Inca Empire
the Andes' road-builders
Inca Empire1,438 CE – 1,533 CE
01
Before the Inca
the small Cuzco kingdom Pachacuti inherited and the Chanka war that opened the throne
~1000–1438 CE
02
Pachacuti and the Imperial Burst
the Chanka war's victor rebuilds Cuzco and forges the Tahuantinsuyu in one reign
1438–1471
03
Topa Inca and Huayna Capac
the empire reaches its full extent under Pachacuti's son and grandson
1471–1527
04
The Imperial Machine
how a continent-scale empire ran on knotted cords, runners, and rotational labor
1438–1532
05
Religion, Mummies, and the Sun
Inti, the Sapa Inca as living god, and the panaca cult of the royal mummies
1438–1532
06
Architecture and the Stone Mystery
mortarless polygonal masonry, the trapezoidal signature, and how 200-ton blocks were actually moved
1438–1532
07
Smallpox Before the Spanish
the epidemic that killed Huayna Capac and the civil war that gutted the empire
1524–1532
08
Cajamarca and After
Pizarro's 168, the ambush, the ransom, the execution, and the long aftermath
1532–1572