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 The Empire of the Incas

        map of Inca Empire
sun imageTawantinsuyu:The Inca Empire
    The Empire of the Incas was the largest state-level societyin the New World prior to the arrival of the Europeans. Their domain spanned over 4,000 km, including all of the highlands and coast of Peru, most ofthe highlands of Ecuador, northern Chile, part of western Bolivia, andpart of northwestern Argentina. The Inca Empire was actually quite short-lived, lasting only about 100 years, from ca.1438AD, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti andhis army began conquering the neighbors of the Inca heartland of Cuzco,until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532. In Quechua, the language of the Incas, the empire wasknown as Tawantinsuyu, which, loosely translated, means "land of thefour quarters." As the name implies, the realm was divided into fourparts, coming together at the capital of Cuzco: Chinchasuyu to the northwest,Condesuyu to the southwest, Antisuyu to the northeast, and Collasuyu tothe southeast. Within the four quarters, the Incas ruled over people whohad formerly composed hundreds of independent societies, representing dozensof different ethnic groups and perhaps as many different languages.
Huayna CapacTheInca Rulers
    The Inca emperors were known by various titles, including"Sapa Inca," "Capac Apu," and "Intip Cori."Often, an emperor was simply referred to as the Inca. The traditional listof Inca rulers includes 11 emperors, in this order:
    1
    		 Manco Capac
    2
    		 Sinchi Roca
    3
    		 Lloque Yupanqui
    4
    		 Mayta Capac
    5
    		 Capac Yupanqui
    6
    		 Inca Roca
    7
    		 Yahuar Huacac
    8
    		 Viracocha Inca
    9
    		 Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
    10
    		 Topa Inca Yupanqui
    11
    		 Huayna Capac
    Manco Capac was the legendary founder of Cuzco, who beganthe Inca dynasty. There are several different Inca origin stories, whichfocus on Manco Capac and his brothers and sisters coming from the caveof Pacariqtambo or from Lake Titicaca to found Cuzco. However, the Incadomain remained small, and for perhaps several centuries was no more significantin size or power than neighboring societies in the Peruvian highlands.It was not until the ninth Inca, Pachacuti, that the Inca state began expandingand became a true imperial state. In fact, according to tradition, mostof the land controlled by the Incas was conquered during the reigns ofPachacuti and his son, Topa Inca. A relatively small amount of territorywas added by the eleventh Inca, Huayna Capac. It is a matter of debate who should be accorded the statusof the last independent Inca ruler: After Huayna Capac died in 1527, twoof his sons, Huascar and Atahuallpa began a war for succession, each withtheir own claims to power. Huascar had the support of much of the Incanobility of Cuzco, while Atahuallpa was in charge of a large army thathad been campaigning for years in Ecuador under Huayna Capac. Atahuallpaactually had gained the upper hand by the time Francisco Pizarro arrived,and he probably would have assumed complete control over the empire andconsolidated his power had it not been for the interference of the Spaniards.
sun imageTheInca Achievement
    The Incas controlled a vast territory that encompassedextremely rugged terrain and disparate climates, inhabited by perhaps oversix million people. Those lands were home to people of dozens of differentethnic groups, representing numerous different languages. The Incas used two main methods to subjugate the peopleof these lands. The first was military conquest, facilitated by their hugewell-equipped army. The second was diplomacy, in which the Incas offeredthe elites of the region the choice of submitting peacefully and gainingfavor, backed by the threat of armed conquest. To consolidate their control over the land and peopleof Tawantinsuyu, the Incas used various strategies of integrating the nativepolitical and religious systems into those of the empire. In many partsof the empire, they implemented a highly standardized administrative systembased on units of ten (known as decimal administration). The subjects of the Inca Empire were rigidly controlled,and were not allowed to travel freely. Instead of giving items in tribute,they were required to give a fixed amount of their labor to the state,which could have been dedicated to anything from building roads to makingpottery. The Incas are perhaps best known for their engineeringworks and architecture. They constructed an extensive system of well-builtand constantly maintained roads, covering at least 23,000 km. The roadnetwork facilitated communications and the movement of people (especiallythe armies) and goods. To cross the many steep ravines found in the Andes,they built impressive suspension bridges. On the mountainsides in manyregions, they built elaborate terraces to increase food production. Inca architecture is well-known for its finely workedstones which, as the cliché goes, are fitted together so well, withoutthe use of mortar, that you cannot fit a knife blade between the stones.As travellers to the Andes know well, that is indeed the case. In reality,the fine Inca stone work was reserved for the more important buildingserected by the state, and the Incas actually created more buildings ofless exacting methods. The highest concentration of high quality Inca stonework is, of course, found in Cuzco and the surrounding region, in sitessuch as Machu Picchu and Ollantaytambo. Other examples of fine Inca masonryare found scattered throughout the realm, but mostly in the highlands.Inca sites on the coast tended to be constructed mostly of adobe, but thereare a few sites that contain finely worked stones, such as Paredones onthe outskirts of Nasca, Peru. The Incas had no formal writing system, but relied insteadon quipus, which were record-keeping devices based on a complicatedsystem of knots. They had no wheeled vehicles, and transported all goodsmanually or with the use of llamas. The impressive engineering and architecturalworks were not produced using elaborate technology or secret techniques,but through the deployment of huge amounts of labor. Ultimately, the Incaachievement was the product of the highly developed organizational skillsof the Inca elite, which enabled them to direct the people and resourcesof Tawantinsuyu.
sun imageFurtherInformation About the Incas
    There is much more that can be told about the Incas, andI aim to add more information as time permits. But for those who wantto learn more, follow this linkfor some suggested readings and some Inca-related web sites.



This Page created by DennisE. Ogburn.
Last modified: 27 October 1997.


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