Sapa Inca

Representation of the Sapa Inca, Pachacuti, wearing the "Mascapaicha" (royal crown), in the main square of Aguas Calientes, Peru

The Sapa Inca (Hispanicized spelling) or Sapa Inka (Quechua for "the only Inca"), also known as Apu ("divinity"), Inka Qhapaq ("mighty Inca"), or simply Sapa ("the only one"), was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco and, later, the Emperor of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) and the Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and tied to the legendary foundation of the city of Cusco, historically it seems to have come into being around 1100. The position was hereditary, with son succeeding father. The emperor was viewed as a god.[1] The principal wife of the Inca was known as the Coya.

There were two known dynasties, led by the Hurin and Hanan moieties respectively.[2] The latter was in power at the time of Spanish conquest. The last effective Sapa Inca of Inca Empire was Atahualpa, who was executed by Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors in 1533, but several successors later claimed the title.[3]

Pre-Conquest Sapa Incas

First dynasty

Little is known of the rulers of the first dynasty of Sapa Incas. Evidently, they were affiliated with the Hurin moiety and their rule did not extend beyond the Kingdom of Cusco. Their origins are tied to the mythical establishment of Cusco and are shrouded in later foundation myth. The dynasty was supposedly founded by Manco Cápac, considered the son of the sun god Inti.[4]

Sapa IncaPictureBirthDeath
Manco Cápac
c. 1200 CE – c. 1230		Considered the son of
the sun god Inti		c. 1230
Sinchi Roca
c. 1230 – c. 1260		son of Manco Cápacc. 1260
Lloque Yupanqui
c. 1260 – c. 1290		son of Sinchi Rocac. 1290
Mayta Cápac
c. 1290 – c. 1320		son of Lloque Yupanquic. 1320
Cápac Yupanqui
c. 1320 – c. 1350		son of Mayta Cápacc. 1350

As a rough guide to the later reputation of the early Sapa Incas, in later years capac meant warlord and sinchi meant leader.

Second dynasty

The second dynasty was affiliated with the Hanan moiety and was founded under Inca Roca, the son of the last Hurin Sapa Inca, Cápac Yupanqui. After Cápac Yupanqui's death, another of his sons, Inca Roca's half-brother Quispe Yupanqui, was intended to succeed him. However, the Hanan revolted and installed Inca Roca instead.

Sapa IncaPictureBirthDeath
Inca Roca
c. 1350 – c. 1380		son of Cápac Yupanquic. 1380
Yáhuar Huácac
c. 1380 – c. 1410		son of Inca Rocac. 1410
Viracocha
c. 1410–1438		son of Yáhuar Huácac1438
Pachacuti
1438–1471		son of Viracocha1471
Túpac Inca Yupanqui
1471–1493		son of Pachacuti1493
Huayna Capac
1493–1527		son of Túpac Inca Yupanqui1527
Huáscar
1527–1532		son of Huayna Capac1533
Killed by Atahualpa
Atahualpa
1532–1533		son of Huayna Capac26 July 1533
Killed by the Spaniards

Ninan Cuyochi, who was Inca for only a few days in 1527, is sometimes left off the list of Sapa Incas because news of his death from smallpox arrived in Cusco very shortly after he was declared Sapa Inca. He had been with Huayna Cápac when he died. The death of Ninan, the presumed heir, led to the Inca Civil War between Huáscar and Atahualpa, a weakness that the Spanish exploited when they conquered the Inca Empire.

Post-Conquest Sapa Incas

Sapa IncaPictureBirthDeathNotes
Túpac Huallpa
1533		son of Huayna Capac1533Installed by Francisco Pizarro.
Manco Inca Yupanqui
1533–1544		son of Huayna Capac1544Installed by Francisco Pizarro. Led a revolt against the Spaniards in 1536; after his defeat, established the Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba.
Paullu Inca
1536–1549		son of Huayna Capac1549Installed by the Spaniards after Manco Inca rebelled; ruled in Cuzco.
Sayri Túpac
1544–1560		son of Manco Inca Yupanqui1560Ruled in Vilcabamba.
Titu Cusi
1563–1571		son of Manco Inca Yupanqui1571Ruled in Vilcabamba.
Túpac Amaru
1571–1572		son of Manco Inca Yupanqui24 September 1572
Killed by the Spaniards		Ruled in Vilcabamba. The last Sapa Inca.

This last Sapa Inca must not be confused with Túpac Amaru II, who was leader of an 18th-century Peruvian uprising.

Literature

  • Pachacutec, a resurrected Sapa Inca king who is over 500 years old, plays a major role in James Rollins' novel Excavation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wilfred Byford-Jones, Four Faces of Peru, Roy Publishers, 1967, p. 17; p. 50.
  2. ↑ Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa; Gabriel de Oviedo (1907). History of the Incas. Hakluyt Society. p. 72.
  3. ↑ Cova, Antonio de la. "The Incas". www.latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  4. ↑ "Who Was The Sapa Inca?". Ancient Pages. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
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