Cortés, Hernán Ferdinand

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Spanish conquistador. He conquered the Aztec empire 1519–21, and secured Mexico for Spain.

Cortés went to the West Indies as a young man and in 1518 was given command of an expedition to Mexico. Landing with only 600 men, he was at first received as a god by the Aztec emperor Montezuma II but was expelled from Tenochtitlán (Mexico City) when he was found not to be ‘divine’. With the aid of Indian allies he recaptured the city in 1521, and overthrew the Aztec empire. His conquests eventually included most of Mexico and northern Central America.

The stars are said to represent Syria and Iraq. Red, white, black, and green are the pan-Arab colours. Effective date: 29 March 1980. >>