Who was Pachacuti, and how did the Inca rise to power?

Pachacuti and the rise of the Inca

Pachacútec y el ascenso de los incas

c. 1438–1471. Inca tradition says that around 1438 the Chanca attacked Cusco, the ruler fled, and a young prince stayed to defend the city, winning with the help of stones…

Where: Peru, Cusco, Machu Picchu

What happened

Inca tradition says that around 1438 the Chanca attacked Cusco, the ruler fled, and a young prince stayed to defend the city, winning with the help of stones that turned into warriors. He took the throne and the name Pachacuti, 'he who turns the world over'. In thirty years he made a small kingdom into an empire: he conquered the Cusco valley and the Titicaca basin, gave privileged status to speakers of Quechua, imposed tribute paid in labour, built roads and storehouses, rebuilt Cusco in fitted stone with the sun temple of Coricancha and the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, and around 1450 founded Machu Picchu as a royal estate. His son Tupac Inca Yupanqui continued the conquests. The dates and deeds come from Spanish chroniclers writing a century later, so they are approximate.

Say it

Pachacútec construyó Machu Picchu hace más de quinientos años.

Pachacuti built Machu Picchu more than five hundred years ago.

Why it matters

Pachacuti's state spread Quechua across the Andes, which is why it is still spoken by some eight million people, and his buildings, above all Machu Picchu, are the image of Peru.

There today

See
In Cusco you can see Inca stonework fitted without gaps, including the walls of Coricancha and the fortress of Sacsayhuamán, and visit Machu Picchu; see Cusco and Machu Picchu.

Read about it

Connected

Sources

  1. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui — World History Encyclopedia
  2. Inca Civilization — World History Encyclopedia
  3. Machu Picchu — World History Encyclopedia
  4. Historia – Santuario Histórico de Machupicchu — Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultura Cusco (Ministerio de Cultura del Perú)