When did the Inca Empire exist?

The Inca Empire existed 1438–1533. On this map it is drawn 1440–1571.

How large was the Inca Empire?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Inca Empire covered about 2.2 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

South America · Andean states before the conquest

Inca Empire

1438–1533

Tawantinsuyu ("the four parts together") was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, founded in 1438 when Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (r. c. 1438–1471) began his campaigns of conquest. At its peak under his successors it extended some 4,000 km along the Andes, embracing modern Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador and parts of Chile, Argentina, and Colombia, with a population often estimated at around 10–12 million.

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Existed: 1438–1533
Shown on the map: 1440–1571
Peak area: 2.2M km²
Region: South America

Overview

History

The sequence of imperial Sapa Incas is generally given as: Pachacuti (c. 1438–1471), who reorganized the state, rebuilt Cuzco, and (by most accounts) commissioned Machu Picchu; Túpac Inca Yupanqui (c. 1471–1493), who conquered Chimor and doubled the empire, pushing north into Ecuador and south into Chile; and Huayna Cápac (c. 1493–1525), who consolidated the north and built fortresses, temples, and roads. Huayna Cápac's death (probably from a European-introduced epidemic) around 1525–1527 triggered a devastating civil war between his sons Huáscar (based in Cuzco) and Atahualpa (based in Quito), which Atahualpa had nearly won when the Spanish arrived.

The Inca state was a marvel of organization without a writing system or the wheel. Records were kept on the quipu, knotted-string devices encoding numerical and possibly narrative data. The Qhapaq Ñan road network stretched over 40,000 km, linking coast, mountain, and jungle, with tambo waystations and chasqui relay runners. The mit'a labor-tax system mobilized subjects for public works — terraces, temples, roads — while mitmaq (mitimaes) forced-resettlement colonies consolidated control. Inca stonework at Sacsayhuamán, Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu used precisely fitted ashlar masonry engineered to withstand earthquakes. State religion centered on the sun god Inti, with the Sapa Inca considered his living descendant.

Decline and legacy

The conquest came swiftly. Francisco Pizarro, with roughly 168 men, captured Atahualpa at Cajamarca on 16 November 1532; despite a vast ransom of gold and silver, Atahualpa was executed on 26 July 1533. The Spanish installed puppet rulers (Túpac Huallpa, then Manco Inca) and entered Cuzco in November 1533. Manco Inca rebelled in 1536, laying siege to Cuzco, then withdrew to establish the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba in 1537. This rump state survived under Manco Inca (assassinated 1544), Sayri Túpac (submitted 1558, died c. 1561), Titu Cusi (d. 1571), and finally Túpac Amaru. In 1572 Viceroy Francisco de Toledo launched a military campaign; Vilcabamba fell, and Túpac Amaru was captured and publicly beheaded in Cuzco on 24 September 1572, ending the political authority of the Inca state. Toledo's execution of a head of state the Spanish had recognized as an independent king was controversial even at the time. The legacy of Tawantinsuyu endures in the Quechua language, Andean agriculture, and the identity of the modern Andean republics.

Common questions

What was the Inca Empire?: Tawantinsuyu ("the four parts together") was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, founded in 1438 when Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (r. c. 1438–1471) began his campaigns of conquest. At its peak under his successors it extended some 4,000 km along the Andes, embracing modern Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador and parts of Chile, Argentina, and Colombia, with a population often estimated at around 10–12 million.
When did the Inca Empire exist?: The Inca Empire existed 1438–1533. On this map it is drawn 1440–1571.
How large was the Inca Empire?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Inca Empire covered about 2.2 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Who ruled the Inca Empire?: The sequence of imperial Sapa Incas is generally given as: Pachacuti (c. 1438–1471), who reorganized the state, rebuilt Cuzco, and (by most accounts) commissioned Machu Picchu; Túpac Inca Yupanqui (c. 1471–1493), who conquered Chimor and doubled the empire, pushing north into Ecuador and south into Chile; and Huayna Cápac (c. 1493–1525), who consolidated the north and built fortresses, temples, and roads.
How did the Inca Empire end?: The conquest came swiftly. Francisco Pizarro, with roughly 168 men, captured Atahualpa at Cajamarca on 16 November 1532; despite a vast ransom of gold and silver, Atahualpa was executed on 26 July 1533.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. It names English Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica and the World History Encyclopedia as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by academic and museum sources and, for recent events, by reputable news outlets. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Inca Empire en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Empire

This entry was last updated 12 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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