Civilization V Leader | Montezuma of the Aztecs

A mighty warrior and leader, Montezuma I (c.1397-1469 AD) helped propel the Aztec nation to greatness and glory. He should not be confused with his unfortunate grandson Montezuma II, who watched helplessly as his empire was dismantled by Spanish Conquistadors.
- from Civilopedia

[@GranColombiaball]

Montezuma - The only leader in Civilization who has cheering fans off-screen,

[@EvilMaxWar]

As well as a wall of skulls

[@erickalejandrorangelcamela8641]

@@EvilMaxWar the wall of skull’s name is Tzompantli

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

Ironic that he was killed by a mob of his former subjects.

[@pelinalwhitestrake3367]

@@wikipediaintellectual7088 You're mistaking him with Montezuma II.

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

@@pelinalwhitestrake3367 Ah okay

[@danielpitt226]

This is the best leader animation, in my opinion, in Civ V. His body movement, the way he pauses for theatrical effect, his voice acting - it's all perfectly done. The crowd is icing on the cake.

[@moose73630]

Daniel Pitt I agree. He is my favorite leader to talk to in this game.

[@arisrayden]

mine too and since i'm usually a pretty aggro lizzy we always get along well

[@mdalsted]

How would you compare it to his animations and voice-acting in Civ6?

[@casuscnactus4864]

He looks like a complete maniac. Well, that is because he is one. Every new player can see right away what he is in for when he spawns near him.

[@HVLLOWS1999]

I like this animation as well as others like Darius, Pachacuti, Pacal, Augustus, Ashurbanipal, Neba, Casimir and Harun. I hope in civ 7 they bring back and even improve these full animation scenes not the greasy half-ass civ 6 animations. I get that theirs more civs in 6 so they had to compromise somewhere but its still lame. Civ VII full animation like Civ V🤞🏽

[@EnigmaticNothing]

He has the best ambient sound of all the leaders (the crowd). They voice their approval or disapproval at your dealings and get stirred up when you declare war

[@atlasflame5815]

His eyes look like they're staring into my soul...

[@dkapbboy]

He's got the coolest/most frightening civ screen. The screams in the background definitely add to the effect.

[@Rayman2457]

"ximicacan" literally means "die" in the nahuatl language. So he's literally saying, "Die! Die! Die!"

[@suryakhanna4699]

Reaper, is that you?

[@uncleruckus714]

Instead of him saying "Imperator de los Aztecas" which is Spanish he should have said "Uey Tlatoani Mexica" which is Nahuatl.

[@jossgoyanko7006]

Actually he's speaking modern Nahuatl, which has a Spanish influence. You're thinking of Classical Nahuatl, which although preferable for the sake of accuracy, is a dead language we still know too little about to use.

[@sirmount2636]

Think of it like English. Modern English has a huge French influence when compared to Old English.

[@Kennychan222]

agreed! Good analogy!

[@fictionmeister]

even in modern nahuatl we say tlatoani. it wouldn't be unheard of, they just did lazy research

[@Xilotl]

*Huey

[@WadeWilsonKPop]

He's got the most badass leader screen I've ever seen, I give him that!

[@ursosentado]

The Aztecs had a single word for "History shall surely smile on me once I've destroyed the likes of you and the rest of the vermin wich surround me". What a majestic people.

[@ivanleech8499]

ursosentado What is the word?

[@user-jo2cv1dy1b]

Wuqjsma

[@JoeValezy]

@@ivanleech8499 ximicacan , Ximicacan , XIMICACAN

[@tyronelannister9922]

The Screaming Mexicans in the background is Icing on the Cake

[@zezaway]

this one is scary as hell!! Im studying astecs and incas and came here to check it =)

[@Finwaell]

José Olívio There is an Inca leader screen as well :) (and Maya, but you are not studying those I suppose :P )

[@emilc3528]

Now is the time.....AWAKEN MY MASTERS!!!!!

[@blitzwaffe]

WAMMU

[@aeriamamaduck]

AYAYAYAAAAAYYY

[@MusicGamesEverything]

The Civ 6 Montezuma doesn't even compare. He doesn't even get cheering fans

[@Yagelito1D]

In all my games whit Isabella and Montezuma he always destroy the spanish, its so funny xD

[@DAMD01]

MisterSimmer88 Wow, how ironic

[@MuseEgg]

@İnsan yes

[@Luks9106]

Montezuma: Omae wa mou XIMICACAN Isabella: Qué?

