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Pre-Empire Inca Expansion

Type Event Region South America Time 1351–1360

Around 1351–1360, under rulers such as Capac Yupanqui, the Inca kingdom of Cuzco gradually expanded from a small Andean valley polity into surroundin…

Timeline

  1. 1351–1354Urubamba Valley · PeruInca rulers used royal marriages to win over neighboring tribal chiefs, bringing the agricultural region of the Urubamba Valley into their sphere of influence and beginning to collect tribute and labor from Cuzco as suzerain.
  2. 1354–1357Highlands around Cuzco · PeruInca armies, with stone weapons and superior organizational ability, conquered neighboring chiefdoms that resisted marriage alliances, resettling the conquered near Cuzco and organizing them into ayllu clans to manage labor and tribute.
  3. 1357–1360Cuzco · PeruBy around 1360, the Incas built state storehouses (qollqas) at Cuzco and throughout the valley, recorded tribute and population with quipus, and expanded the Temple of the Sun to strengthen the Sapa Inca's sacred royal authority, providing the administrative and ideological foundation for later large-scale conquests.

Sources