The rise and fall of the Inca empire - Gordon McEwan

It was the western hemisphere’s
largest empire ever,

with a population
of nearly 10 million subjects.

Over an area of more
than 900,000 square kilometers,

its people built massive
administrative centers,

temples, and extensive road
and canal systems.

They did so in an inhospitable,
extreme terrain,

all without the use of wheels,
horses, iron, or even written language.

Yet within 100 years of its rise
in the fifteenth century,

the Inca Empire would be no more.

According to legend,

the ancestors of the Inca rulers
were created by the sun god Inti,

and they emerged
from a cave called Tambo Toco.

Leading four brothers
and four sisters was Ayar Manco,

who carried a golden staff
with instructions

to find the place where
it would sink into the ground,

showing fertile soil.

After many adventures
and extensive searching,

Ayar Manco and his siblings
reached the Cuzco Valley,

where the staff pierced the ground.

After fighting off the fierce
local native population,

they founded their capital,

and Ayar Manco became Manco Capac,
the first Sapa Inca, or king of the Incas.

Archaeological evidence suggests

that the Incas first settled in this valley around 1200 CE.