The Incas: The Great Empire of the Four Ends of the World. The history of the ancient civilization - the Inca Empire in brief What are the Incas in South America

It is known about several civilizations that existed in South America, but the Inca civilization is considered the most significant. In the fifteenth century, its population was at least six million people, who lived on a vast territory. At the head of the Empire was the son of the Sun Inca - the divine ruler. The economy was based on agriculture. All citizens were obliged to work for a month in public works, building state facilities: fortresses, canals, bridges, roads. The state regulated all aspects of the life of citizens, including personal life. The Incas created legends, myths, religious hymns, epic poems and even dramatic works. This civilization did not have a real written language, therefore, from its cultural heritage little has survived. The Inca Empire fell with the arrival of conquerors from Europe in the middle of the sixteenth century.

The Inca Empire (Quechua Tawantin Suyu, Tawantinsuyu, Tawantinsuyu, Tawantinsuyu, Tawantinsuyu) is the largest Indian early class state in South America in the 11th-16th centuries in terms of area and population. It occupied the territory from the present Pasto in Colombia to the Maule River in Chile. The empire included the entire territory of present-day Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador (with the exception of part of the flat eastern regions overgrown with impenetrable selva), partly Chile, Argentina and Colombia. The first European to enter the Inca Empire was the Portuguese Alejo Garcia in 1525. In 1533, the Spanish conquistadors established control over most of the empire, and in 1572 the Inca state ceased to exist. There is a hypothesis that the last independent refuge of the Incas is the undiscovered city (country) of Paititi (until the middle or end of the 18th century).

Archaeological studies show that a large number of achievements were inherited by the Incas from previous civilizations, as well as from their subordinate neighboring peoples. By the time the Incas appeared on the historical arena in South America, there were a number of civilizations: Moche (Moche culture, famous for colored ceramics and irrigation systems), Huari (this state was the prototype of the Inca Empire, although the population apparently spoke a different language - Aymara), Chimu (the center is the city of Chan Chan, characteristic ceramics and architecture), Nazca (known for creating the so-called the Nazca line, as well as its systems of underground water pipes, ceramics), Pukin (the civilization of the city of Tiahuanaco with a population of about 40 thousand people, located east of Lake Titicaca), Chachapoyas (“Warriors of the Clouds”, known for their formidable fortress Kuelap, which is also called “ Machu Picchu of the North).

The name of the country in Quechua, Tawantinsuyu, can be translated as four united provinces (Tawantin - "a group of four items" (tawa "four" with the suffix -ntin, meaning "total"); suyu - "country", "region" or "province "). As the Quechuan linguist Demetrio Tupac Yupanqui points out: “-ntin is “the whole integrated”, “everything that makes up one whole”. The previous parts disappear to make room for one great integration - one whole. It creates what, on a whim, we call a "legal entity", the subject and the bearer are distinguished by their constituent parts. As if there were one enterprise in which a legal entity takes responsibility, thereby freeing the constituent parts.

This name is due to the fact that the country was divided into four provinces: Kuntinsuyu (Kunti Suyu Quechua), Kolyasuyu (Quulla Suyu Quechua), Antisuyu (Anti Suyu Quechua) and Chinchasuyu (Chinchay suyu Quechua). In addition, four roads left Cuzco (Quechua Qusqu) in four directions, and each of them was named after the part of the empire to which it led.

In the Andean region and the coast adjacent to it in the 1st millennium BC. e. - 1st mill. e. developed agricultural civilizations Chavin, Paracas, Nazca, Mochica, Tiahuanaco, etc. arose. In the 12th century, a people appeared on the shores of Lake Titicaca, led by the Inca, the supreme ruler. He moved to the new capital - Cusco and spread his influence over a vast territory, covering by the XV-XVI centuries. most modern Ecuador, Peru, a significant part of Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, as well as a small area of ​​Colombia.

The creation of the state is attributed to the legendary Inca Manco Capac, he also founded the capital - the city of Cusco, at an altitude of 3416 meters above sea level, in a deep valley between two mountain ranges.

After the creation of the country's territory has been constantly expanding. Especially after the Inca Yahuar Huakak created a regular army in the empire. Great conquests were made by Inca Pachacuti. He created a real empire, because before that the Incas were just one of the many Indian tribes, and Cusco was an ordinary town. Most of the Inca-controlled lands were conquered by Pachacuti and his son Tupac Inca Yupanqui. A small part of the territory was annexed by the eleventh Inca - Huayna Capac. The rulers of Huáscar and Atahualpa were the sons of Huayna Capac. After his death, they began a grueling internecine war. By the time the Spaniards arrived, Atahualpa had won the war.

