Heyday of the Inca Empire

During the reign of Pachacuti 1438 to 1471 he extended his rule in the Central Andes to Lake Titicaca in Junín, Arequipa and the coast. The kingdom Tawantinsuyu (Quechua: "four areas belong together," tawa "four", tawantin "fourfold" suyu "Country"; hispanisiert: Tahuantinsuyo) was allocated to the four quarters, its flag was the rainbow flag and Cuzco developed in 1438 to ritual, political and cultural center.

Pachacuti was in the area of agricultural terraces for growing maize to create in order to ensure that the supplying of the population. The rivers and canals Saphi Tullumayu which led through the entire city, provided the residents with fresh water and kept it clean.

Tupac Yupanqui, took over in 1471 as the tenth Sapa Inca Empire from the reign of his father. Under his leadership, the Incas won the greatest extent. Through conquest he was able to incorporate the area between the present-day Ecuador in Quito and Santiago in Chile today the Tahuantinsuyo. One of his generals made around 1473 on a campaign against hostile nations conquer the lowlands east of the Andes in the Montaña jungle with the intention of the Amazon. After he got stuck in the rough terrain, however, surrounded by hostile nations, he returned in haste to Cuzco, to quell a rebellion. Under his rule the east slopes of the Andes have been fixed. The Inca Guacane, a descendant of the Inca Huayna Capac, erected by his command on the eastern slopes of the Andes, the fort Fuerte de Samaipata in which he housed some of his wives whom he had protected by eunuchs and soldiers. Nevertheless, it succeeded in Chiriguano under the leadership of their chief Grigotá, the Inca put to flight, killing the eunuch to burn the fortress and the concubines, and virgins of the sun to delay. The Incas took their revenge by sending an army retook the Samaipata, began rebuilding the fort and part of their "Maginot Line" on the eastern slopes of the Andes made to protect itself from incursions of the lowland tribes.

High dignitaries of the losing tribes initially retained key management functions. Her sons, however, they had to send to Cuzco, where they received training and indoctrination within the meaning of the Inca and served them as a hostage. Thus, the Incas were responsible for inner peace, and by repeated propaganda has been the underdog all benefits provided emphatically revealed. Tupac Yupanqui ordered the four provinces of the empire in sub-province of every 10,000 households (hunu) members, who were divided into groups of 5,000, 1,000, 500, 100 and 50 tax-paying households, which in turn are divided again into ten units (Chunka) were. The larger units were headed by officials of the Inca bureaucracy, presided over the smaller of the local nobility. The perfection of the decimal in a stiffened by extreme ethnic, linguistic and cultural differentiation marked population with a complex mosaic of political rights the central penetration, the other also reduced the privileges of the traditional aristocracy, which gradually established a system of massive resistance to civil servants and the occasional angry " natural province of men "led.

After the murder of Tupac Yupanquis erupted between his two closest widows a bitter rivalry over the succession of their sons, which was fought with all means of court intrigue to the Civil War until the eleventh Sapa Inca Huayna Capac took over the kingdom in 1493. He moved his headquarters to Tomibamba (Cuenca (Ecuador)), where he sired a total of more than 200 sons and daughters. To further rebellions in the border areas of attention, he sought further expansion in the north to the Río Ancasmayo. As practiced the martial Cara or Caragui strains in northern Ecuador delaying tactics, have been tremendous amount fortresses built with stone ramparts as a base of operations. In his last years, he received the message yet by bearded white men on board ships.

Huayna Capac was succeeded by his son wishes Cuyochi Ninan, who had always lived on the side of his father and accompanied him on his campaigns. But together with a quarter of a million people died shortly before his father died of an epidemic. Recent decided to Huayna Capac divided the empire between his two sons. Atahualpa was the northern region, he resided in Cajamarca during Huáscar the southern part of Cuzco was a seat of government. Huayna Capac died in 1527.

Although the brothers, their father on his deathbed insured to share the kingdom, it soon led to civil war. Atahualpa, who had already come into Tomibamba to the world, came from the marriage of his father with Tocto coca, the last surviving princess of the dynasty of the Scyrs from Quito, Ecuador. Until then he had lived with his father always in the north. Huascar, who had spent his life in Cuzco and whose mother was a nurse Ruahua Ocllo, Huayna Capac and daughter Tupac Yupanquis, looked at after the death of Ninan Cuyochis as the only legitimate son of the Incas. Huáscar wanted to take advantage of the situation, distributed plenty of precious gifts to the nobility, gave away beautiful Acllas and destroyed his potential political opponents, tortured, or thrown into prison, set a new high priest (for the incumbent Villac Umu knew the decrees Huayna Capac, near which he always) and was asked to tradition, his mother at his sister's hand Chuqui Huipa since, according to custom, the enthronement of the Inca was always associated with the marriage of the emperor with his sister. But his mother did not appreciate his methods, so they rejected Huáscar advertising. With the support of the clergy succeeded in Huascar, however, describe the courtship as a command of the gods, so that his mother could not refuse. Atahualpa, meanwhile basked in the majority support of the generals. Unlike Huáscar he had not a make-Inca nobles appointed general, but with Challconchime and Quisquis and their field commanders Rumiñawi and Ukumari fanatical warriors from the north who together with him the dominion over the whole Tahuantinsuyo aspired.

Huascar was defeated after heavy fighting the battle-hardened troops from the army, the Northern Territory in 1532. He was captured while, many of his closest relatives brutally murdered and their bodies in piles on the streets put on display. Atahualpa's generals followed the entire aristocracy of the Incas. Result was not only the almost complete extinction of the royal ayllu, including women and infants, but also of the priesthood, the highest official in Amautu (Inca scholar), and even the Quipucamayoc (Knotenschriftkundige). After Atahualpa Pizarro had already fallen into captivity, he ordered the execution of his brother Huascar. As a demonstration of his power Atahualpa used the skull of his brother as a drinking vessel. Thus although he was absolute ruler of the entire Inca empire, but had the absolute authority of the Incas caused an irreparable damage.