Ancient Inca civilization. Another reality. The social system of the Incas

At the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. the first empires appeared on the Pacific coast and in the northern regions of the South American continent. The most significant of these was the Inca state. During its heyday, from 8 million to 15 million people lived here.

The term "Inca" denoted the title of ruler of several tribes in the foothills of the Andes; This name was also carried by the tribes of Aymara, Ualliakan, Keuar and others who lived in the Cuzco Valley and spoke Quechua.

The Inca Empire occupied an area of \u200b\u200b1 million square meters. km, its length from north to south exceeded 5 thousand km. The Inca state, divided into four provinces around the city of Cuzco and located in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca, included the territory of modern Bolivia, northern Chile, part of present Argentina, the northern part of modern Republic of Peru and present Ecuador.

The supreme power in the state belonged entirely to Sapa Inca - that was the official name of the emperor. Each Sapa Inca erected his own palace, richly decorated to his taste. The best artisans-jewelers made for him a new golden throne, richly decorated with precious stones, most often emeralds. Gold in the Inca Empire was widely used in jewelry, but was not a means of payment. The Incas did without money, because one of the main principles of life they had was the principle of self-sufficiency. The whole empire was a huge subsistence economy.

Inca Religion

Religion occupied an important place in the life of the Incas. Each population group, in each region had its own beliefs and cults. The most common form of religious beliefs was totemism - worship of the totem - an animal, plant, stones, water, etc., with which believers considered themselves to be related. The lands of the communities were called the names of deified animals. In addition, the cult of ancestors was ubiquitous. According to the Incas, the deceased ancestors were supposed to contribute to the ripening of the crop, the fertility of animals and the well-being of people. Assuming that the spirits of their ancestors live in caves, the Incas erected stone mounds near the caves, which in their outlines resembled the figures of people. The custom of mummification of the corpses of the dead is associated with the cult of ancestors. Mummies in elegant clothes, with decorations, utensils, food were buried in tombs carved into the rocks. The mummies of rulers and priests were especially buried.

Own buildings the Incas erected from various types of stone - limestone, basalt, diorite and from raw brick. The houses of ordinary people had light roofs made of straw and bunches of reeds; there were no stoves in the houses, and the smoke of the hearth exited directly through the thatched roof. Temples and palaces were built especially carefully. The stones from which the walls were folded fit so tightly together that binders were not required during the construction of the buildings. In addition, the Incas on the mountain slopes erected fortresses with numerous watchtowers. The most famous of them rose above the city of Cuzco and consisted of three rows of walls 18 m high.

In their temples, the Incas worshiped a whole pantheon of gods who had strict subordination. The highest of the gods was considered Kon Tiksi Viracocha - the creator of the world and the creator of all the other gods. Among the gods that Viracocha created were: the god Inti (the Golden Sun) - the legendary ancestor of the ruling dynasty; the god Ilyapa - the god of weather, thunder and lightning, to which people asked for rain, because Ilyapa could cause the water of the Heavenly River to flow to the earth; wife Inti the goddess of the moon - Mama Kiglia. The Morning Star (Venus) and many other stars and constellations were also revered. In the religious views of the ancient Aztecs, a special position was occupied by the extremely ancient cults of mother earth - Mama Pacha and mother sea - Mama Kochi.

The Incas had many religious ritual festivals associated with the agricultural calendar and the life of the ruling family. All holidays were held on the main square of Cuzco - Huacapata (Sacred Terrace). From it diverged the roads connecting the capital with the four provinces of the state. By the time the Spaniards arrived, three palaces towered in Wacapat Square. Two of them were turned into shrines. When the Inca ruler died, his body was embalmed, and the mummy was left in his palace. Since that time, the palace became a sanctuary, and the new ruler built himself another palace.

The highest achievement of Inca architecture is considered the ensemble of temples of Coricancha (Golden Yard). The main structure of the ensemble was the temple of the sun god - Inti, where there was a golden image of the god, decorated with large emeralds. This image was located in the western part, and it was illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun. The walls of the temple were all upholstered with sheet gold. Wood carvings covered the ceiling, carpets stitched with gold threads covered the floor. Windows and doors were studded with precious stones. Several chapels adjoined the temple of the Sun - in honor of thunder and lightning, a rainbow, the planet of Venus, and the main of them - in honor of the Moon (Mama Kigli). The image of the moon in the Inca empire is associated with the idea of \u200b\u200ba woman, a goddess. Therefore, Mama Kigli’s chapel was intended for koym - the wife of the Inca ruler, only she had access to this chapel. Here were the mummies of the deceased wives of the rulers. In the chapel of the moon, all the decoration was made of silver.

Various craftsthe Incas reached their peak. The Incas mastered mining quite early and mined copper and tin ores in the mines to make bronze from which they cast axes, sickles, knives, and other household utensils. The Incas could smelter metal, knew the technique of casting, forging, embossing, soldering and riveting, and also made products using the cloisonne enamel technique. Chronists reported that the Inca craftsmen made a golden ear of corn, in which the grains were golden, and the fibers surrounding the ear were made from the finest silver threads. The pinnacle of Inca jewelry was the image of the sun god in the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco in the form of a huge golden sun disk with a skillfully carved human face.

The Inca's golden wealth reached its peak during the reign of Wine Kapak. He is ordering! to cover with gold leaf the walls and roofs of their palaces and temples; there were many golden animal sculptures in the royal palace. During the ceremonies of 50 thousand. warriors armed with golden weapons. A huge portable golden throne with a cloak of precious feathers was placed in front of the residence palace.

All this was plundered by conquistadors from the expedition of Francisco Pissarro. Jewelry was smelted and shipped to Spain. But much has remained in the hiding places and has not yet been discovered.

According to researchers of the Inca culture, their empire perished largely due to religion. Firstly, a rite was approved by religion, in which the ruler chose a successor among his sons. This led to the internecine war of the brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa, which significantly weakened the country before the invasion of the Spanish conquistadors led by Pizarro. Secondly, among the Incas, there was a tradition that in the future new, unfamiliar people would rule the country, who would conquer the empire and become its sole masters. This explains the Inca's fear and indecision before the Spanish conquistadors.

The fall of the Inca empire - a civilization that inherited the achievements of the more ancient peoples of South America.
The fall of the Inca empire - a civilization that inherited the achievements of the more ancient peoples of South America.

National motto: Ama llulla, ama suwa, ama qilla (Do not lie, do not steal, do not be lazy) Inca Empire, Tauantinsuyu (Tawantin Suyu, Tawantinsuyu)

Chronology

Even before the Incas reached their power, several other cultures flourished in the Andean vast region. The first hunters and fishermen appeared here at least 12,000 years ago, and by 3000 BC. e. fishing villages strewn all this waterless coast. In the fertile valleys at the foot of the Andes and green oases in the desert, small rural communities sprang up.

Millennia later, larger social groups of people penetrated deep into the territory. Having overcome the high mountain peaks, they began to settle on the eastern slopes of the ridge, using the same irrigation methods that they developed on the coast to irrigate their fields and harvest. Settlements arose around the temple complexes, and artisans produced increasingly complex pottery and fabrics.

Archaeologists classify the products of Andean artisans according to the time and geographical period of their distribution. To do this, use the term “horizons to identify the main stages of stylistic uniformity, violated by some features, from the point of view of aesthetics and technology.

Early Colonial Period: 1532 - 1572 AD

Early horizon: 1400 - 400 years. BC.

