Cusco (Inca Empire capital)

Timeline

1. c. 1100–1438Cusco valley · PeruLegend holds that the Inca ancestor Manco Capac founded a settlement in the Cusco valley, forming the political center of an early Inca chiefdom; the city was small, with ritual activity centered on the Plaza of Huacapata.
2. 1438–1493Cusco · PeruAfter accession, the Sapa Inca Pachacuti carried out large-scale replanning of Cusco, shaping the city into the form of a puma, building the Coricancha sun temple, the Sacsayhuamán fortress, and palace complexes of precisely fitted polygonal masonry, laying out the imperial capital's grand layout.
3. 1511–1520Cusco · PeruUnder Huayna Capac, Cusco served as the empire's supreme administrative, religious, and ceremonial center, coordinating over four thousand kilometers of territory north and south through the quipu record system and road network; the population is estimated at over one hundred thousand, with temples, palaces, and plazas densely packed and a ritual calendar running through the year.
4. 1533Cusco · PeruFrancisco Pizarro led Spanish forces to occupy Cusco; palaces and temples were demolished or converted into colonial churches and buildings. Large quantities of Inca polygonal masonry foundations were preserved and incorporated into new construction, and the city continued as an important Peruvian city, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.