Suyu (Inca Empire)

Inca Empire
Tawantinsuyu  (Quechua)
1438–1533
Banner of the Tawantinsuyu
The Inca Empire at its greatest extent
Capital		Cusco (1438–1533)
Languages		Quechua (official), Aymara, Puquina, Jaqi family, Muchik and scores of smaller languages.
Religion		Inca religion
Government		Divine, absolute monarchy
Sapa Inca
•	1438–1471	Pachacuti
•	1471–1493	Túpac Inca Yupanqui
•	1493–1527	Huayna Capac
•	1527–1532	Huáscar
•	1532–1533	Atahualpa
Historical era		Pre-Columbian era
•	Pachacuti created the Tawantinsuyu	1438
•	Civil war between Huáscar and Atahualpa	1529–1532
•	Spanish conquest led by Francisco Pizarro	1533
•	End of the last Inca resistance	1572
Area
•	1527	2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi)
Population
•	1527 est.	10,000,000
Density		5/km2 (13/sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Cusco Governorate of New Castile Governorate of New Toledo Neo-Inca State
Today part of		Argentina  Bolivia  Chile  Colombia  Ecuador  Peru

The Inca Empire (Quechua: Tawantinsuyu, lit. "The Four Regions"), also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, and possibly the largest empire in the world in the early 16th century. Its political and administrative structure "was the most sophisticated found among native peoples" in the Americas. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. Its last stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.

From 1438 to 1533, the Incas incorporated a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean Mountains, using conquest and peaceful assimilation, among other methods. At its largest, the empire joined Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile and a small part of southwest Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. Its official language was Quechua. Many local forms of worship persisted in the empire, most of them concerning local sacred Huacas, but the Inca leadership encouraged the sun worship of Inti – their sun god – and imposed its sovereignty above other cults such as that of Pachamama. The Incas considered their king, the Sapa Inca, to be the "son of the sun."

The Inca Empire was unique in that it lacked many features associated with civilization in the Old World. In the words of one scholar, "The Incas lacked the use of wheeled vehicles. They lacked animals to ride and draft animals that could pull wagons and plows... [They] lacked the knowledge of iron and steel... Above all, they lacked a system of writing... Despite these supposed handicaps, the Incas were still able to construct one of the greatest imperial states in human history". Notable features of the Inca Empire include its monumental architecture, especially stonework, extensive road network reaching all corners of the empire, finely-woven textiles, use of knotted strings (quipu) for record keeping and communication, agricultural innovations in a difficult environment, and the organization and management fostered or imposed on its people and their labor.