[@OrangeBurgerSC706]

What happens when you don't represent Smallpox in the game lol

[@Aztlantean]

Correct timeline.

[@ANJROTmania]

First time playing Civ V, I used him aiming for cultural victory, since i greatly thought that the free culture per enemy killed is a very positive and straightforward thing to do in gaining massive culture points. The world never seen a more peaceful civ like the Aztec, whose never declared war, never take an enemy city, and help maintaining a peace by splitting the continents in two parts. Acquire almost all the cultural wonders, and archieve cultural victory by the start of its atomic era.

This story reminded me of that one time where I got a science victory with Shaka lmao

[@Biodark007]

Biggest backstabber ever

[@daanmollema6366]

His abs tho, he must have been in the gym for 75% of his life XD

[@wenaldy]

So, the Incan, Mayan and Aztecan walk into a bar.

[@kevg6365]

It wouldn't be Aztecan, it would just be Aztec.

[@GandaltheWhite]

and mexico and peru walk out.

[@shaunibabe1]

@@GandaltheWhite and belize

[@robroux6074]

Actually they were known as the MEXICA. The Aztecs were the Mexica when they lived in Aztlan(modern day Provo,Utah). It's like Julius Ceasar an Italian or if Mousilini was in the game and you refered to him as Roman.

[@Real_British]

And theres american walk into bar

[@ornygorny2901]

You mess with the aztecs, you loose your heart to their gods.

[@danitiwa]

You don't even have to mess with them to lose your heart to the gods lol, many citizens believed it was a great honor to feed the sun in fact.

[@mushroomhead3619]

Kali ma Shakir de! Kali maaaaaaaa!

[@theuchhista2608]

@@mushroomhead3619 Kali ma is our goddess of death , time and doomsday {HINDUISM}... XD

[@Deconscecrate]

SHIMICACAN! SHIMICACAN!! SHIMICACAN!!!

[@wenaldy]

the best thing ever is the crowd cheering him

[@BaconMaken]

Why did they make him bald? Montezuma had a full head of long hair. In fact, a shaved head was punishment for misbehaving low-class citizens in Aztec society. So there's no way any Aztec emperor would ever have that done to him.

[@johanngaiusisinwingazuluah2116]

The headress is just cooler.

[@BaconMaken]

Leonell Valderama Okay...but he can have both hair and a head dress.

[@tyronelannister9922]

Because hes metal as fuck

[@edgarbh01]

Hail Moctezuma I Ilhuicamina "The Bowman of the Sky" Thanks to this man the Aztec civilization was possible. Before him the Aztecs were weak and had to pay tribute to Texcoco rulers, but after his rebellion the Aztec Empire was possible, along with the Triple Aliance.

[@alerojas2952]

Alliance*****

[@DRAGONHUNTER2011]

Why play as him? I always set him up as an ally, so then i can keep coming back to see his monument, and hear him talk about sacrificing captives in my honour.

[@Leorhit]

I like this guy so much even if we very often go at war together or with each other i can thate him! He's too cool!

[@graveeking]

Man you look at this to civ 6s Monteuma and it's just no compassion - this one has so much more character. I hope in Civ 7 they bring back these kind of elaborate leader screens. No matter how many playthroughs good ol' Monty would declare war on me in 5 - I would always watch the animation if I was in SP. The crowd cheering, the arm motions - everything about this is just so great. Yeah it's completely overdramatic and overkill - but it gives such feeling for the civ and its leader, everyone felt so generic in compassion in 6 that I stopped buying the DLCs for the leaders because how can they ever compare to the great Monteuma, Emeror of the Aztecs?!

[@DJJablonsky]

Yo this man is a hypemaster "YO THIS FOOL DECLARING WAR ON ME HAVE AT HIM MY NIGGAS!"

[@eetuthereindeer6671]

Montezuma is such a drama king with over dramatic actions and a crowd cheering 😂 i like that

[@dominicgutierrez3568]

Montezuma looks like he seen some stuff with those eyes O.O

[@ruthie8785]

When I was younger I wanted to buy an Amazon parrot and teach it to recite all of this. Its name, of course, would be Montezuma. Alas, I no longer have the time, hopefully someone else will do it.

