A Little Legend and a Little More Inca History

In spite of the absence of written records prior to Pizarro’s arrival, we do know some Inca history.  “Inca” was originally the king’s title, but it came to refer to the people. The Inca settled in the area near Cusco about 1200 AD. 

Legend has it that Inti, the sun god, sent Manco Capac and his wife to establish an empire that would bring happiness to the world.

History has it that the Inca formed from two earlier societies, the Wari and the Tiwanaku.  Manco Capac established Cusco in the area that linked those two domains.

Seven Incas reigned after Manco Capac, but it wasn’t until the 1400’s that one left a significant mark.  Ironically, that leader was not originally meant to rule the Inca.

Viracocha was the eighth ruler of the Inca in 1410. During his reign, the Chancas, a tribe about 90 miles west of Cusco, threatened the city.  So the leader of the empire, Viracocha and his heir-apparent ….  fled.

However, Viracocha Inca’s younger son did not flee. He assembled forces that defeated the Chancas. He then chose the name ‘Pachacutec’ (‘Cataclysm’) and took on the mantle of leadership.

During Pachacutec’s reign from 1438 to 1471 CE, he began the expansion of the Inca Empire. Next to Cusco, he started the construction of a fortress of massive stones, Sacsayhuaman.

Part of the remains of Sacsayhuaman with a view of Cusco in the background

Pachacutec also built the Coricancha, Cusco’s temple to the sun god Inti, which was lined with gold -- literally.  

 This large section of Inca gold, now on view in Cusco, was once part of the Coricancha, the temple that Pachacutec built to the sun god Inti.

More important, Pachacutec conquered most of the central Andes.  According to information from Natural Habitat,  he is comparable to great warriors like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. 

Pachacutec expanded the Inca Empire so it stretched along the western edge of the continent from north to south, including parts of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia.  The Inca Empire had a population of well over nine million people.   

He planned the city of Cusco, developing it in a puma shape. Under his rule, the Inca also developed Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu, places that I will visit in upcoming posts.

After Pachacutech died in 1471, his son Tupac Inca Yupanqui continued the empire’s expansion until his death in 1493. 

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Next: Spanish Conquest