---
node: sa_inca
type: period
slug: inca_empire
title: "Inca Empire"
lead: "The Inca Empire (c. 1438–1533), called Tawantinsuyu, was the largest state in the pre-Columbian Americas. From its capital Cusco it ruled much of the Andes until the Spanish conquest."
published: 2026-07-13
updated: 2026-07-13
image_file: inca_empire.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Machu_Picchu_with_Huayna_Picchu_P%C3%A9rou_(3).jpg"
image_author: "PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

Beginning around 1438 under the ruler Pachacuti, the Inca expanded from Cusco to control the Andes from Colombia to Chile and Argentina. They bound this vast realm together with a network of roads, storehouses, and administration.

## Key developments

The Inca ran their empire without writing, using the knotted-cord quipu for records and a system of labor tribute called mit'a. They built remarkable stone architecture, including Machu Picchu, and resettled populations to integrate the realm.

## End and transition

A war of succession between Atahualpa and Huáscar weakened the empire just as the Spanish arrived. Pizarro captured Atahualpa in 1532 and seized Cusco, though Inca resistance continued at Vilcabamba until 1572.