[@javierdaniel1429]

This has to be based on Moctezuma I, the grandfather of the Tlatoani who eventually was captured and killed by the Spaniards. Moctezuma I was very well known for expanding the lands of the Aztecs, as well as for being a patron of the arts and exploring Northern Mexico (in a sense, rediscovering Teotihuacan) in search of the roots of Aztec history. His grandson (who reigned one tlatoani after him), Moztecuma Xocoyotzin (the Younger) is the one we history remembers for flaking and losing an entire civilization to a bunch of free loading, disgusting, unbathed and metal wearing savages salivating only for gold.

[@Aztlantean]

Not only the savage spaniards and their guns/bestas but the entire of Tlaxcala and Purepecha state Army against the Mexica.

[@Aztlantean]

+All kind of eurasian disease and also eurasia rats with ++ diseases vectors

[@Wubulixi]

This has Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom vibes

[@eskaban_edits]

he's scary as hell. looks like a guy who wont hestitate to pull out your heart and eat it

[@PAAKWAMEPAA]

why would you disable ratings? Also, how were you able to upload this video? It's really cool.

[@BrandoFoxi]

my two favorite favorite characters civ designed are Pocatello and obviously Montezuma

[@tariver1]

Well, for some languages it's hard to find such people nearby. And even if you find one - you can't say how good is his knowledge of language. A good example is Attila's Chuvash. At first Firaxis contacted people in Chuvashia but then told them that their help is not needed anymore. Most probably they found somebody in US who claimed that they know the language and though that it would be easier to control the recording process there, than in Russia.

[@elcatrinc1996]

I still dont know why he doesnt have the cheering crowd in Civ 6, but they improved the nahuatl so its a fair change

[@tariver1]

Just curious, what are your sources? :) I read about Attila's story on civfanatics.

[@marcfoster715]

He's got the Gowron eyes!

[@tariver1]

Actors who voiced Kamehameha and Caeasar wrote that it was Firaxis rule that translator and actor must be two different people, so actors just read what translators wrote.

[@librafrankie]

If you avoid pissing him off, you can actually pay him a ridiculously low price to have him fight your enemies.

[@DhRibeiro_0327]

Is he a pillar men?

[@ferdiansyahr9586]

Omg he staring to my eye O-O that scary

[@VerySuperFamousGuy44]

this guy always just seemed hyped up on caffeine to me..

[@WongKinYuenHK]

What language is this? I almost want to learn it - sounds so badass.

[@tlipoca8500]

Kin Yuen Wong I think they may say nahuatl language

[@DAMD01]

Glenssuos Extra That's modern nahuatl, he didn't had that language before, so yeah, civ 5 it's a bit wrong in that...

[@KingErikII]

+Dario Martinez the reason why Montezuma speaks modern Nahuatl is because classic Nahuatl is a dead language, so it would be pretty hard to hire someone to speak a dead language we know too little about to learn and speak fluently.

[@danitiwa]

While this is true there are ways to reconstruct dead languages based on historical evidence. Lots of linguists do it in academic environments. It would be super cool if they had found an expert to help with this.

[@NCXitlali]

It is Nahuatl. I speak it but he has a Spanish/modern Mexican accent. The one from Civ 6 is a lot more accurate. Nahuatl is not very hard if you already speak korean. They only have 4 vowels and less consonants than most languages.

[@Mind_Crimes]

Cortez negociations - true ending.

[@nicholaszamir6222]

He’s dumb enough to declare war on several civs at the same time instead of attacking one at a time

[@TheMonacleSpy]

Montezuma: "Shimikacan! Shimikacan! Shimikacan!" Player: "Fuck off Montezuma. Jesus."

[@tariver1]

OK, thanks.

