"Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma and the Last Stand of the Aztecs" (Bantam Books. 330 pages. $27.50), by Buddy Levy. Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes met the mighty Montezuma during a ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Underwater archaeologists have discovered two 500-year-old iron ship ...

For centuries, the fall of Tenochtitlan, the majestic, lake-bound capital of the Aztecs or Mexica, has engaged historians and storytellers. To the admiring, conquest was neat, romantic and at once ...

Hernán Cortés had Aztec treasures melted into gold bars for easier transport back to Europe. Courtesy of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, Archivo digital, MNA-INAH-CANNON A new ...

Sometimes you don’t know just how much you don’t know. I came to that realization while reading “You Dreamed of Empires,” Álvaro Enrigue’s excellent new novel (translated by Natasha Wimmer) about the ...

Five hundred years have passed since the death of Cuauhtémoc, the last ruler of the Aztec Empire. To commemorate this anniversary, a special issue of Arqueología Mexicana was published, bringing new ...

Before their defeat by the Spanish in 1521, the triple alliance ruled Mesoamerica through complex trade networks—and warfare. The Mexica priest Cuauhtlequetzqui points out the place where his people ...

Buried in the Mexico City palace of Hernan Cortes is a mysterious, centuries-old skeleton. Its true identity had been obscured for decades — until now. Following an earthquake that damaged the palace ...