Named after the temple center in Chavin de Uantar, located in a small northern valley on the eastern slopes of the Andes, the Chavin style, tightly connected with the powerful emerging new religion, arose around 1400 BC. e. and reached its peak of development and influence by 400 BC. e.

This religion, which is believed to have built on the leading role of the oracle, supposedly capable of foreseeing the future, conquering illnesses and making requests to the gods, gradually spread to the south. By 1000 BC it reached the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Lima, and by 500 BC - Ayacucho, located two hundred miles inland. Apparently, priests were sent from Chavin de Uantar to other communities in order to obtain worship of such deities as this god with a rod, named so because he has a scepter in his hands (a symbol of power).

The Chavin people made significant technological progress and even made some of the most advanced discoveries of the time. Chavins invented a loom and experimented with various metallurgical techniques, such as welding, brazing, and the manufacture of gold and silver alloys. Among their products, one can find large metal sculptures, as well as dyed yarn fabrics depicting such images of the Chavin cult as a god with a grinning jaguar and other animals living in the Amazon valley.

Early Intermediate Period: 400 BC - 550 A.D.

Various local styles began to emerge on the southern coast of Peru. Two of the most characteristic features of the so-called Paracas culture, named after the name of the Paracas Peninsula, were beautiful fabrics and tombs in the shape of a bottle - up to 40 bodies could be placed in each room of such a crypt.

Another nation, Nazca, cultivated land in valleys located 200 miles south of the modern capital of Peru, Lima. By 370 BC The Nazi style dominated the southwestern coast, leaving the most visible mark on ceramics. The Nazca are famous for their mysterious puzzling lines of Nazca - huge terrestrial drawings. To do this, they cleaned all the stones and gravel in a certain area, exposing the soil faded in color, and then scattered heaps of collected stones with gravel at its edges. Such "lines" probably made some sense to the Nazca religion.

On the northern coast of Peru around 100 BC a warlike culture of urine arose. She extended her control over up to 150 miles along the coast. The urine Indians developed a whole metallurgical complex, created monumental buildings from sun-dried raw brick (adoba), they got their own original style, which was most reflected in vessels with realistic portraits.

Middle horizon: 550 - 900 years AD

Still preserved in its original form, the Chulpas funerary towers rise on one of the mountain slopes near Lake Titicaca. The practice of burials on the territory of the empire varied greatly from one region to another, differing in social terms. These tombs, owned by the local nobility, were erected on mortar-free stone slabs of the highest quality. they were built in the middle of the second millennium AD and were hit hard by earthquakes.

The era of big cities has come. On the shores of Lake Titicaca at an altitude of 12,500 feet, pyramids and stone hills appeared, decorated with beautiful stone carvings, as can be seen from the image of the god (on the right), which is considered a new interpretation of the old god of the Chavin with a rod. The people who built all these structures settled in this region around 100 BC. and began to erect around 100 AD Tiahuanaco city.

By 500 g. e. the tiahuanakans already dominated the territory of the Southern Andes, and after five hundred years they disappeared altogether. During their hegemony, they created distant colonies, declared their lands adjoining the shores of Lake Titicaca, and sent llamas trading caravans along the coast.

Meanwhile, the small village of Huari, located north at a distance of 600 miles, was gradually turning into a city. During its heyday, from 35,000 to 70,000 residents lived in it, water was supplied to their homes through an underground water system.

Weaving was one of the most common activities. The Huari people disappeared around 900 CE, but they left behind an important legacy - the concept of a centralized state and recommendations for its creation.

Late intermediate period (coastal): 900 - 1476 AD

The empires that collapsed one after another marked the onset of a period of civil wars, during which small nations, encouraged by examples of the Huari people, tried to create their own metropolises.

Starting an offensive from the center of the once urine lands on the northern coast of Peru, the Chimu tribe gradually united more than 600 miles of coast in their new state. Out of the beautifully supplied water through the irrigation system of the capital Chan Chan, located in a hot desert with a population of 36,000 inhabitants, the Chimu rulers managed a society strictly divided into classes, in which skilled craftsmen were especially respected.

The Chimu empire was strengthened thanks to the complex irrigation system they created, as well as the conquest of neighboring cultures such as Chankey, Ika-Chinka and Sikan. Sikan culture can be judged by a knife for ritual ceremonies. When their culture reached its peak, they knew how to decorate clothes and household utensils with complicated gold patterns, and created fabrics of amazing beauty.

And so they had to join the struggle for power with their Inca rivals.

Late intermediate period (mountainous regions): 900 - 1476 AD

‘Uaka’ - Inca sacred sites.
Kenko is one of the largest uaca in the Cuzco region. A semicircular wall of stacked smooth large stones only emphasizes the natural monolithic calcareous rock, this is the main center for religious worship in Kenko. In the cave adjacent to the wall there is an altar carved into the rock.

The descendants of the people who settled in the Cuzco Valley, located at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet above sea level, the Incas began to develop their culture only after 1200 AD, as evidenced by the jug (right). Although the capital of Cusco was constantly growing, their power remained fairly limited. Then in 1438, Pachacuti Inca Yupanka seized the throne. Calling himself "Earth-shaking," he and his troops traveled all over the Andes, conquering some states, negotiating with others, trying to unite several neighboring countries into a single powerful empire. Pachacuti rebuilt Cuzco, turning the capital into a city with beautiful stone palaces and temples. Its provinces were governed by a large, disciplined, well-functioning bureaucracy that stood for the defense of the interests of the state. His successor, the son of Topa Inca, who came to power in 1471, dealt such a devastating blow to the Chima that he secured full control over this vast region, stretching from Ecuador to the very heart of Chile.

Late horizon: 1476 - 1532 AD

Having strengthened their power, the Incas achieved an unprecedented rise in culture. Armies marched along a ramified road network and traded. The art of forging gold, ceramics and weaving have achieved incredible beauty and perfection. Stone handlers created massive buildings from precisely and tightly matched huge stone blocks. The Inca nobility, whose representative is depicted in the form of a figurine on the right, ruled by the Andes until the death of Emperor Wine Kapak, who died of smallpox between 1525 - 1527. Soon his successor also died, leaving open the question of the succession to the throne, which led to the outbreak of civil war. It ended in 1532 when one of the two sons of rival Waina Kapak Atahualpa, one of the two competing with each other, turned out to be the winner, and Huáscar was imprisoned.

By this time, a Spaniard named Francisco Pizarro made his exploratory journey along the coast of the Inca Empire. With only two hundred men at his disposal, he took advantage of feuds, a smallpox epidemic and attacked the Inca troops, captured Atahualpa himself and executed him.

Early Colonial Period: 1532 - 1572 AD

Pizarro with his gang of adventurers approached Cuzco in 1533 and was simply amazed at the unprecedented beauty of this city. The Spaniards seated Atuualpa Manco Inca’s uterine brother on the throne to rule the Inca empire through him.

However, Manco Inca did not become a puppet in the hands of the conquerors and soon led a popular rebellion. In the end, he was forced to flee from Cuzco, where Pizarro himself ruled now until he was killed in 1541 by supporters of his main rival. A year later, the Viceroy arrived in Lima to rule the Andean territories as Spanish provinces.

