People
What was the name of the first Sapa Inca who founded the capital of Cusco?
Manco Capac
What was the name of the cave from which the ancestors of the Inca rulers supposedly emerged?
Tambo Toco.
What major event in 1438 triggered Pachacuti's rise to power and the expansion of the empire?
The defense of Cusco against an invasion by the Chanka tribe.
What is the estimated total length of the Incan road network at its peak?
Between 14,000 and 25,000 miles.
Which ninth Inca ruler is credited with transforming the kingdom into a vast empire starting in 1438?
Pachacuti
What city served as the capital and central administrative hub of the Incan Empire?
Cuzco
In what year did Francisco Pizarro land on the coast of Peru with his group of conquistadors?
1532
How far could a message travel in a single day using the Incan relay messenger system?
Approximately 170 miles.
What was the name of the Incan emperor whose death from smallpox triggered a civil war in the late 1520s?
Huayna Capac
Which 15th-century Incan citadel is located on a mountain ridge 2,430 meters above sea level in southern Peru?
Machu Picchu
What specific ransom did Atahualpa offer the Spanish in exchange for his release?
A large room filled with gold and two smaller rooms filled with silver.
What was the Machu Picchu elevation
2,430 meters
Which two brothers fought a devastating civil war for the Incan throne just before the Spanish arrival?
Atahualpa and Huascar
Where did the Inca believe the creator god Viracocha brought the sun, moon, and stars into existence?
Lake Titicaca
What happened to Atahualpa in August 1533 despite his payment of the ransom?
He was executed by the Spanish on charges of treason and heresy.
Total population?
10-16million
Who was the puppet ruler installed by Pizarro who eventually led a massive rebellion against the Spanish in 1536?
Manco Inca
What was the name of the final mountain refuge where the Incan resistance survived until 1572?
Vilcabamba
In what year was Manco Inca assassinated by the Spanish refugees he had sheltered in Vilcabamba?
1544