The Incas built one of the largest empires of the ancient world. The sheer scale makes their achievement truly remarkable. At its zenith it extended northwards from the Inca capital Cusco along the Andes to embrace parts of modern Peru and Ecuador, and southwards into Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Uniquely, the authors look in detail at Cusco and at the four parts of the empire, following the vast road system to explore not just famous sites such as Machu Picchu, but all the major regional settlements. This vivid portrait shows how the Incas ruled some peoples directly but allowed others to maintain their traditional leaders with little interference. The concluding chapter is devoted to the end of the empire: the arrival of the Spaniards, the assassination of the Inca ruler Atawallpa, and the final years of the rebellious, neo-Inca state in the tropical forest of Vilcabamba. Table of Contents1. The Birth and Growth of Tawantinsuyu • 2. The Principles of Inca Statecraft: Feared Warriors, Generous Rulers • 3. The Wealth of the Empire: Land, Labour and the Worth of Goods • 4. Religion and Ideology: the Sun, the Moon, the Oracles, the Ancestors • 5. Technology and the Arts: Architects, Weavers, Smiths and Potters • 6. Cusco: Capital of the Realm • 7. Chinchaysuyu: Land of the Setting Sun and the Sacred Shell • 8. Antisuyu: The Road to Machu Picchu and Beyond • 9. Qollasuyu and Kuntisuyu: Herds, Metals and Mountains of Sacrifice • 10. The Fall: Bearded Men from across the Sea • Epilogue