In 1545, the Spaniards captured Manco Inca, who was still the emperor for several thousand Incas, who took refuge with him in the dense jungle, where they built the city of Vilcabamba. Manco Inca was killed. His son Tupac Amaru, the last Inca emperor, tried to resist the Spaniards, but it was broken when the Spaniards captured its main base at Vilcabamba in 1572.

The fall of the Inca empire.

Conquistadors were always attracted by the ringing of gold. William H. Powell, photograph by the Architect of the Capitol.

Francisco Pissarro arrived in America in 1502 in search of happiness. For seven years he served in the Caribbean, participating in military campaigns against the Indians.

In 1524, Pissarro, together with Diego de Almagro and the priest Hernando de Luke, organized an expedition through the undiscovered territories of South America. But its participants did not manage to find anything interesting.

In 1526, the second expedition took place, during which Pissarro named gold from local residents. During this expedition, the Spaniards captured three Incas in order to make them translators. This expedition turned out to be very difficult, both disease and famine fell to their lot.

In 1527, Pissarro falls into the Inca city of Tumbes. From local residents, he learns about a large amount of gold and silver adorning gardens and temples in the depths of their lands. Realizing that military forces are necessary to obtain these riches, Pissarro goes to Spain and turns to Charles V for help. He talks about the incalculable treasures of the Incas, which you can quite easily get. Charles V gives Pissarro the title of governor and captain of the governor on all the lands that he will be able to conquer and control.

Even before the Spaniards conquered, the Incas suffered from the appearance of Europeans on their continent. Smallpox mowed entire families of natives who did not have immunity to it.

Around the same time, Wayna Kapaka (Sapa Inca) dies. The highest public office should go to one of the sons from the main wife. One of the sons who, according to the monarch, could better cope with the duties was chosen. In Cuzco, the capital of the Incas, the nobility proclaims the new Sapa Inca - Huascara, which means “sweet hummingbird”.

The problem was that the last Sapa Inca spent the last years of his life in Quito. As a result, most of the yard lived in Quito. The city turned into a second capital, dividing the leaders of the tribe into two rival groups. The army, stationed in Quito, preferred another son of Waina Kapak, Atahualpa, which means “wild turkey”. He spent most of his life with his father on the battlefields. It was a man of keen mind. Later, the Spaniards marveled at the speed with which he mastered the game of chess. At the same time, he was merciless, proof of this could be the fear of the courtiers to incur his anger.

Atahualpa showed loyalty to the new Sapa Inca. But he refused to come to his brother’s court, possibly fearing that Huascar sees him as a dangerous rival. In the end, Sapa Inca demanded the presence of his brother next to him at court. Refusing the invitation, Atahualpa sent ambassadors with expensive gifts instead. Huascar, possibly under the influence of courtiers hostile to his brother, tortured his brother's people. After killing them, he sent his army to Quito, ordering the force to deliver Atahualp to Cuzco. Atahualpa called his loyal warriors to arms.

At first, Cusco’s army even managed to capture the rebellious brother. But he managed to escape and join his own. In the battle, Atahualpa defeated those who captured him. Huascar urgently collects a second army and sends it to his brother. Recruits with poor training could not match the Atahualpa veterans, and were defeated in a two-day battle.

As a result, Atahualpa captures Huascar and triumphantly enters Cuzco, after which a brutal reprisal was committed against the wives, friends and advisers of the unfortunate brother.

In 1532, Pissarro and Almagro returned to Tumbes, along with 160 well-armed adventurers. In the place of the once flourishing city, they found only ruins. He was badly affected by the epidemic, and then by the civil war. For five months, Pissarro moved along the coast, plundering imperial warehouses along the way.

As a result, Pissarro goes to the court of Atahualpa. Nine of his people, frightened by the prospect of being in a mountainous area, turned back in the Inca possessions.

The Spaniards were surprised by the Inca roads, paved with stone slabs, with trees planted along the edges, creating a shadow, as well as canals lined with stone.

Upon learning of the movement of white people within his country, Atahualpa invites them to visit him. According to the ambassador, he realized that the Spaniards look and are friendly. During a meeting with Ambassador Pissarro made gifts to the monarch and talked a lot about the world.

Pissarro placed his people in an open space on the main square of Cajamarc. He sent Hernando de Soto to pay his respects to Atahualpe so that he would try to seduce him with his offer to meet in person.

Atahualpa rebuked the Spaniards for plundering his depots and for neglect of some Indians on the coast. To which the Spaniards began to praise their martial art and offered to use their services. Atahualpa agrees to pay a visit to Pissarro in Cajamarca.

During this meeting, Hernando de Soto wanted to scare Atahualpa and almost ran onto him on his horse, stopping in the immediate vicinity from him, so that drops of horse saliva fell on the Inca's clothes. But Atahualpa did not flinch. Later, he ordered the execution of those courtiers who showed fear.

Pissarro, following the example of Cortes, who conquered the powerful Aztec empire through the abduction of the emperor, began to prepare his ambush.

At night, Atahualpa sent 5,000 warriors to block the road north of Kahamarka. According to his plan, as he later admitted to the Spaniards, he wanted to capture Pissarro and all his warriors alive in order to sacrifice Inti to the sun god, and leave their horses for divorce.

At dawn, Pissarro placed his people in buildings around the square. The expectation was languid for the Spaniards, since the tenfold numerical superiority of the Incas frightened and suppressed. Later, as one of the eyewitnesses admitted, “many Spaniards unreasonably urinated in their pants because of the horror that bound them.”

Capture of Atahualpa
Duflos, Pierre, 1742-1816, engraver.

At sunset, the imperial procession approached the square. Atahualpu was carried by 80 servants on a wooden stretcher inlaid with gold and decorated on all sides with feathers of parrots. The monarch in clothes with gold threads and all in jewelry, sat, holding in his hands a golden shield with the heraldic image of the Sun. There were also dancers and musicians accompanying them. His retinue numbered more than 5,000 warriors (the main forces, about 80,000 warriors, were outside the city). They all came without weapons.

In the square, they saw only one Dominican monk in a cassock with a cross in one and the Bible in the other hand. The Royal Council in Spain decided that pagans should be given the opportunity to adopt Christianity voluntarily, without bloodshed, and the conquistadors decided not to violate the letter of the law. The monk explained the meaning of the Christian faith to the ruler of the Incas, and the translator explained to him that he was asked to accept the religion of strangers. “You say that your God accepted death,” Atahualpa answered, “and mine still lives,” he emphasized, pointing to the sun creeping out over the horizon.

Atahualpa picked up the prayer book extended to him. As far as he understood, the Spaniards valued this thing as the Waca Indians, in which the talisman gained the spirit of the gods. But this object seemed to him a toy in comparison with their enormous stone "waka", which the Incas worshiped, so he threw it to the ground. According to eyewitnesses, after this the monk turned to Pissarro and told him and his people: “You can attack them after this. I pre-let you all your sins. "

Musician with a flute. This product shows us the high art of chimu in the field of metal processing using techniques. Such figurines were forged in parts, which were then soldered together. The musician holds his flute in tattooed hands.

Pissarro signaled for the attack. Two guns fired into the crowd of Indians. The Spanish horsemen rode out of the buildings fully armed and attacked the unarmed Inca warriors. They were followed by the sound of trumpets followed by infantrymen with a battle cry - "Santiago!" (the name of the saint helps, according to the Spanish, to defeat the enemy).

