the sinful Aztecs needed to be punished!

Eventually, at the desperate urging of his advisors, Montezuma sent an army into the field against the invaders. But they were unable to offer effective resistance and Cortes' forces quickly overwhelmed them. The invaders then marched into the capital city Tenochtitlan virtually unopposed and took Montezuma prisoner. He was eventually killed during an uprising that pushed the invaders out of the city for more than a year.

One has to wonder what would have happened if Montezuma had shown Cortes' courage and resolve and mobilized his people when the invaders first arrived. Could the Spanish have conquered Mexico against determined and organized resistance? Perhaps, but perhaps the natives would have held on long enough to learn to master the horse and gun - or at least their fear of them. If so, they would have become a formidable foe indeed.

Trivia[]

  • Montezuma is portrayed as clean shaven and not with the short beard as described in Spanish accounts.
  • The city of Tenochtitlan appears in Montezuma's background.
  • He is the only leader to not have a late game theme.

See also[]

Civilization IV Leaders [edit]
AlexanderAsokaAugustus CaesarWBismarckBoudicaBBrennusWCatherineCharlemagneBChurchillWCyrusDarius IBDe GaulleBElizabethFrederickGandhiGenghis KhanGilgameshBHammurabiBHannibalWHatshepsutHuayna CapacIsabellaJoao IIBJulius CaesarJustinian IBKublai KhanLincolnBLouis XIVMansa MusaMao ZedongMehmed IIWMontezumaNapoleonPacal IIBPericlesBPeterQin Shi HuangRagnarWRamesses IIWRooseveltSaladinShakaWSitting BullBStalinWSuleimanBSuryavarman IIBTokugawaVictoriaWang KonWWashingtonWillem van OranjeBZara YaqobB
W Added in WarlordsB Added in Beyond the Sword
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