When conquering neighboring tribes, the Incas, on the one hand, used their strong and numerous army, and on the other hand, they attracted the elite of the conquered regions. Before undertaking military action, the Incas three times invited the rulers of the conquered region to voluntarily join the empire. They forced the conquered tribes to learn the Quechua language, imposed their customs and introduced their own laws. The local nobility and the priesthood of the conquered peoples retained their position, and the practice of local religions was not forbidden, subject to the obligatory worship of the all-imperial sun god Inti. The Incas paid great attention to the preservation of local folk crafts and costume, so that by the dress of any inhabitant of Tahuantinsuyu it was easy to determine his origin and social status.

The Incas were characterized by the division of power and society into: warriors and non-warriors. The main commanders and commanders were either the rulers of the Empire, or people appointed by them from the ruling ethnic group - the Incas. At the same time, it seems that there was still some kind of dual power - a full-fledged duumvirate: when economic activity The ruler (governor) of the city of Cuzco was engaged in the supply and provision of the troops, which is repeatedly mentioned by the historian Juan de Betanzos.

At the peak of its existence, the Inca Empire was one of the largest states on Earth. The number of subjects of the empire reached, according to various sources, from 5-6 to 12 million people.

In 1521, Hernán Cortes conquered the Aztecs. This conquest inspired Francisco Pizarro. According to the report of Juan de Samano, secretary of Charles V, Peru became known for the first time in 1525 in connection with the completion of the first Southern expedition of Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. The expedition left Panama on November 14, 1524, but was forced to return in 1525. After that, two more campaigns were carried out. In 1532, Pizarro arrives on the coast of modern Peru with 200 foot soldiers and only 27 horses. However, on the road, his army is replenished by those dissatisfied with the rule of the Incas. The Incas fiercely fight the conquerors, but the empire is weakened by internal turmoil and civil war, in addition, a large number of Inca warriors die from smallpox and measles brought by the Spaniards.

By deceit, Pizarro was able to capture and execute the Great Inca Atahualpa, after which the resistance was led by the commander Rumiñavi for 2 years. The capital of the Incas, the city of Cusco, was conquered by the Spaniards in 1536. Inca Manco Inca Yupanqui, with a small number of adherents, hides in the mountainous region of Vilcabamba, where the rule of the Incas continues for about 30 years. In 1572, the last Inca ruler, Tupac Amaru, was beheaded. This marked the end of the Tahuantinsuyu empire. The state was plundered, the culture of the Incas was destroyed.

In the book Chronicle of Peru, Cieza de Leon was the first European to question the reason for such an easy conquest of the Inca Empire:

Thus, although I have depicted Peru as three deserted and inhabited Cordilleras, from among them, as I said, by the will of the Lord, valleys and rivers protrude, beyond which in no way could people survive: this is the reason why the locals were so easily conquered and why they serve without raising rebellions, because if they did, then everyone would die from hunger and cold. Because (as I said), with the exception of the land inhabited by them, most of them are uninhabited, they are solid snow-capped mountains and peaks of amazing height.
- Cieza de Leon, Pedro. Chronicle of Peru. Part one. Chapter XXXVI.

The conquered Incas became part of the Quechua people. The result of the Spanish conquest was clearly noted by the same chronicler Cieza de Leon:

I do not approve of the overthrow of power in any way, but still I lament the extortion and mistreatment perpetrated by the Spaniards on the Indians, enslaved by cruelty, regardless of their nobility and such a high dignity of their people. Because of this, all these valleys are now almost deserted, in the past they were densely populated, as many know.
- Cieza de Leon, Pedro. Chronicle of Peru. Part one. Chapter LXI.

The empire was divided into 4 parts: Chinchaysuyu - it corresponded to red, Kolasuyu - blue, Antisuyu - green, and Kuntisuyu - yellow, in turn, each such part consisted of provinces:

north of Cusco were: Vilcas, Xauxa, Bombon, Caxamalca, Guancabamba, Tomebamba, Latacunga, Quito, Carangue ;

on the other side of Cuzco, to the South: Hatuncana, Hatuncolla, Ayavire, Chuquiabo, Chucuito, Paria and others, stretching to Chile.

Each province had its own capital, where the collection of taxes flowed, where there was a temple of the Sun, foundries and jewelry workshops, a garrison, large inns, warehouses, as well as a representative of the Court - the governor.

