Who was the last Aztec emperor, captured during the fall?

Cuauhtémoc was the last Aztec emperor, or more precisely the final huey tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, and he was captured during the city’s fall in 1521. He became ruler after Cuitláhuac died during the smallpox epidemic that followed the Spanish retreat from the capital.

Cuauhtémoc took command during the final defense of Tenochtitlan. He organized resistance as Cortés’s forces and their Indigenous allies tightened the siege, but starvation, disease, and the destruction of the city made a successful defense impossible. On August 13, 1521, Cuauhtémoc was captured while trying to escape across Lake Texcoco with his family and companions.

He was not the same ruler as Moctezuma II, who had governed when Cortés first entered Tenochtitlan, nor Cuitláhuac, who briefly succeeded Moctezuma. After his capture, Cuauhtémoc remained a symbolic Mexica leader under Spanish control. Cortés later had him executed in 1525 during an expedition to Honduras.