Dan Snow travels the Aztec Empire from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific in search of Montezuma – one of history’s most infamous & enigmatic leaders Taking the throne in 1502 Montezuma II inherited an empire at the height of its power From the capital Tenochtitlán one of the largest cities in the world at that time he reigned over ten million people stretching from modern day USA to Guatemala Declaring himself a god Montezuma turned the Aztec Empire into a bloodthirsty machine; subjugating native peoples sacrificing tens of thousands & creating a caste system in which the population were ground under the feet of the elite & yet after 17 years of ruthless rule Montezuma the ‘ Master of the World’ meekly surrendered himself & the wealth land & sovereignty of his people to Spanish coloniser Hernando Cortes & a handful of conquistadors As he visits the great Aztec ruins & examines astonishing artefacts Dan Snow reveals the bloody heart of the Aztec civilisation & pieces together the remarkable story of a divine tragedy of errors a clash of civilisations the end of a world – & a very human god