Professor Bill Sillar answers key questions about the rapid rise and fall of the South American civilisation
YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE INCA EMPIRE
Q: Who were the Inca and when did they rule?
A: The word ‘Inca’ means slightly different things to different people. In one sense, it refers to members of the original Inca tribe, which first emerged in the Andean highlands around the 13th century AD. This was led by a figure known as the Sapa Inca, or ‘unique Inca’, who ruled over a family of kinship groups made up of other Inca. However, the rule of the Sapa Inca grew to include other ethnic groups living around the city of Cuzco, the Inca capital, which consolidated to form the core of a vast empire covering territory in modern-day Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia. To the Inca, it was known as Tawantinsuyu, meaning the ‘Realm of the Four Parts’, which reflected its composition of four provinces. Overall, it was a complex, multi-ethnic entity, but each of its components could be described as ‘Inca’.
Interestingly, much of the empire’s expansion occurred in a short amount of time, beginning with the accession of the Sapa Inca Pachacuti around the year 1438 and ending with the Spanish conquest in 1572. Prior to this was what is known as the Late Intermediate Period, in which the Inca were a relatively minor entity, shaped by earlier empires such as the Wari empire, which had come to end around 1000 AD.
Q: How was the Inca empire governed?
A: The role of Sapa Inca was handed down from generation to generation within the Inca ethnic group, but the successor wasn’t necessarily the eldest son of the previous Sapa Inca. There was competition between different sons for the position, and the strongest would usually inherit it.
The Sapa Inca wielded huge power, mostly achieved through acts of loyalty. This could involve providing gifts of cloth, inviting people to rituals to drink a type of beer known as chicha, and becoming involved in local activities in Cuzco. Through this, he was able to form networks of alliances that filtered downwards throughout society. However, the Sapa Inca had complete authority over his empire and was able to order killings. So, although there was this idea of reciprocity, he had overall control.
As I mentioned previously, the Inca also formed alliances with other ethnic groups living in the highland area around Cuzco. After consolidating these