Separately in administrative division, as the capital, stood out the city of Cusco. It was designated yellow. Each village, which was the capital of the province, had its own number. For example, to indicate that “Manco Capac, the first ruler of the Inca, conquered the first capital of the province, one large knot was introduced into the thread, the second two large knots, and so on with all the others. Cuzco, the capital of the Empire, is known to have had three or four nodes, one above the other." It is also known that the remoteness of a province from the capital of the empire, Cuzco, was often made dependent on ordinal reckoning: for example, the closer the province, the closer it or its representative, the kuraka, to the Inca ruler in services, campaigns, rituals, and ceremonies.

To define the provinces of the Tawantinsuyu Empire in the Kipu script, each province had its own mixture of colored threads. On the thread, in turn, a red thread could be placed (inserted) to indicate those who died in their army “from / in such and such a province”. Also, the use of the thread color for the provinces of the Empire was found in quipus related to the statistics and taxation of such provinces. The same system extended to reports on the geographical and economic description of the Empire.

Pedro de Ciesa de Leon, in his Chronicle of Peru, reported on the unprecedented accuracy of accounting using the quipu: from silver, gold, clothing, and livestock, down to firewood, and other much more insignificant things; and with the help of these same quipu, after one year, or ten, or twenty, they informed the one who was charged with collecting reports[s]; and it was done so well that even a couple of alpargata could not be hidden.

Cieza de Leon cited information on the number of posts of kipukamayoks in a single territorial unit: “and in every valley this account is still available today, and there are always as many bookkeepers in inns as there are stewards in it [the valley], and every four months they provide their reports the aforementioned way." For the provinces, the reporting period was set at 1 year, since “at the end of the year, each province ordered that all people, both those who died there that year, and, accordingly, those who were born, be brought into the kip according to the number of its knots. And by the beginning of the year they entered, they came to Cusco with a kipu, from which it became clear how many were born that year and how many died.

In the vicinity of the village of Cotapachi in Cochabamba, there were 2076 kolkas (a round-shaped storage), which is 22.09% of the storage buildings of the 9395 units known today in the Inca Empire, that is, it was one of the strategic regions of the empire, where procurement and storage of provisions took place. The average diameter of the vaults in Cotapachi was 3.5 m, and the approximate height was 2 m, therefore, the volume of rounded vaults in the Cochabamba Valley could be 45,000 m3 (almost the entire volume was filled with provisions), which was a very significant figure even in relation to other provincial centers empire of the Incas. In modern terms, this is comparable to 1360 TEU (20-foot containers), which could fit on a Handymax Class container ship (1000-1700 TEU). In general, the scale of the warehouse economy of the Incas was so great that it is quite comparable with our modern ones.

The absence of a distinguished layer of free artisans and the associated weak development of private exchange, the absence of trade and any sort of intermediaries were a feature of the Inca society, in contrast to the Aztecs. It is explained by the fact that in Peru the early despotic state appropriated the labor of the community members, leaving them little surplus for exchange.

coins
In general, coins were not used in domestic trade, but in foreign trade mulu shells, coca leaves, clothes, and copper hatchets were used. In the XV-XVI centuries, the Indians of the Chonos culture (Ecuador) smelted copper with a content of 99.5% and used it as a coin in the form of hatchets 2 cm on the sides and 0.5 cm thick. This coin went around west coast South America, including in the state of the Incas in the province of Chincha, where 6,000 merchants lived.

The Indians called the Inca only the emperor, and the conquistadors used this word to refer to the entire tribe, which in the pre-Columbian era, apparently, used the self-name "capac-kuna" ("great", "illustrious").

landscapes and natural conditions The former Inca Empire was very diverse. In the mountains between 2150 and 3000 m a.s.l. temperate climatic zones are located, favorable for intensive agriculture. In the southeast, a huge mountain range is divided into two ranges, between which, at an altitude of 3840 m, there is a vast plateau with Lake Titicaca. This and other high plateaus extending south and east of Bolivia all the way to northwestern Argentina are called altiplanos. These treeless grassy plains are located in the continental climate zone with hot sunny days and cool nights. Many Andean tribes lived on the altiplano. To the southeast of Bolivia, the mountains break off and give way to the boundless expanse of the Argentine pampa.

