It was a jour­ney of con­quest filled with explo­ration, won­der — and cru­el­ty. Inspired by tales of vast cities of gold, 339 Euro­pean sol­diers and hun­dreds of Aztec allies embarked on an epic jour­ney through arid deserts and rugged moun­tains. They encoun­tered rich tra­di­tions and brought new tech­nolo­gies. The result­ing col­li­sion and com­bi­na­tion of cul­tures rever­ber­ates today.