The Inca Empire

history · mountains · empires

Mountain masters. The Inca rose from the high Peruvian Andes mountains starting in the early 1200s, building an empire where the air is thin and cold.

Four parts. Its official name meant the 'Realm of the Four Parts.' It was the largest empire in all of the Americas before Columbus arrived.

Capital city. Cusco was the heart of the empire, where the rulers made decisions and led the army.

First visitors. A Portuguese explorer named Aleixo García was the first European to reach the Inca in 1524.

The conquest. The Spanish began taking over the empire in 1532, and the last Inca state finally fell in 1572.