It was a brutal massacre of unarmed Indians. Pissarro barely pulled Atahualpa out of it. Within hours, 6,000 Inca warriors died in and around Cajamarca, but not one Spaniard was killed. Among the few wounded was Pissarro himself, who was injured by his own soldier when he tried to break through to the royal enemy in order to capture him alive.

Many researchers tried to understand why Atahualpa made such a fatal mistake, going to the Spaniards with unarmed warriors. Perhaps the leader did not even consider such a variant of the course of events when such a small group would try to attack his huge army. Or he believed in the speech of the Spaniards about the world.

In captivity, Atahualpa was allowed to retain all royal privileges. All his wives and servants were near him. Nobles appeared to him and carried out his orders. In less than a month, he learned to speak Spanish and even write a little.

Realizing that white people were attracted to gold, he decided to pay off, offering for his freedom to fill the rooms in which he was with gold, and also twice to “fill the Indian hut with silver”. Instead of releasing Atahualpa with such a proposal, he signed his death sentence. Having ordered to tear off all the gold in Cuzco, and having delivered it to the Spaniards, he only kindled their passion for the precious metal. At the same time, fearing that his brother would be able to offer even more gold for his freedom, he ordered him executed. The Incas did not perceive gold and silver as something of value. For them, it was just beautiful metal. They called gold “then the sun”, and silver “tears of the moon”. Fabrics were valuable to them, as their production took a lot of time.

Knife for ritual ceremonies. Tumi ritual knife with a golden handle and a silver blade and decorated with turquoise. God Naimlap is depicted with a semicircular headdress and a pair of wings.

The Spaniards began to suspect that Atahualpa was plotting against them. This gave rise to panic fear in their ranks. Pissarro for a long time opposed the mood of his compatriots. But in the end, the panic broke his decisive attitude.

Atahualpa began to realize the inevitability of his death. His religion guaranteed him eternal life with the correct performance of the rite.

At a meeting of the council, led by Pissarro himself, it was decided to burn Atahualpa. When the Spaniards informed the leader of their decision, he burst into tears. The destruction of the body meant the deprivation of immortality.

Before his death, the monk once again tried to convert the pagan to the Christian faith. Realizing that if he converted to Christianity, they would not burn him, but would strangle him with a garrot (a hoop with a screw to slowly strangle the victim), he agreed to undergo a rite of passage, suggesting that the body would be handed over to the people for mummification. But the Spaniards tricked him here too. After the leader was strangled, they burned his clothes and part of his body at the stake. They betrayed the rest of the land.

Pissarro understood what benefits the local ruler promised him under Spanish control. He chose the son of Waina Kapak - Manco Inca. When the Spaniard arrived in Cuzco, they were greeted as well-wishers who restored the Inca's rightful ruling branch, although all the mummies were safely hidden before they appeared.

The conquistadors did not differ in magnanimity and humiliated Manco in every possible way, showing a disregard for the customs of the Incas. The worst happened when Pissarro set out on the ocean coast, with the goal of founding the new capital Limu. The main ones he left his brothers Gonzalo and Juan. Gonzalo treated Manco with undisguised contempt. Having stolen his beloved wife, he abused her.

The atrocities committed by the Spaniards led to the fact that Manco flatly refused to cooperate and made an attempt to leave Cuzco. The Spaniards returned him to the capital in chains. In conclusion, subjected to all kinds of humiliation.
As a result, Manco persuades one of Francisco’s brothers, Hernando, who recently arrived in Cuzco from Spain, to release him temporarily from prison so that he can pray in the sanctuary, for which he promised to present a golden statue depicting his father. As soon as Manco got outside of Cuzco, he called on his people to rebellion. The case ended with the siege of Cuzco, which lasted almost a whole year. During this siege, among the Indians there were traitors both in Cuzco and beyond, who secretly carried food to the invaders. Among them were even relatives of Manco himself, who were afraid of reprisal for their former support of the Europeans, from the new ruler. The hopelessness of the siege became clear when reinforcements arrived from Spain. Some supporters of Manco even broke away from him, realizing that a good moment had been missed.

After the failure of the siege, Cuzco Manco took 20,000 of his compatriots with him to the thick jungle. There, in a short time they built the new city of Vilcabamba. It covered an area of \u200b\u200babout two square miles and consisted of about three hundred houses and sixty monumental structures. There were convenient roads and canals.

From this city, the Incas sometimes raided the conquerors, attacking the guard posts. In 1572, the Spaniards decided to put an end to this last stronghold, as evidence of the former power of the natives. Having reached Vilcabamba, they found only desert ruins on the site of the city. Defenders before leaving the city burned it. The Spaniards continued the pursuit, penetrating further and further into the jungle. As a result, they captured the last Inca leader, Tupac Amaru. He was brought to Cuzco and his head chopped off in the town square. So the dynasty of Inca rulers was stopped.

The result of the fifty-year stay of the Spaniards was a reduction in the indigenous population - by three four. Many died from diseases imported from the Old World, and many from hard labor.

A huge amount of gold and silver was exported to Spain. Art objects were usually remelted before being exported. The finest items were delivered to the courtyard of Charles V, then they were put on display in Seville. When Karl began to lack funds for military campaigns, it was ordered to melt these outstanding works of Inca art.

Literature:
A. Varkin, L. Zdanovich, “Secrets of Disappeared Civilizations”, M. 2000.
Incas: lords of gold and heirs of glory, translation from English by L. Kanevsky, M., Terra, 1997.

The Incas are a small South American tribe that managed to rise to the very top of power and create a powerful empire that conquered many nations and changed the face of the Andes.

They managed to turn from a small unknown tribe from the valley of Cuzco to the rulers of the Andes. And to create the great Inca empire, built on the most accurate accounting of food and struck newcomers from Europe with grandiose structures.

The Inca Empire became the largest state in terms of area and population in South America in the XI-XVI centuries. The territory of their empire stretched from the current Pasto in Colombia to the Maule River in Chile and included the territories of present Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and partially Chile, Argentina and Colombia.

The Incas called their empire Tauantinsuyu (four connected cardinal points). This name was due to the fact that four roads left the Cusco Valley in different directions, and each, regardless of its length, bore the name of the part of the empire where it led.

The Inca was the ruler of these vast territories, as the Indians called their ruler. Literally, "Inca" means "ruler," "lord," "king." And the word “Inca” itself was an integral part of the name of the leader of the empire. Over time, “Incas” began to be called not only the ruler of the empire, but also other representatives of the ruling class. And with the advent of the conquerors, the concept of "Inca" or "Inca" spread to all the tribe of Indians who inhabited the Tauantinsuyu empire.

Formation of the Great Inca Empire.

It was believed for a long time: the great Inca empire was created by a single genius. The brilliant Pachacutec-Inca-Yupanqui, the first Inca ruler, a kind of local Alexander the Great, was supposed to have turned a handful of mud huts into a powerful empire at the beginning of the 15th century for a generation only.

But archaeologist at the University of Chicago, Brian Bauer, is confident that the Inca dynasty has roots dating back deeper than the 15th century. Arriving in Peru in 1980, along with his colleague R. Alan Covey, now an archaeologist at the University of Dallas, and a team of Peruvian assistants, he scoured steep mountain slopes along and across four field seasons - and eventually discovered thousands of unknown monuments Inca culture. It became obvious: the Inca state arose between 1200 and 1300 years. And power gave them ... climate change. Stronger neighboring tribes, by the beginning of the XII century, gradually lost their power. This was partly due to the drought, which, raging in the Andes for over a hundred years and led to famine and unrest.

