Background Info-
The Inca Empire was one of the largest empires in pre Columbian America. The Inca Empire was located in Cusco, which is modern day Peru. The Incan civilizations began around the early 13th century. The Incas used a variety of methods from conquest to peaceful assimilations to make the Incan Empire comparable with the historical empires of Eurasia.
The Inca Empire was one of the largest empires in pre Columbian America. The Inca Empire was located in Cusco, which is modern day Peru. The Incan civilizations began around the early 13th century. The Incas used a variety of methods from conquest to peaceful assimilations to make the Incan Empire comparable with the historical empires of Eurasia.
Rise of the Empire- The Inca Empire rose to its glory because of its great rulers and its extremely powerful and tactical army. Pachacuti, in specific, helped create stable political control in the Incan Territories through territorial conquests and bargains. Although the Inca society only started as a tribe in the 13th century, it rose up because of the leadership of the tribe and its many conquests. Furthermore, the Inca Empire eventually spread 2500 miles and ruled over 12 million people, becoming one of the most famous empires today.
Social Structure- The Inca social structure was strict. The Inca believed that they are only able to talk and socialize with people of the same class. If a person were to talk or to socialize with other people of a higher class, they were to be punished. The punishment was usually cutting off of hands, cutting off the feet, or popping out the eyes of the person being accused. Although i would deem this punishment harsh, at that time, it was the fair punishment. The Inca social ladder was divided into 4 categories: the nobles, the public administrators, the commoners and the ayllu (peasants).
Political Structure- The Inca Empire was a centralized monarchy, in which the king was superior to all. The success of the Inca people was strongly based on their military organization that supported the king. Then, the Inca empire was sub divided into four quarters and these quarters were ran by officials, these officials were just one level under the king. Under the officials, there were the traditional hierarchical systems, with the administrators, bureaucrats, and commoners.
Leading Factors in Movement- Diplomacy was an important factor of the movement and rise of the Inca Empire. The Incas used diplomacy in negotiating relationships with neighbors or people
who were potential targets for other people, created relationships that helped expand their
territory. If they could not do this diplomatically, they would move on to threatening the group with a attack. If that also fails, they would attack with their strong army and overtake the territory. They would also try to take a peaceful approach but do anything necessary to obtain the territory, as was the recent case with Crimea.
Important Leaders- Leaders that were important in the rise of the Inca Empire were Pachacuti, who became ruler in 1438 and stretched the empire more than 2,500 miles, and had about 12 million people under this rule. He was the ruler during the peak of the Inca Empire and is always remembered as the most successful Inca ruler because of all of his successful territorial gains. Then , there were other significant rulers after Pachacuti, like Huayna Capac who created royal estates and such. Huayna invaded and successfully obtained territory from the south, present-day Chile and Argentina. Also, another famous leader was Tupac Inca Yupanqui who ruled the Inca Empire after his father, Pachacuti. A common factor between all of these leaders was the desire to improve the empire ands grow, ultimately being the factor that differentiated them from the rest.