The Fall of the Aztec Empire: What Really Happened in the Battle of Tenochtitlan?

On August 13, 1521, the capital city of Tenochtitlan fell after a two-month siege — a victory that marked the end of an empire. But five hundred years later, researchers are giving stories surrounding the events another look.

By Joshua Rapp Learn
Aug 13, 2021 1:00 PM
The Conquest of Tenochtitlan
A painting representing the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Artist unknown, dated to the 17th century. (Credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons)

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

In 1521, Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés completed the invasion of Mexico’s most powerful empire. His glorified tale starts out with just a few hundred Spaniards landing near Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, and includes everything from the supposed betrayal of a Nahua women against her own people to the Spanish overcoming a vastly larger Aztec army in one of the biggest cities of the world at the time. 

The problem is, five centuries after the Aztec capital toppled, researchers are reexamining the narrative of Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan that comes mostly to us through the eyewitness accounts of Cortés’ soldiers, an account by historian Francisco López de Gómara based on interviews with Cortés, and the latter’s own letters.

“All of this is really just Spanish men aggrandizing their own story,” says David Carballo, an archaeologist at Boston University who studies the Aztecs.

A combination of Indigenous accounts preserved in various codices and reading between the lines of the Spanish accounts is revealing a more nuanced story in which the Spanish heavily depended on Indigenous allies like the Tlaxcalans and the Texcocans who were also searching for an opportunity to put an end to Aztec hegemony in the region.

0 free articles left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

0 free articlesSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

Stay Curious

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and unlock one more article for free.

 

View our Privacy Policy


Want more?
Keep reading for as low as $1.99!


Log In or Register

Already a subscriber?
Find my Subscription

More From Discover
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2025 LabX Media Group