In all corners of the Peruvian highlands, there were clashes over meager supplies of water and food. Crowds of refugees rushed into the mountains, because only on the cold peaks of the Andes that were open to all winds could one hide from raids.

But the Incas in the fertile valley of Cuzco had no shortage of water sources - and the Inca tribe farmers did not move. While the less fortunate neighbors exterminated each other, the prosperous Inca villages united into a small state capable of protecting itself from enemy raids. And between 1150 and 1300, when the climate in the Andes became much warmer, the Incas from Cuzco managed to take advantage of this warming.

As the temperature increased, they gradually climbed 250–300 meters along the mountain slopes, constructing multi-tiered agricultural terraces to protect the soil from erosion, irrigating fields using canals indicating a high level of engineering and collecting record corn crops. An overabundance of harvests allowed the Incas "to free a large number of people for other activities - for example, building roads or maintaining a large army." And then the day came when the Inca was able to call more soldiers and provide weapons and food to a larger army than any other of the neighboring leaders.

Having created a regular army, the Incan rulers began to peer into foreign lands and wealth. They began to enter into dynastic alliances with the leaders of neighboring tribes and squander gifts to new allies. When conquering neighboring tribes, the Incas on the one hand used their strong and numerous army, and on the other hand attracted the elite of the conquered regions. Before taking hostilities, the Incas thrice invited the rulers of the conquered region to voluntarily join their empire. If the neighbors were not led to diplomacy, they were pacified by force. And gradually a powerful state was formed with the capital - the holy city of Cuzco founded at an altitude of 3416 meters above sea level, in a deep valley between two mountain ranges.

Inspired by the success of their conquests, the Incan rulers turned their eyes further - to the rich lands in the southeast, where at an altitude of 3840 m was an extensive plateau with Lake Titicaca. In the XV century, one of the greatest rulers of the Incas, Pachacutec-Inca-Yupanka, conceived a military campaign to the south.

The arrogant lords of the lakeside states had nearly 400 thousand subjects. Their abundant land beckoned to itself. Gold and silver veins cut through the mountain slopes, and herds of alpacas and llamas grazed on lush green meadows. The military successes in the Andes depended largely on them: the llama, the only animal on the whole continent, could carry a load weighing 30 kilograms on its back. In addition, llamas, as well as alpacas, are meat, skin and wool. Military rations, uniforms, army movement - it all depended on the presence of llamas. And if the Inca ruler could not conquer the lords who owned these herds, one would have to await with awe the day when they themselves will have to surrender to the winner.

Pachacutec subordinated one southern ruler after another, expanding the borders of his empire, which at the peak of its existence, became one of the largest states on Earth. The number of subjects of the Inca empire reached, according to various sources, from 5-6 to 12 million people.

However, military victories were only the first step towards greatness. If the empire of Alexander the Great collapsed immediately after his death, the legacy of the Inca ruler Pachacutec-Inca-Yupanka turned out to be much more tenacious. Because here after the warriors, officials and builders got down to business.

Wise rule of the Incas.

When an uprising broke out in any of the provinces, the Incan rulers arranged the resettlement of peoples: they diluted the local population with faithful subjects, and they took the rebellious people closer to the capital. Residents of remote villages surrounded by high walls were relocated to new cities, which were located along the roads built by the Incas - roads ensured the rapid advancement of troops. The Inca governors ordered the construction of roadside warehouses for these troops, and subjects had to fill the warehouses with food and other necessary supplies. Everything was provided for, and the chances of an uprising became null and void. The Incas were the geniuses of the organization.

Andean civilization has reached its peak. Engineers turned disparate groups of roads into a single system linking all corners of the empire. The peasants created irrigation canals, set up alpine agricultural terraces where they cultivated about seven dozen different crops, and stored so much food in storage that it could last from three to seven years. Officials perfectly mastered the inventory. They knew about the contents of all the repositories in the vast empire, keeping records using the Andean form of computer code - bundles of multi-colored threads with a combination of knots called bales. Masons erected masterpieces of architecture.

Wine-Kapak the dead ruler of the Incas.

Around 1493, the new Inca ruler, Wine-Kapak, ascended the throne. At that time, it seemed that the Incan dynasty was subject to everything in the world. During the construction of the new capital in Ecuador, workers who did not know the wheels dragged blocks of stone from the Cuzco Valley to a distance of 1.6 thousand kilometers along a mountain road. For these works, Wine-Kapak drove more than 4.5 thousand rebellious subjects.

And a small army of men and women was changing nature - in a way surprising in those days. When creating the royal residence of Wine-Kapak (an area the size of seven football fields), workers moved the Urubamba riverbed to the southern part of the valley, leveled the hills and drained the swamps to plant corn, cotton, peanuts and chili peppers. In the center of the "new land" of stones and bricks erected the suburban palace of Wine-Kapaka - Kispiguanka.

In the spacious halls, surrounded by parks, cultivated fields and gardens, Wine-Kapak received guests, gambling with close ones. Sometimes went hunting. To do this, it was not necessary to travel outside the estate: the ruler had at his disposal a secluded hunting lodge and forest, where deer and other wild animals were abundant.

Around 1527, Wine-Capac died in Ecuador from some mysterious disease - but he did not lose power. Approximate mummified his body, transported back to Cuzco, and members of the royal family often visited the deceased monarch, asking him for advice on important issues and listening to the answers that the oracle sitting nearby spoke. And after his death, Wine-Kapak remained the owner of Kispiguanka and estates: all the crops from the local fields had to go so that the eternal ones would contain in luxury his mummy, servants, wives and descendants.

Since the traditions of inheritance were so strange that all the halls remained in the ownership of the rulers even after their death, it is not surprising that each Inca, ascending the throne, built for himself and his descendants a new city palace and a new country residence. To date, archaeologists and historians have discovered the ruins of a dozen royal residences built by at least six rulers.

The conquest of the Incas by the Spaniards.

In 1532, foreign invaders led by Francisco Pizarro landed on the coast of modern Peru. Which arrived with 200 foot warriors chained in steel armor and armed with deadly firearms and only 27 horses. However, on the road, his army is replenished with discontented Inca rule. The Incas fiercely fight the conquerors, but the empire is weakened by internal turmoil and internecine war, in addition, a large number of Inca warriors die from smallpox and measles brought in by the Spaniards.

The Spaniards reached Cajamarca, the northern city of the Incas, where they captured the ruler of Atahualpu. Eight months later, they executed their royal captive, and their leader, Francisco Pizarro, seated on the throne a puppet - the young prince Manco-Inca-Yupanka.

The capital of the Incas, the city of Cuzco, was conquered by the Spaniards in 1536. In the next few months, the Spanish conquerors appropriated the palaces of Cuzco and the vast suburban estates, and took girls from the royal family as wives and mistresses. The enraged Manco-Inca-Yupanka revolted and in 1536 tried to drive the strangers from their lands. When his army was defeated, he, with a small number of adherents, hides in the mountain region of Vilcabamba, where the Incan domination continues for about another 30 years.

In 1572, the last Inca ruler, Tupac Amaru, was beheaded. This marked the end of the Tauantinsuyu empire. The state was plundered, the culture of the Incas was destroyed. An extensive network of Inca roads, vaults, temples and palaces has gradually fallen into decay.

