R
oman, Byzantine, Ottoman, Mayan, Babylonian, Persian, Mongolian: all are empires that have made a lasting impact and imprinted themselves in our memories throughout history. The common denominator between them, though, was the length of time they existed. These empires had hundreds —sometimes thousands— of years to grow and spread, which becomes obvious when we look at all they accomplished. Along the western coast of South America, we can find a civilization just as widespread and powerful, but which rose and fell all within the span of 100 years. The Inca Empire, which covered parts of modern day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, began in the year 1438 CE when the Inca king Pachacútec began conquering surrounding civilizations and absorbing them into his own empire. It lasted until 1533 CE, when the Spanish arrived and eventually killed Inca Atahualpa. Paulo Puma, 31, a tour guide from Cusco, has been leading groups of visitors for many years. As part of his tours, he explains the many ways the Inca empire rose to
Pachacútec starts expansion There were 14 inca rulers. According to the legend, Manco Cápac, son of the sun god emerged from the Titicaca Lake to found the Inca Empire between 11501178 CE. He was followed by Sinchi Roca, Lloque Yupanqui, Mayta Cápac, Cápac Yupanqui, Inca Roca, Yahuar Huaca and Wiracocha. It was then the Empire started expanding with the last six incas.
Pachacútec (1438 - 1463) Amaru Inca Yupanqui (1463 - 1471) Túpac Inca Yupanqui (1471 - 1493) Huayna Cápac (1493 - 1525) Huáscar (1525 - 1532) Atahualpa (1532 - 1533) FAR RIGHT Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas was never found by the Spanish Conquistadors. Map source ANCIENT HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA LIMITED
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wanderer | Fall . Winter 2018
The rise and fall of the Inca Empire: How the culture survived STORY BY JORDAN CLAY DESIGN BY MICHELLE YU