Kingdom of Cusco

See also: Inca empire and Cuzco

Kingdom of Cuzco
1197–1438
Map of the Kingdom of Cusco. Map of the Kingdom of Cusco.
Capital	Cusco (1197–1438)
Common languages	Quechua, Puquina.
Religion	Inca religion
Government	Monarchy
Sapa Inca
• 1200-1230	Manco Cápac
• 1230-1260	Sinchi Roca
• 1260-1290	Lloque Yupanqui
• 1290-1320	Mayta Cápac
• 1320-1350	Cápac Yupanqui
• 1350-1380	Inca Roca
• 1380-1410	Yahuar Huacac
• 1410-1438	Viracocha (Inca)
Historical era	Pre-Columbian
• Manco Cápac organized the Kingdom of Cusco	1197
• Pachacuti created the Tawantinsuyu	1438
Area
40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Wari Empire Inca Empire

The Kingdom of Cusco (sometimes spelled Cuzco and in Quechua Qosqo or Qusqu) was a small kingdom in the Andes that began as a small city-state founded by the Incas around the 12th century. In time, through either warfare or peaceful assimilation, it began to grow and was succeeded by the Inca Empire.

History

See also: Inca mythology and Inca history

A Brief Overview

The Inca people began as a tribe in the Cuzco area around the 12th century AD. Under the leadership of Manco Cápac, they formed the small city-state of Cusco (Quechua Qosqo), shown in red on the map below.

In 1438 AD, under the command of the Sapa Inca (paramount leader) Pachacuti (world-shaker), the Incas began a far-reaching expansion. The land which Pachacuti conquered was about the size of the Thirteen Colonies at the outbreak of the American Revolution of 1776, and consisted of nearly the entire territory of the Andes mountain range.

The Kingdom of Cusco in 1438, shown in red on the map.

Pachacuti reorganized the kingdom of Cusco into an empire, the Tahuantinsuyu, a federalist system that consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four provincial governments with strong leaders: Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Kuntisuyu (SW), and Qullasuyu (SE). Pachacuti is thought to have built the citadel of Machu Picchu, either as a family home or as a vacation estate.

Sapa Incas

First dynasty

The Sapa Inca of the first dynasty of the Kingdom of Cusco were, in order, Manco Cápac, Sinchi Roca, Lloque Yupanqui, Mayta Cápac, and Cápac Yupanqui. Little is known of these early rulers, in later years cápac meant warlord and sinchi meant leader. The beginning of the dynasty is generally taken as about 1200 AD.

However, before any of that, and long before the Spanish found the Inca, the Inca civilization had begun as a small, centralized state that eventually grew to cover a large amount of territory along the western coast of South America from Columbia to Chile. The Inca civilization spread rapidly from their small beginnings in the Kingdom of Cuzco located in southern Peru.

The Beginning of the Empire

NOTE: The following will outline each of the Incan rulers and a few of their accomplishments in greater detail.

Manco Capac: (c. 1200 -?)

The somewhat mythological first Inca of Tawantinsuyu. According to Inca legend, he was the son of the Inti the Sun God, and he founded the city of Cusco. Manco Capac was a major figure in Inca mythology, but the legend of Manco tends to vary depending on who one might ask. According to some Manco Capac was the son of Inti the sun god, and Mama Quilla, goddess of the moon and sister to Inti. In the Inti legend Manco Capac and his siblings were sent to Earth by their father to construct a temple of the Sun. The temple was built in their father’s honor in Cusco. According to others Manco Capac was the son of Tici Viracocha, creator of mankind, the sun, the moon and all that existed. According to this Viracocha legend Manco Capac and his siblings all dwelt near Cusco and they brought together their own people with tribes that they met as they traveled. Either way; Manco Capac is believed to be the founder of the Inca civilization and ruler of Cusco for roughly forty years.

Sinchi Rocca: (c. 1240s?) and Lloque Llupanqui: (c. 1260s?)

The second Inca, honored by legend as being the founder of the empire. It is believed that the expansion of the Inca empire continued under the rule of Sinchi Roca. The most notable story of Sinchi Roca is the story of the Inca diplomat Teuotihi who was sent to a nearby kingdom to pass a message from the Inca. Unfortunately, Teuotihi was beheaded and his corpes was returned to Sinchi Roca. Sinchi Roca saw this as as act of war and went to battle with the offending kingdom. According to the legend, Sinchi Roca and the Inca were victorious and they reigned over their new territory with a tight grip and watchful eye.