"State of the Incas"

1. The formation of the state of the Incas

The Incas dominated the territory now called Peru for a long time. At a time when the territory of the empire reached its largest size, it included part of South America and extended over almost a million square kilometers. In addition to the current Peru, the empire included most of today's Colombia and Ecuador, almost all of Bolivia, the northern regions of the Republic of Chile and the north-western part of Argentina.

Term the Incas,or rather incahas a variety of meanings. Firstly, this is the name of the entire ruling stratum in the state of Peru. Secondly, it is the title of ruler. Thirdly, the name of the people as a whole. Original name incawore one of the tribes that lived in the Cuzco Valley before the formation of the state. Many facts indicate that this tribe belonged to the Quechua language group, since the Incas of the heyday of the state spoke this language. The close relationship of the Incas with the Quechua tribes is indicated by the fact that the representatives of these tribes received a privileged position in comparison with other tribes and were called “Incas by privilege”. “Incas by privilege” did not pay tribute, and they were not converted into slavery.

12 rulers who headed the state are known. The first royal couple, who was at the same time brother and sister, were the first Inca, Mango Kapak and his wife Mama Okllo. Historical traditions tell of the Inca’s wars with neighboring tribes. The first decade of the 13th century was the beginning of the strengthening of the Inca tribe and, possibly, the time of the formation of the tribal union led by the Inca. The authentic history of the Incas begins with the activities of the ninth ruler - Pachakuti (1438–1463). From this time begins the rise of the Incas. The state is growing fast. In subsequent years, the Incas conquered and subjugated the tribes of the entire Andean region from southern Colombia to central Chile. The population of the state is 6 million people.

2. Inca economy

The Incas have achieved great success in many sectors of the economy, and especially in metallurgy. The mining of copper and tin was of the greatest practical importance. Silver deposits were developed. In the Quechua language there is a word for the name of iron, but most likely it was not an alloy, and the meaning of the word was given by meteorite iron, or hematite. There is no evidence of iron mining and smelting of iron ore.

From the extracted metals tools were created, as well as jewelry. Axes, sickles, knives, crowbars, tips for military clubs and many other items needed on the farm were cast from bronze. Jewelry and cult objects were made of gold and silver.

Weaving has been highly developed. The Indians of Peru already knew looms, and these were three types of looms. Indians sometimes dyed fabrics woven on them, using for this purpose seeds of the avocado tree (blue color) or various metals, in particular copper and tin. Fabrics made in the distant centuries of Inca civilization have survived to this day and are distinguished by their richness and subtlety of decoration. The raw materials were cotton and wool. We also made fleecy fabrics for clothes and carpets. For the Inca, as well as members of the royal clan, they made special fabrics - from colored bird feathers.

Agriculture received significant development in the Inca state, although the area on which the Inca tribes settled did not particularly favor agricultural development. This is due to the fact that streams of water flow down the steep slopes of the Andes in the rainy season, washing away the soil layer, and in dry time there is no moisture left on them. Under such conditions, the Incas had to irrigate the earth in order to retain moisture in the fields. For this, special structures were created that were regularly updated. The fields were stepped terraces, the lower edge of which was strengthened by masonry, which held the soil. A dam was arranged at the edge of the terrace to divert water from mountain rivers to fields. The canals were laid out with stone slabs. The state allocated special officials whose responsibility was to supervise the serviceability of structures.

On the fertile, or rather become fertile, land in all areas of the empire, a wide variety of plants were grown, the queen of which was corn, in Quechua - sara. The Indians knew up to 20 different varieties of corn. Apparently, corn in ancient Peru was imported from the region of Mesoamerica. The most valuable gift of Peruvian agriculture is the native Andean potato. The Incas knew up to 250 of its varieties. They grew it in a wide variety of colors: almost white, yellow, pink, brown and even black. Peasants also cultivated sweet potatoes - sweet potato. Beans were grown primarily from beans. The pre-Columbian Indians also knew pineapples, a cocoa tree, various varieties of pumpkins, nuts, cucumbers, and peanuts. They consumed four varieties of spices, including red pepper. A special place was occupied by the cultivation of coca bush.

The main tools in agriculture were spade and hoe. The lands were cultivated manually, the Incas did not use draft animals.

The Inca Empire was a country that created many miracles. One of the most remarkable is the ancient Peruvian "highways of the Sun" - a whole sit of highways. The longest of the roads exceeded 5 thousand kilometers. Two main roads passed through the whole country. Along the roads, canals were laid along the banks of which fruit trees grew. Where the road ran along the sandy desert, it was paved. Where the road intersected with rivers and gorges, bridges were built. Bridges were constructed as follows: stone pillars served as a support for them, around which five thick ropes were fixed, woven from flexible branches or vines; the three lower ropes that formed the bridge itself were intertwined with branches and lined with wooden beams. Those ropes that served as handrails intertwined with the lower ones and protected the bridge from the sides. These suspension bridges are one of the greatest achievements of the Inca technique.

As you know, the peoples of ancient America did not invent wheels. Cargo was transported by llama packs, and ferries were also used for transportation. The ferries were advanced rafts made of beams or beams of very light wood. Rafts walked on oars and could lift up to 50 people and a large load.

Most of the implements, fabrics, and pottery were made in the community, but there was also a separation of crafts from farming and animal husbandry. The Incas selected the best craftsmen and moved them to Cuzco, where they lived in a special quarter and worked for the Supreme Inca, receiving food from the court. These masters, divorced from the community, were actually enslaved. Similarly, girls who were supposed to learn spinning, weaving and other needlework for 4 years were selected. The work of craftsmen and spinners was the embryonic form of craft.

Gold was not a means of payment. The Incas had no money. Peruvian Indians simply exchanged their goods. There was no system of measures, with the exception of the most primitive - a handful. There were scales with a yoke, to the ends of which bags with a weighed load were suspended. Exchange and trade were underdeveloped. There were no bazaars inside the villages. The exchange was random. After harvesting, residents of highlands and coastal areas met in certain places. From the highlands brought wool, meat, furs, leather, silver, gold. From the coast brought grain, vegetables and fruits, cotton. The role of the universal equivalent was played by salt, pepper, furs, wool, ore and metal products.

3. The social system of the Incas

The Inca tribe consisted of 10 divisions - hatun ayiluwhich, in turn, were divided into 10 each. Initially, ailu was a patriarchal clan, a clan community: it had its own village and owned adjacent fields. Names in the clan community were passed down on the paternal side. Islay were exogamous. It was impossible to marry within a clan. Its members believed that they were protected by patrimonial shrines - waka.Ailju were also designated as pachaka, i.e. a hundred.Khatun-aylyu (large clan) was a phratry and was identified with a thousand. Islay is turning into a rural community in an Incan state. This is reflected in the consideration of land use standards.

All the land in the state belonged to the supreme Inca, but in fact it was at the disposal of the ailu. Community owned territory brand;community-owned land was called brand of patch,those. community land.

Cropland ( chakra)divided into three parts: the "land of the Sun" - the priests, the Inca field and the community field. Each family had its own share of the land, although all of it was cultivated together by the whole village, and community members worked together under the guidance of elders. After processing one section of the field, we switched to the Inca fields, then to the fields of the villagers and then to the fields from which the crop went commonfund of the village.

Each village had lands resting under steam and also “wild lands” - pastures. Field plots were periodically redistributed between fellow villagers. Field allotment, bore the name stupidwas given to a man. For each male child, the father received one more stupid, for the daughter - half. It was a temporary possession and was subject to redistribution.

