“Eagle that descends,” last king of the Aztecs. Cuauhtémoc (1502-1525) (pronounced Koo-ow-TEH-mok), the "Eagle that descends," was last king of the Aztecs. He rallied the Aztec warriors after the initial indecision of Moctezuma II. At the age of eighteen Cuauhtémoc commanded Tenochtitlán during the long siege by Cortés. Cuauhtémoc attempted to continue fighting the Spanish, but Aztec society had been irrevocably devastated and ravaged by the diseases, famine, and dislocations of the invader. Betrayed and executed by the Spaniards, Cuauhtémoc is remembered today as a hero who resisted the conquerors, a symbol of valor.