[@incasolja1]

Im sure you did your lingustic research correct but the aztecs never called themselves aztec but rather mexica and it sounds like moctezuma is saying aztec for some reason. Also it sounds like hes saying emperador inca right before aztec so i would like to know the exact nahuatl script youre using for these sayings

[@librafrankie]

My mother looks like him

[@menin84]

well...im sure this is Moctezuma I, not the II which helped bring the destruction of the empire....but it would be nice

[@HVLLOWS1999]

great Nahuatl he’s speaking. Only two things I can tell that are off. He would have called him self Moteczuma or Moteczumatzin that’s how to originally pronounce his name or just Tlatoani meaning Emperor. Also he would have called his people Mexica(Mesheeka) not Aztecas. The Aztecs called themselves Mexica which is where Mexico gets its name. As I’m sure you might know. 🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽

[@DeathByEric]

What is he burning in that fire?

[@cephalonsadistic9331]

Important translation issue. The Aztecs are what we call them but they would have referred to themselves not as Aztec but as Mexica (pronounced Meshika)

[@SangHuynh-ll8ob]

it would just make the game more approachable to players who aren't exactly history experts. in CIV 6 they had Bà Triệu speak of Vietnam, a word that didn't exist until the 20th century

[@EnzoXIII]

In that same sense, you could say that any warrior who died fighting the Spanish had the same modicum of bravery. He was a noble man, but I feel like a leader who made a more significant contribution to the empire as a whole would be more appropriate, don't you think?

[@alalalala57]

This was not the Montezuma that fought the Spanish, this was his grandfather that consolidated the Aztec empire.

[@redkopler7964]

Got him afraid once right after I fully annexed the other remaining civ (Dido's I think). Greatest feeling ever. Well, second next to conquering his capital.

[@EnzoXIII]

He was barely a leader at all. He was a surrogate emperor when Cuitlahuac died, only ruling for around a year because they were in the midst of a war. He didn't actually do anything but try and defend Tenochtitlan. A more proper leaderhead would be someone like Acamapichtli.

[@Hundredcuts]

#XIMICACAN

[@Kennychan222]

Don't mess with the Aztec or your heart will be taken out by its priests! XIMICACAN XIMICACAN!

[@mushroomhead3619]

Kali ma shakti de! Kali maaaaa!

[@Oppetsismiimsitsitc]

Caipirinha for everybody!

[@Differindividual]

Cuauhtemoc should have been here.

[@mictlancoatlhdz6618]

"nehuatl niMoctezuma"???? XDDDD is nehuatl notoca Motecuhzoma omg

[@Thegimitor]

who would win between a war the aztecs or the inca?

[@Thegimitor]

yes , yes indeed the incans are a mountain people the aztecs could never invade them

[@Bukkaketsunami89]

I don't think they would try to invade each other, I would see it more of a sport like the flower wars the aztecs had with neighboring tribes. I would take the aztec eagle and jaguar warriors anyday

[@DoctorDeath147]

It took decades for the Spanish to finally conquer the Inca. The Aztecs fell in only a few years.

[@Xilotl]

Is gargling marbles?

[@sid300e]

That's what I thought too when I heard aztecas. A shame really.

[@MrSir-zd4bu]

Funny because montezuma used to be scared and submissive to outsider (spaniard).

[@MusicGamesEverything]

Wrong Montezuma. This is Montezuma I, the one you are thinking of is Montezuma II

[@Johosafet]

He is yeah... and the darkness, fire and the skulls really dont help him make himself appear like a nice person... as first impressions go he makes a pretty terrible one

[@alminjusic2867]

Looks Like King rastakhan hahaha

[@miguel72990]

yeah well, that's what i think too, it's a mexican that learned náhuatl, but it's still not spanish, not even IMPEROR is in spanish ._. , that's weird haha

[@miguel72990]

It says "imperor" or something like that. I have no idea, but believe me, spanish is my mother tongue, i'm mexican. I guess the person that dubbed the voice is a spanish speaker that learned náhuatl, not a real aztec descendant.

[@hashimbokhamseen7877]

this representation of motecuzuma is weird.

[@Archflamingo]

Nah isabel is not that bad, they just don't like her voice :)

[@tariver1]

As a result - Attila's Chuvash is terrible, both in grammar and pronunciation.

[@shamsquatch9980]

And really, Moctezuma II was tricked, being very religious he thought Cortes was Quetzalcoatl, their white god who would return at that year for his people. They also had no immunity to smallpox.

[@LANOIRE6053]

troll

[@duhyeonkim4043]

시미까까

[@miguel72990]

What is wrong with you? xD this is not Spanish. AT ALL.

[@Luzitanium]

he reminds me a turkey lol