In addition to stupidity, in the territory of each community there were lands that were called “a garden, own land” (muya).This plot consisted of a yard, a house, a barn, a barn, a garden. This plot was inherited from father to son. Community members could receive surplus vegetables or fruits from these sites. They could dry meat, spin and weave, make pottery vessels - all that they had as private property.

In the communities that developed among the Incan tribes, the tribal nobility also stood out - kuraka.Representatives of the kurak were required to monitor the work of the community members and control the payment of taxes. Community members of the conquered tribes cultivated the land of the Incas. In addition, they cultivated areas of kurak. At the kurak household, the concubines spun and wove wool or cotton. In the community herd of kurak, there were up to several hundred heads of cattle. But still the kuraka were in a subordinate position, and the Incas stood above them like a higher caste.

The Incas themselves did not work. They constituted the military servants of the nobility, were endowed with land and workers from the conquered tribes. The lands received from the supreme Inca were considered private property serving the nobility. Noble Incas were called walnuts (from the Spanish word "nut" - an ear) for huge gold earrings that stretched the earlobes.

Priests occupied a privileged position in society. A portion of the harvest was levied in favor of the priests. They did not submit to local rulers, but formed a separate corporation. These corporations were governed by the higher priesthood, located in Cuzco.

The Incas had a certain number of workers — the Yanakuns — whom the Spanish chroniclers called slaves. This category was fully owned by the Incas and performed all the black work. The position of these Yanakuns was hereditary.

Community members carried out most of the productive labor. But the emergence of a large group of hereditarily enslaved workers indicates that society in Peru was early slavery with the preservation of significant vestiges of the tribal system.

The Inca state had a peculiar structure. It was called Tauantinsuyu - "four areas connected together." Each region was governed by a governor, who, as a rule, was a direct relative of the ruling Inca. They were called apo. Together with several other dignitaries, they made up the state council of the country, which could express their suggestions and ideas to the Inca. In districts, power was in the hands of local officials.

At the head of the state was the ruler - "Sapa Inca" - the Inca alone ruling. Sapa Inca commanded the army and led the civilian administration. He and senior officials watched the governors. To control the regions and districts there was a permanent postal service. Messages were relayed by relay runners. On the roads, not far from each other, there were post stations where messengers were always on duty.

The Incas introduced the mandatory language for everyone - Quechua. They crushed the tribes and settled in parts in different areas. This policy was carried out in order to consolidate the subjugation of the conquered tribes and prevent discontent and rebellion. Laws were created that protected the Incan rule.

4. Religion and culture of the Incas

In accordance with the religious views of the Incas, the Sun held a dominant position among the gods and ruled the whole unearthly world.

The official Inca religious system was the "heliocentric" system. At its core is submission to the Sun - Inti. Inti was usually depicted in the form of a golden disk, from which the rays departed in all directions. On the disk itself is a man’s face. The disk was made of pure gold, that is, metal belonging to the Sun.

Spouse Inti and at the same time the mother of the Incas - in accordance with the beliefs of the Indians - was the goddess of the moon Kiglia.

The third "resident of the firmament", also revered in the Inca Empire, was the god Ilyapa - both thunder and lightning.

The temples possessed tremendous wealth, a large number of ministers and craftsmen, architects, jewelers and sculptors. The main content of the Inca cult consisted in a sacrificial ritual. Sacrifices were carried out mainly by animals and only in extreme cases by people. An extraordinary event could be festivities at the time of the accession to the throne of the new Supreme Inca, during an earthquake, drought, war. Prisoners of war or children who were taken as tribute from the conquered tribes were sacrificed.

Along with the official religion of sun worship, there were more ancient religious beliefs. Their essence was reduced to the deification of not great, powerful gods, but sacred places and objects, the so-called wack

In the religion of the Incas, totemic views held a large place. The communities were named after animals: Pumamarca (puma communities), Kondormarka (condor community), Wamanmark (hawk community), etc. Close to totemism was the worship of plants, primarily potatoes, since this plant had a paramount role in the life of the Peruvians. The images of this plant in sculpture - vessels in the form of tubers - have been preserved. There was also a cult of the forces of nature. Especially developed was the cult of mother earth, called Pacha-mama.

The cult of ancestors was of great importance. The ancestors were revered as patron spirits and guardians of the land of this community and the whole area. There was a custom of mummifying the dead. Mummies in elegant clothes with decorations and household utensils were preserved in tombs. The cult of mummies of rulers reached a special development. Supernatural power was attributed to them. The mummies of the rulers were taken on campaigns and carried to the battlefield.

To measure space, the Incas had measures based on the size of parts of the human body. The smallest of these measures was the length of the finger, then a measure equal to the distance from the bent large to the index. For measuring the land, the measure of 162 cm was most often used. For the count, a counting board was used, which was divided into strips, compartments in which counting units moved, round pebbles. Time was measured by the time it takes for a potato to boil, which means about one hour. The time of day was determined by the sun.

The Incas had an idea of \u200b\u200bthe solar and lunar year. To observe the sun, as well as to accurately determine the time of the equinox and solstice, astronomers of the Inca empire in many places of Peru built special “observatories”. The largest point of observation of the sun was in Cuzco. The position of the sun was observed from specially constructed four towers in the east and west of Cuzco. This was necessary to determine the timing of the agricultural cycle.

Astronomy was one of the two most important scientific representations in the Inca empire. Science was to serve the interests of the state. The activities of astronomer scientists, who, thanks to their observations, could establish the most suitable dates for the start or simply for the completion of certain agricultural work, brought considerable benefit both to the state and to all its citizens.

The Inca calendar was primarily focused on the sun. The year was considered to consist of 365 days, divided into twelve 30-day months, after which five more (and six leap-year) final days, called “days without work”, followed on the calendar.

There were schools for boys. There were received boys from among the noble Incas, as well as the nobility of the conquered tribes. Thus, the task of educational institutions was to prepare the next generation of the empire's elite. They studied at the school for four years. Each year he gave certain knowledge: in the first year they studied the Quechua language, in the second - the religious complex and calendar, and the third and fourth years went to study the so-called kipu, signs that served as "nodal writing".

The kipu consisted of a rope, to which, at right angles, cords were tied in rows, hanging in the form of a fringe. Sometimes there were up to one hundred such cords. Knots were tied at them at different distances from the main rope. The shape of the nodes and their number denoted numbers. This record was based on the Inca decimal system. The position of the nodule on the lace corresponded to the value of digital indicators. It could be a unit, ten, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand. In this case, a simple node denoted the number "1", double - "2", triple - "3". The color of the cords denoted certain objects, for example, the potato was symbolized in brown, silver in white, gold in yellow.

This form of writing was mainly used to convey tax reports. But sometimes a pile was used to record calendar and historical dates and facts. Thus, the bale was a conditional system of transmitting information, but still it was not written.

The question of whether the Incas had written language remains unresolved until recently. The fact is that the Incas did not leave written monuments, but nevertheless on many vessels beans with special signs are depicted. Some scholars consider these signs to be ideograms, i.e. signs on beans have a symbolic, conditional meaning.

There is also an opinion that among the Incas, writing existed in the form of a picture letter, pictography, but due to the fact that the boards on which these signs were applied were framed in gold frames, plundered and dismantled by Europeans, written monuments have not reached our days. .

Quechua literature was very rich. However, since these works were not fixed on the letter and were stored in the memory of the reciters, only passages that were preserved for posterity by the first Spanish chroniclers survived.

