Historical Figures

Capac Yupanqui

Inca Cápac Yupanqui was the fifth monarch of Cuzco and the last of the Urin Cuzco dynasty. He is the son of Curu Yaya, sister of Mayta Capac, his immediate predecessor. He was, then, the nephew of this Inca and the cousin of Tarco Huamán , the natural heir to the throne, against whom he hatched a plot that allowed him access to power. To consolidate himself he had to take draconian measures resorting to a series of assassinations. He ordered the killing of nine brothers from Tarco Huamán, so that none of them would hinder him, he forced others to swear allegiance to him and a third group drove him away from the city. When he came to power, the kingdom of Cuzco had already acquired considerable strength, but Capac Yupanqui decided to restart the Contisuyo expedition that had been cut short by the death of his uncle. Two battles were fought in which he was victorious, occupying part of the Cunti country. He received an embassy sent by the lord of the Quechua ethnic group (Abancay), asking the Incas for help against the powerful chancas of Andahuaylas that threatened to invade them and annex them to his kingdom. The fact served to increase the prestige of the Incas compared to other ethnic groups.

Expansion of the Inca Empire

At the time he lived, two other kingdoms simultaneously began their expansion with victorious conquests:in the north the Chancas and in the south the Collas . The former constituted a powerful kingdom and Cuzco, on the other hand, despite the defeat of the Cuntís, continued to be a tiny kingdom. Later Capac Yupanqui conquered the ethnic groups of Cuyo and Anca (22 km from Cuzco). Precisely to govern Whose he named as tucricuc (governor) to his cousin Tarco Huamán, with the task of annually sending a thousand cages of birds from the jungle and the highlands. These little birds were used in ritual ceremonies, and their multicolored feathers were also used in making the monarch's dresses. Due to the prestige acquired by the Incas, their old enemies the ayarmacas they sought an alliance and for this they had to give Curi Hilpay, daughter of the curaca, as a wife, who was added to the harem of Capac Yupanqui. Oral tradition tells that Cusi Chimbo, another of Capac Yupanqui's wives, blinded by jealousy, poisoned the monarch, whose disappearance led to a succession crisis. Cusí Chimbo was evidently used and turned into an instrument of a plot led by her son, Roca de Ella. The anarchy was taken advantage of by the Chancas, who invaded the Quechua kingdom. With Capac Yupanqui, the predominance of the Urin Cuzco ended, who had monopolized all powers, including the religious. While Capac Yupanqui was alive, he expressed the will that it be his son, Quispe Yupanqui, who would succeed him on the throne. But Quispe Yupanqui died in the chaos that occurred after the death of his father and his name was erased from the official history by the Hanan Cuzco.


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