After his death the Inca were ruled by Sinchi Roca’s son, Lloque Yupanqui. As legend tells Lloque Yupanqui was particularly ugly and was often referred to as the “Unforgettable Left-Handed One” due to his incredible lack of beauty. Still, Lloque Yupanqui was notable for his rule of the Inca through his establishment of the Cuzco public market and the building of Acllahuasi. Acllahuasi was a place where women from all around the Inca empire were gathered and given to nobles as concubines, sold as servants, or given to the cult of the sun god.

Mayta Capac: (c. 1290s?)

Not much is known about his reign. It is likely mythological.

Capac Yupanqui: (c. 1320s - 1350s?), Inca Rocca: (c. 1350s - 1370s?), and Yahuar Huaca: (c. 1370s - 1400?)

The first Inca to promote the idea of further expansion. It is said that he expanded the borders of the empire for the first time since Sinchi Rocca. Following the rule of Capac Yupanqui a new dynasty in Inca civilization was begun by Capac’s son, Inca Roca. The rule of Inca Roca is crucial in that he was not the first heir to the empire; however, after a rebellion against the Hurin dynasty the first heir to the throne, Quispe Yupanqui was murdered and the throne was instead given to Inca Roca, son of another of Capac’s wives. During his rule of the Inca empire Inca Roca is noted for greatly improving irrigation methods.

Inca Roca was followed by his son, Yahuar Huacac, the seventh ruler of the Inca kingdom. Yahuar’s rule of the Inca marked great changes in the kingdom and while the legend of the actual outcome of battle with the neighboring Chancas is uncertain, the Chancas were eventually defeated. One legend mentions that Yahuar left Cuzco after the attack on the Chancas and that the Chancas were actually defeated by his son, Viracocha. Another legend tells that Yahuar’s son Viracocha was the one who retreated and it was Viracocha’s son Pachacuti that defeated the Chancas. Up until this point, the Chancas had been a big problem for the Incas, launching small attacks and invasions on the Inca kingdom's borders.

While some legends tell of Yahuar’s son Viracocha also abandoning Cuzco and others tell of him being instrumental in the defeat of the Chancas, one common thread surrounds the rule of Viracocha. As legend tells, Viracocha was the first of the Inca rulers to expand the kingdom in to the territories that he and his empire conquered while previous rulers had only pilaged them and left them to cope. Little else is mentioned about Viracocha other than the succession of the throne to his son, Pachacuti. It was Pacacuti that made the Inca Empire into what it was, not just the Kingdom of Cuzco.

Pachacuti: (1438 - 1471)

Started the empire by defeating the Chancas. He then expanded the empire up and down the western coast of South America, defeating the Ancocoyuch in 1465. He is credited with forming the basis of Incan administration and city planning. According to Incan legends, he also ordered the construction of Machu Picchu. It is thought that Machu Picchu was constructed as his home. The confusion as to who abandoned Cuzco is at times told in favor of Pachacuti saving the Inca’s from the neighboring Chancas. This side of the story says Pachacuti stayed to fight the Chancas while both his father and older brother fled the kingdom in terror. It was this bravery that supposedly won Pachacuti the position of co-ruler of the Inca kingdom alongside his father who came back after the Chancas had been defeated. After Viracocha’s death, Pachacuti took over as the sole ruler of the empire.

Expansion of the Incan Empire

During Pachacuti's reign, the Inca empire expanded at an astounding rate due to Pachacuti’s militarization of the empire. Until his death Pachacuti, often in coordination with his son Tupac, managed to expand the Inca empire from just outside of Cuzco south to Chile and north to Ecuador. Pachacuti is not only known for the expansion of the Inca empire but he is also recognized for complete reorganization within the empire as well, something his predecessors had neglected to do. During Pachacuti’s reign the Inca empire was organized in to four provinces each of which was governed by local leaders who controlled appointed officials under him in order to more efficiently run the empire.

