Inca Empire

A South American empire centered in the Andes and ruled from Cusco by the Inca dynasty until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

Inca road system: A network of roads linking settlements and administrative centers across the Andes and other parts of the Inca realm. It enabled armies, officials, and messages to move across the empire.
Cusco: A city in the Peruvian Andes that served as the capital of the Inca Empire. The empire's political and ceremonial center stood here.
Atahualpa: The Inca ruler captured by Francisco Pizarro's forces at Cajamarca in 1532. His capture became the decisive opening of Spanish control.
Machu Picchu: A 15th-century Inca settlement in the Peruvian Andes, built on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba River. Its architecture offers a striking surviving example of Inca construction.
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: The Spanish campaign that defeated Inca rulers and brought much of their realm under colonial rule. It ended the empire's sovereignty and reordered Andean society.
Mit'a: A labor obligation through which communities provided workers for state projects and other public duties. Its labor system built infrastructure and supported state production.
Pachacuti: An Inca ruler traditionally credited with transforming Cusco's kingdom into an expanding empire in the 15th century. His reign is associated with the empire's major expansion.
Huáscar: An Inca ruler who contested the throne with Atahualpa during the Inca Civil War. His defeat left the empire divided before the Spaniards arrived.
Inca agriculture: Farming practices in the Inca realm, including terracing and irrigation adapted to Andean terrain. Agricultural engineering supported dense populations across varied elevations.
Neo-Inca State: An independent Inca polity centered at Vilcabamba that resisted Spanish rule from 1537 to 1572. It continued Inca political resistance after the fall of Cusco.

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