London  - The British Museum Thursday launched a major new exhibition on the life and legacy of Moctezuma II (1502-1520), the last elected Aztec emperor ousted in the Spanish conquest of what is now Mexico.

The show brings together key works of art from Mexico and from leading international collections, some of which have never seen in the West before.

They include 500-year-old pyramid stands, an Aztec altar, stone skulls, mosaic masks, a turquoise double-headed serpent, featherwork and gold jewellery as well as smaller items such as cups and incense burners from Moctezuma's Palace.

The exhibition's aim is to explore the Aztec empire and its conquest by the Spanish "through the prism of this tragic ruler," rather than through the eyes of Western historians, said Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum.

It would provide a "fresh insight into one of the most fascinating examples of implosion of power and the clash of civilizations," he said.

Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler is the fourth and final exhibition in a British Museum series about history's great rulers, which included China's first emperor, Qin, the Roman emperor Hadrian and the 16th century Iranian ruler Shah Abbas.

Recordings of wind blowing and of the tweeting of tropical birds add to the atmosphere of the exhibition, which is due to run until January 24, 2010.  dpa