Image taken from page 488 of "History of the Conquest of Mexico, with a preliminary view of the ancient Mexican civilization and the life of Hernando Cortes" by William Hickling Prescott, 1843. Moctezuma II (1466 - June 29, 1520) was the 9th tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan (1502-20). The first contact between indigenous civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europeans took place during his reign, and he was killed when Cort矇s and his men fought to escape from the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. During his reign the Aztec Empire reached its maximal size. Through warfare, he expanded the territory as far south as Xoconosco in Chiapas and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and incorporated the Zapotec and Yopi people into the empire. He changed the previous meritocratic system of social hierarchy and widened the divide between pipiltin (nobles) and macehualtin (commoners) by prohibiting commoners from working in the royal palaces. The details of his death are unknown. Cortiez reported that Moctezuma was stabbed by his countrymen, the indigenous accounts claim that he was killed by the Spanish prior to their leaving the city.