Moctezuma II, ruler of the Aztec Empire prior to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, had a brother named Cuitláhuac. When Moctezuma II was killed in the battles against Hernán Cortés, Cuitláhuac became his successor. Cuitláhuac died early into his tenure. His daughter Maria Bartola, so christened by the Spanish, lived on through the violent period of the Spanish siege of the Aztec capital city, Tenochtitlan.