Ample historical evidence supports the interpretation that Moctezuma’s vacillation and political paralysis were crucial in giving the Hernán Cortés and the Spanish the strategic and tactical edge they needed to defeat the mighty Aztecs Like all seven Mexica rulers who preceded him following the establishment of the royal house in the late 1300s, Moctezuma II was considered semidivine in a culture saturated with state-sponsored religious symbols and practices During his tenure as emperor, he also earned a reputation as a stickler for probity, propriety, and solemnity in public and religious affairs and for ruthlessness in military matters He has been described as dark, having wavy hair and communicating in stern but eloquent speech His weaknesses as a ruler became apparent only after his spies reported the arrival of strange, whiteskinned, bearded men, accompanied by imposing four-legged “deer . . . as high as rooftops” (horses) in large floating vessels off the Caribbean coast in April 1519 His indecisiveness from this point forward is commonly attributed to his belief that the strangers’ arrival represented the fulfillment of a prophecy regarding the return of the god Quetzalcoatl—an assertion that continues to provoke controversy among scholars Regardless, it is clear that the Mexica emperor did almost everything in his power to appease and placate the Spaniards, especially Cortés Most often cited in this regard are his decisions not to attack but to welcome the armed strangers into the capital island-city of Tenochtitlán, against the counsel of many of his advisers, and to submit willingly to being kept as Cortés’s prisoner for seven months, from midNovember 1519 until his death the following June Extant documentation demonstrates many instances of his paralysis, indecision, fear, and anxiety, even as it offers a detailed portrait of him as a ruler and human being Also controversial is the manner of his death; whether he was slain by his Spanish captors, or by the stones hurled by his own subjects following his efforts to quell their violent revolt against the invaders, the sources agree that he died on June 30, 1520, and that his death marked the end of the initial, relatively peaceful phase of the conquest and the beginning of the war without quarter that would result in Spanish victory and the onset of 300 years of colonial rule See also Aztecs (Mexica); Aztecs, human sacrifice and the Mohács, Battle of (Mohacz, Battle of) 251 Further reading Lockhart, James, ed., trans We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993; Restall, Matthew Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003; Thomas, Hugh Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico New York: Touchstone, 1993 Michael J Schroeder Mohács, Battle of (Mohacz, Battle of) The Battle of Mohács, which erupted in the summer of 1526, was a major Ottoman victory over the Hungarian king Louis, marking the end of the Jagiellon dynasty Led by Suleiman I the Magnificent, the Ottoman troops, estimated at 100,000 strong, crushed the far smaller Hungarian forces on the open plain of Mohács Besides having numerous soldiers, the Ottomans had far superior weaponry that included artillery and highly skilled marksmen One of the first so-called gunpowder empires, the Ottomans effectively used cannons to stop the charging Hungarian cavalry King Louis was killed fleeing the field, and Suleiman was said to have mourned him as a valiant opponent Several bishops and over 20,000 Hungarian troops also perished Following the victory, Suleiman swiftly moved on to conquer the twin cities of Pest and Buda, the Hungarian capital on the Danube River, in the fall of 1526 Following the custom of Ottoman armies, Suleiman then led his victorious troops, laden with booty and captives, back to Istanbul for the winter As result of their victory, the Ottomans incorporated Hungary into their expanding empire The Habsburgs, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, took advantage of the destruction of most of the Hungarian nobility to increase their authority in central Europe, and the two great empires began their long struggle against one another for control of southern and central Europe See also Habsburg dynasty; Ottoman Empire (1450– 1750) Further reading: Kortepeter, Carl Max Ottoman Imperialism during the Reformation: Europe and the Caucasus New York: New York University Press, 1972; Sugar, Peter Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1804 Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977 Janice J Terry