Inca rulers

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The rulers of the Inca Empire and the Inca governing system

Periods in the Inca Empire's history

The Incas have venerated their rulers, considering them even demigods, people with strong connection to the gods.

These rulers were named using the title "Sapa", which meant "the only one" and the term "Apu", which meant divinity.

Moieties constituted the structure of leadership systems, in which there were lower, called "hanan" and upper, called "urin" levels. The moieties gave the empire duality. The moieties urin and hanan were equal, ruled together.

The Incas called their leaders most often "Sapa Inca" + their name, for instance: Sapa Inca Yupanqui. The Inca ruler was the supreme leader of the upper moiety, "hanan", he was the most powerful individual and had complete dominance, the highest prestige.   

The history of the great Inca Empire, the Tahuantinsuyo can be split into 3 segments: the Kingdom of Cuzco (from around 1200 - 1400 to 1438), the Inca Empire (from 1438 to 1525 - '33) and the Vilcabamba Empire/State (from 1525 - '33 to 1571 - '72).

The first one was the Cuzco Kingdom in the core of what later became the Inca Empire. This core was actually the Sacred Valley. Rationally thinking, the rulers of this land should be considered Kings.

The second period was the Inca Empire (or Tahuantinsuyo) period, which was first rather broken, then destroyed by the Spanish (explanation several lines below, why "broken" is more adequate then "destroyed" or any other term tha means complete elimination). This period (from 1438 to 1525 - '33) is when the Incas had emperors. Emperors ruled wider areas of land, even had power above multiple peoples (later nations, in the case of Europe, for example).

The last period, after the glorious immense Inca Empire was attacked by the Spaniards, was that of the Vilcabamba Empire, often referred to as the "Vilcabamba State". The term "state", however is debated, because a state is a highly developed entity with written laws, tax collecting systems, infrastructure, regional administration systems, nobility, cultural institutions, etc. At least this is what "state" means in European standards (examples: the British Empire, the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, Venice, the Ottoman Empire, etc.).

Then, the term Empire is equally unsuitable. Because, the Vilcabamba area was relatively small and the rule lacked the typical systems of an empire. It was rather an "Inca country" reborn after the Spanish attacks.

This, Vilcabamba Land resulted from rebellion of the Incas, following the continuous suffering that they had to bear because of the Spanish occupation. The Spaniards did kill Atahualpa and tried creating puppet governments, but this didn't work, just as we see today in Afghanistan and Iraq, a centralized puppet government cannot hold the whole country together.

Manco Cápac II rebelled against the Spaniards, after he was used as a "puppet" above other Incas.

He retreated into the Vilcabamba Valley and created the so-called "Last Capital of the Incas" (which had the same name of the Valley). His rule and that of other Incas after him has kept the Spaniards out of the Valley for long. Francisco Pizarro never conquered the Vilcabamba. This only happened in 1572, when the Spanish soldiers managed to kill Túpac Amaru, the son of Manco Cápac II.

List of Inca rulers 

Here is a list of all the Inca rulers/emperors. Details include the period or starting date of rule, dynasty and important information about the respective person. Certainly, about the first 8 rulers, there is little information living mostly in tales, myths.

Please keep in mind that due to lack of written documents from the pre-Spanish era, the dates/periods of rule are approximate: