Civilisations: Rise and Fall

A look at the Aztecs' battle to save their civilisation from Spanish invaders

Sophie Okonedo narrates a look at the Aztecs' battle to save their society from Spanish invaders. At its height, the Aztec civilisation was a vast and well-organised society, ruled by Moctezuma II and centred on the spectacular island city of Tenochtitlan, containing around 100,000 people. But in 1519, the arrival of an avaricious band of Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés became one of the most fateful moments in world history, as the fault lines in the Aztec world were exposed