The Coming of the Spanish

Huayna Capac: (1493 - 1525)

The next ruler was not the son of Tupac, instead he was Huayna Capac. Being eleventh Inca ruler, Huayna managed to maintain the rate of the expansion of the Inca empire and pushed south in to Chile and Argentina and north to Ecuador and Columbia. Due to this massive expansion of the empire Huayna struggled to establish a second stronghold within the empire and set about establishing rule in Quito (the capital of modern day Ecuador) as well.

The Spanish Bring Smallpox

Huayna eventually died after contracting smallpox that had been introduced to South America when the Spanish arrived. Simultaneously, so too did 200,000 other people due to a lack of defense against this new contagion.

Upon his death Huayna divided the Inca civilization among Huascar, his legitimate heir who received the southern half of the empire and Cuzco, and Atahualpa his favorite son who received the northern half of the empire and Quito. The heirs, upon their father’s death, began a civil war because each sought to usurp the other and this would put the northern and southern halves of the empire at war and create bad blood that would last for a long time.

Tupac Huallpa: (1533)

The younger brother of Atahualpa. When it became clear that Pizarro needed a puppet emperor, he was recruited for the job. Unfortunately, he shortly fell ill and died.

Manco Inca Yupanqui: (1533 - 1545)

At first the second puppet emperor recruited for Pizarro, being another younger brother of Atahualpa's. Seen by the people as the best of the post-Cusco Incas, he turned on his captors and fled to the city of Vilcabamba. He would rule independent of the Spanish until he was killed by a group of Conquistadors in 1545.

Paullu Inca: (1536 - 1549)

Yet another son of Huayna and brother to Atahualpa. He would betray Manco's interests after his half-brother's murder by allying with Spain and becoming the puppet Inca of Cusco. The much-hated ruler was even baptized Don Melchor Carlos Inca before his death.

Sayri-Tupac Inca: (1545 - 1557)

Made Inca after the murder of Manco Inca. He was the first son of Manco, and was five years old at his inauguration. He would try to negotiate with the Spanish to get land grants near Cusco, but died in 1561 while living with the Viceroy before a deal could be made.

Titu Cosi Yupanqui: (1557 - 1571)

A shrewd and able ruler over Vilcabamba. The second son of Manco to rule, he was the most capable diplomat in Incan history, letting Spanish traders and missionaries enter a small part of Vilcabamba, embracing Christianity, but maintaining Incan tradition and autonomy.

The Fall of A Civilization

Tupac Amaru: (1571 - 1572)

The last legitimate Inca to rule, and, unfortunately, the most unfit. With the death of his elder brother Titu Cosi, he ordered the execution of all Spanish people living in Vilcabamba, and led an unsuccessful and poorly planned rebellion against the colonists. This resulted in his death and the end of Incan sovereignty, for Vilcabamba was occupied and the survivors enslaved.

The most terrifying aspect of the great Inca empire was its short existence. By 1430, the realm of the Inca consisted of little more than the river valley around Cuzco. Less than a century later, through conquest and a clever policy of incorporating the best aspects of the societies they enslaved, the Incas controlled a huge amount of territory almost 1 million square kilometers--an area that extended from northwest Argentina to southern Colombia. The Incan capital, at Qosqo, was undeniably the wealthiest city in all of the Americas, with temples literally covered in heavy gold plating. Although Qosqo's architecture remains only in rubble and foundations, the architectural accomplishments of the Inca have survived intact at the astounding ceremonial centre of Machu Picchu.

In 1532, at the height of its power, the Inca empire was driven by a war of succession. In the midst of one of the greatest tragedies of history, Francisco Pizarro and his Spanish conquistadors arrived. Showing an unremarkable ability to turn the situation in his favour, Pizarro used lies and deceit to gain an audience with Atahualpa, the Inca ruler, whom he very calmly assassinated. In the face of intence resistance, Pizarro and his men took Cuzco and sacked the city. Although the Incas continued to fight for the next several years, their empire had ended and Spanish rule had begun.

Bibliography

• Template:Es icon María Rostworowski. Enciclopedia Temática del Perú: Incas. Lima: El Comercio S.A., 2004.
• Template:Es icon Editorial Sol 90. Historia Universal 5: América precolombina. Barcelona, España, 2002.
• Template:En icon Bushnell. Peru, Ancient people and places.
• Template:En icon MacQuarrie, Kim. The Last Days of the Incas. Simon & Schuster, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7432-6049-7.