Aztec Empire

The Aztecs were an ancient civilization living in Mexico during the time of the Italian Renaissance.

History
In 1520, Giovanni Borgia and a group of Spanish explorers traveled to Mexico, led by Hernán Cortés. Upon their arrival in Mexico, they used translators to be able to communicate with the Aztecs. The Aztecs decided to bring them to their largest city, Tenochtitlan, where they conferred with their leader, Moctezuma II. He decided to welcome the Spanish explorers and allowed them to live in his own chambers, believing them to be Gods.

The following day, the Aztecs celebrated the arrival of their "Gods" through several ceremonies, all of which involved large ammounts of gold and jewelry. While the Spanish explorers started to become greedy of the gold, Giovanni was searching for one of the Pieces of Eden, which he knew was somewhere in the city.

The explorers, including Giovanni, were eventually led to a temple where they witnessed the Aztecs sacrificing one of their own as a tribute to their Gods. During the ritual, Giovanni noticed a priest holding a crystal skull, and he immediately recognized it as the Piece of Eden he had been looking for. He stabbed the priest and took the skull without anyone noticing. The Spaniards were disgusted by the ritual and started killing the unarmed Aztecs, though they were eventually forced back into Moctezuma's palace. They then forced him to speak to his people, and Moctezuma urged them to go home. However, the Aztecs refused to listen and killed their leader by throwing rocks at him.

Shortly after that, the Spaniards attempted to escape the city, though they were attacked by the Aztecs on their way to their ship. The Aztecs killed many of the Spanish explorers, though several of them managed to escape back to Europe.

Source

 * Assassin's Creed: Project Legacy - Chapter 4 - Giovanni Borgia