The Pacific coastline of Peru, starting from 3°S. and up to the Maule River in Chile, is a continuous zone of deserts and semi-deserts. The reason for this is the cold Antarctic Humboldt Current, which cools the air currents coming from the sea to the mainland and prevents them from condensing. However, coastal waters are very rich in plankton and, accordingly, fish, and fish attract seabirds, whose droppings (guano), covering deserted coastal islands, are extremely valuable fertilizer. Coastal plains, stretching from north to south for 3200 km, do not exceed 80 km in width. Approximately every 50 km they are crossed by rivers flowing into the ocean. Ancient cultures flourished in the river valleys, based on irrigated agriculture.

The Incas managed to connect two different zones of Peru, the so-called. Sierra (mountainous) and Costa (coastal), into a single social, economic and cultural space.

The eastern spurs of the Andes are dotted with deep wooded valleys and turbulent rivers. Further to the east stretch the jungle - the Amazonian selva. The Incas called "yungas" the hot, humid foothills and their inhabitants. The local Indians offered fierce resistance to the Incas, who were never able to subdue them.

HISTORY

pre-Inca period.

The culture of the Incas was formed relatively late. Long before the appearance of the Incas on the historical scene, back in the 3rd millennium BC, settled tribes lived on the coast, who were engaged in the manufacture of cotton fabrics and grew maize, pumpkins and beans. The oldest of the great Andean cultures is the Chavin culture (12th-8th centuries BC - 4th century AD). Its center, the city of Chavin de Huantar, located in the Central Andes, retained its importance even in the Inca era. Later, other cultures developed along the north coast, among which the early class state of Mochica (ca. 1st century BC - 8th century AD) stands out, creating magnificent works of architecture, ceramics and weaving.

The enigmatic Paracas culture (c. 4th century BC - 4th century AD) flourished on the south coast, famous for its textiles, undeniably the finest in pre-Columbian America. Paracas influenced the early Nazca culture, which developed further south in five oasis valleys. In the basin of Lake Titicaca, approx. 8th c. the great Tiahuanaco culture was formed. The capital and ceremonial center of Tiahuanaco, located on the southeastern tip of the lake, are built from hewn stone slabs fastened with bronze spikes. The famous Gate of the Sun is carved from a huge stone monolith. In the upper part there is a wide bas-relief belt with images of the Sun God, who weeps in the form of condors and mythological creatures. The motif of the weeping deity can be traced in many Andean and coastal cultures, in particular in the Huari culture, which developed near the present Ayacucho. Apparently, it was from Huari that religious and military expansion took place down the Pisco valley towards the coast. Judging by the spread of the weeping god motif, from the 10th to the 13th centuries. the state of Tiahuanaco subjugated most of the peoples of the Costa. After the collapse of the empire, local tribal associations, freed from external oppression, created their own state formations. The most significant of them was the state of Chimu-Chimor (14th century - 1463), which fought with the Incas, with its capital Chan Chan (near the present port of Trujillo). This city with huge stepped pyramids, irrigated gardens and stone-lined pools covered an area of ​​​​20.7 square meters. km. One of the centers of ceramic production and weaving has developed here. The state of Chimu, which extended its power along the 900-kilometer line of the Peruvian coast, had an extensive network of roads.

Thus, having an ancient and high cultural tradition in the past, the Incas were rather heirs than founders of Peruvian culture.

First Inca.

The legendary first Inca Manco Capac founded Cuzco around the beginning of the 12th century. The city lies at an altitude of 3416 m above sea level. in a deep valley running from north to south between two steep ridges of the Andes. According to legend, Manco Capac, at the head of his tribe, came to this valley from the south. At the direction of the sun god, his father, he threw a golden rod at his feet and, when it was swallowed up by the earth (a good sign of its fertility), he founded a city in this place. Historical sources, partially confirmed by archeological data, indicate that the history of the rise of the Incas, one of the countless Andean tribes, begins in the 12th century, and their ruling dynasty has 13 names - from Manco Capac to Atahualpa, who was killed by the Spaniards in 1533.

Conquests.

The Incas began to expand their possessions from the territories immediately adjacent to the Cusco Valley. By 1350, during the reign of Inca Rocky, they conquered all the lands near Lake Titicaca in the south, and the nearby valleys in the east. Soon they moved north and further east and subjugated the territories in the upper reaches of the Urubamba River, after which they directed their expansion to the west. Here they faced fierce resistance from the Sora and Rukan tribes, but emerged victorious from the confrontation. Around 1350, the Incas built a suspension bridge over deep canyon Apurimac River. Previously, it was crossed by three bridges in the southwest, but now the Incas made a direct route from Cuzco to Andahuaylas. This bridge, the longest in the empire (45 m), was called by the Incas "huacachaca", the sacred bridge. A conflict with the powerful militant tribe of the Chanca, who controlled the Apurimac Pass, became inevitable. At the end of the reign of Viracocha (d. 1437), the Chanca made a sudden raid on the lands of the Incas and laid siege to Cusco. Viracocha fled to the Urubamba valley, leaving his son Pachacutec (lit. "earth shaker") to defend the capital. The heir brilliantly coped with the task assigned to him and utterly defeated the enemies.