From the poetic works of the Incas, hymns (the hymn of Viracoce), mythical tales, and poems of historical content were preserved in fragments. The most famous poem is “Ollantay”, in which the exploits of the leader of one of the tribes who rebelled against the supreme Inca are praised.

One of the most developed areas of science in the Inca Empire was medicine. The health status of the inhabitants was not a private matter of citizens; on the contrary, the empire was interested in the country's inhabitants serving the state as best as possible.

The Incas used some scientific methods for treating diseases. Many medicinal plants have been used; Surgery was also known, such as, for example, craniotomy. Along with scientific methods, the practice of magic healers was widespread.

5. The end of the Inca state. Portuguese conquest

Pizarro troops captured Cuzco in 1532. The supreme Inca Atahualpa died. But the Inca state did not immediately cease to exist. Residents of the ancient state continued the struggle for their independence. In 1535, an uprising breaks out. It was suppressed in 1537, but its participants continued the struggle for independence for more than 35 years.

The uprising against the Spaniards led the Incan Prince Manco, who used ingenious methods in the fight against the conquerors. He first went over to the side of the Spaniards and approached Pizarro, but only with the aim of studying the enemy. Starting to gather forces from the end of 1535, Manco in April 1536 with a large army approached Cuzco and besieged him. He forced the captive Spaniards to serve him as gunsmiths, artillerymen and gunners. Spanish firearms and captured horses were used. Manco himself was dressed and armed in Spanish, rode and fought with Spanish weapons. The rebels often achieved great success, combining the techniques of distinctive Native American military affairs with European. But bribery and betrayal forced Manco to leave this city after 10 months of the siege of Cuzco. The rebels continued the struggle in the mountainous region of Ville-Capampé, where they strengthened. After Manco's death, Tupac Amaru becomes the leader of the rebels.

Resistance to all the rising forces of the conquerors proved futile, and the rebels were eventually defeated. In memory of this last war against the conquerors, the Inca title and the name Tupac Amaru were later accepted by the leaders of the Indians as a symbol of the restoration of their independent state.

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The Incas (Inca) - a tribe from the Cuzco Valley, whose mighty civilization existed in the "pre-Columbian" era on the South American continent. The Incas managed to create a powerful empire that changed the face and conquered many nations.

The Incas themselves called their empire Tauantinsuyu (Four corners of the world), because from Cusco in 4 directions there were 4 roads.

The Indians called their ruler the Inca, which means "overlord", "king." Then they began to call “Incas” all the representatives of the ruling class, and with the invasion of the conquerors - the entire Indian population of the Tauantinsuyu empire.

Creation of the Great Inca Empire

Thanks to the findings of archaeologists, it is obvious that the Inca civilization arose in 1200-1300. At the end of the 11th century, due to the drought that raged in the Andes for over 100 years, the neighboring, stronger tribes lost their power in the struggle for water and food.

Inspired by success, the Inca rulers turned their eyes to the abundant land - a spacious plateau with. And Pachakutek-Inca-Yupanki, one of the great rulers of the Incas, in the 15th century undertook a military campaign to the south.

The population of the lakeside states was about 400 thousand people. The slopes of the mountains are pierced with gold and silver veins, in the flowering meadows the fat herds of lamas and alpacas grazed. Llamas and alpacas are meat, wool and leather, that is, military rations and uniforms.

Pachacutec conquered the southern rulers one by one, pushing the boundaries of his possessions, which became one of the largest empires of the planet. The number of subjects of the empire reached about 10 million people.

Victories in the military field were only the first stage on the path to power, after the warriors officials, builders and craftsmen set to work.

Inca: Wise rule

If a rebellion broke out in a certain Inca province, the rulers undertook the resettlement of people: they moved the inhabitants of remote villages to new cities located near the built roads. They were ordered to build warehouses along the roads for regular troops, which were filled with subjects with the necessary provisions. The Inca rulers were brilliant organizers.

The Inca civilization has reached an unprecedented peak. Masons erected architectural masterpieces, engineers turned disparate roads into a single system linking all parts of the empire. Irrigation canals were created, agricultural terraces were broken up on the mountain slopes, about 70 types of crops were grown there and significant reserves of provisions were put into storage. The governors perfectly mastered the inventory: they were aware of the contents of each storehouse of a huge empire, keeping records using a pile - an analogue of the Inca computer code - bundles of multi-colored threads with special combinations of knots.

The Inca rulers were quite severe, but fair: they allowed the conquered peoples to maintain their traditions. The main social unit was the family. Each group of 20 families had a leader who was subordinate to a superior who headed 50 families, and so on - until the Inca Ruler.

The social structure of civilization

The Inca Empire had such a social structure: everyone worked here, with the exception of the youngest and most profound old people. Each family had its own cultivated land allotment. People wove, sewed clothes, shoes or sandals, made dishes and jewelry made of gold and silver.

The inhabitants of the empire did not have personal freedom, the rulers decided everything for them: what to eat, what clothes to wear and where to work. The Incas were wonderful farmers, they built grandiose aqueducts to irrigate fields with water from mountain rivers, growing many valuable crops.

Many buildings erected by the Incas are still standing. The Incas created many original bridges of willow twigs and vines, twisted into thick ropes. The Incas were born potters and weavers:
they weaved the finest fabrics from cotton, such that the Spaniards considered them silk. Even the Incas knew how to spin wool, making beautiful and warm woolen clothes.

The Mummy - Inca Ruler

In the middle of the 15th century, Wayna Kapak, the new Inca ruler, ascended the throne. Then it seemed that the Inca dynasty was omnipotent. People could even change nature in incredible ways: during the construction of the Waina Kapak residence, the workers leveled the hills, drained the swamps, and moved the bed (Spanish Rio Urubamba) to the southern part of the valley to plant cotton, corn, chili pepper and peanuts, and in the center of the "new" territory of brick and stone to erect a palace - Kispiguanka.

Around 1527, Wayna Kapak died of an unknown illness. The close ones, having mummified the body, transported it to Cuzco, and members of the royal family visited the deceased, asking for advice and listening to the answers spoken by the oracle sitting nearby. Even after death, Winea Kapak remained the owner of the Kispiguanka estate. The entire harvest from the fields was aimed at containing in luxury the mummy of the ruler, his wives, descendants and servants.

The Inca inheritance traditions were such that even after the death of the rulers, all the halls remained in their property. Therefore, each Inca, only ascending to the throne, began the construction of a new city palace and a country residence. Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of up to a dozen royal residences erected for at least six sovereigns.

Inca - Conquest of the Spaniards

In 1532, a detachment of 200 foreign conquerors landed on the coast of present-day Peru. They were in steel armor and armed with firearms. Along the path of advancement to the army joined the discontented Inca domination. The Incas stubbornly opposed the conquerors, but the empire was weakened by the internecine war and the fact that a large number of Inca warriors died from smallpox and measles brought by the Spaniards.

The Spaniards reached the northern city of Cajamarca, executed the ruler, placing their puppet on the throne.

Cuzco, the capital of the Incas, was conquered by the Spaniards in 1536. The invaders appropriated palaces, flowering country estates, women and girls from the royal family. When, the last ruler of the Incas, was beheaded in 1572, this meant the end of the Tauantinsuyu empire. The Inca culture was destroyed, the state was plundered. An extensive network of roads, temples and palaces gradually fell into decay.