In an ironic twist of fate, when the Spanish conquerors arrived in the Aztec empire in 1519, the Aztecs believed Cortez and his army were

I believe the correct answer is gods.

When Cortés first arrived with his army to Tenochtitlan, the capital of Aztec empire, Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotzi, the ninth ruler, believed Cortés to be the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, whom they credited with the creation of humans among other notable feats, was set to return to Earth.