During the reign of Pachacutec (1438-1463), the Incas expanded their possessions to the north to Lake Junin, and in the south they conquered the entire basin of Lake Titicaca. Pachacutec's son Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1471–1493) extended the power of the Incas to what is now Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador. In 1463 the troops of Tupac Inca Yupanqui conquered the state of Chima, and its rulers were taken to Cusco as hostages.

The last conquests were made by Emperor Huayna Capac, who came to power in 1493, a year after Columbus reached the New World. He annexed the Chachapoyas empire in northern Peru, on the right bank of the Marañon River in its upper reaches, subjugated the warlike tribes of the island of Puna near Ecuador and the adjacent coast in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bpresent Guayaquil, and in 1525 the northern border of the empire reached the Ancasmayo River, where the border between Ecuador now lies. and Colombia.

INCA EMPIRE AND CULTURE

Language.

Quechua, the language of the Incas, has a very distant relationship with the Aymara language, which was spoken by the Indians who lived near Lake Titicaca. It is not known what language the Incas spoke before Pachacutec raised Quechua to the rank in 1438. state language. Through a policy of conquest and migration, Quechua spread throughout the empire and is still spoken by most Peruvian Indians to this day.

Agriculture.

Initially, the population of the Inca state consisted for the most part of farmers who, if necessary, took up arms. Their daily life was subject to the agricultural cycle, and under the guidance of connoisseurs, they turned the empire into an important center for the cultivation of plants. More than half of all food consumed in the world today comes from the Andes. Among them are over 20 varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potatoes, "camote" (sweet potatoes), zucchini and pumpkin, various varieties of beans, cassava (from which flour was made), peppers, peanuts and quinoa (wild buckwheat). The most important agricultural crop of the Incas was the potato, which can withstand severe cold and grow at altitudes up to 4600 m above sea level. Alternately freezing and thawing potatoes, the Incas dehydrated them to such an extent that they turned them into a dry powder called "chuno" . Corn (sara) was grown at altitudes up to 4100 m above sea level. and was consumed in various forms: cheese on the cob (choklo), dried and lightly fried (kolyo), in the form of hominy (mote) and turned into an alcoholic drink (saraiyaka, or chicha). To make the latter, women chewed corn kernels and spat the pulp into a vat, where the resulting mass, under the influence of saliva enzymes, fermented and released alcohol.

In that era, all Peruvian tribes were at approximately the same technological level. The work was carried out jointly. The main tool of the farmer's labor was the taklya. , a primitive digging stick - a wooden stake with a point burned for strength.

Arable land was available, but by no means in abundance. Rains in the Andes usually fall from December to May, but dry years are not uncommon. Therefore, the Incas irrigated the land using canals, many of which testify to a high level of engineering. To protect soils from erosion, terraced agriculture was used by pre-Inca tribes, and the Incas improved this technology.

The Andean peoples practiced predominantly sedentary agriculture and rarely resorted to slash-and-burn agriculture, adopted by the Indians of Mexico and Central America, in which areas cleared of forests were sown for 1–2 years and left as soon as the soil was depleted. This is explained by the fact that the Central American Indians did not have natural fertilizers, with the exception of rotten fish and human excrement, while in Peru the farmers of the coast had huge reserves of guano, and in the mountains llama (taki) manure was used for fertilizer.

Lamas.

These camelids are descended from wild guanacos that were domesticated thousands of years before the arrival of the Incas. Lamas endure alpine cold and desert heat; they serve as pack animals capable of carrying up to 40 kg of cargo; they give wool for making clothes and meat - it is sometimes dried in the sun, calling it "charki". Llamas, like camels, tend to defecate in one place, so that their dung is easy to collect to fertilize the fields. Lamas played an important role in the formation of the settled agricultural cultures of Peru.

social organization.

Islew.

At the base of the social pyramid of the Inca Empire was a kind of community - Ailyu. It was formed from family clans who lived together in the territory allotted to them, jointly owned land and livestock, and shared crops among themselves. Almost everyone belonged to one or another community, was born and died in it. Communities were small and large - up to the whole city. The Incas did not know individual land ownership: the land could only belong to the Ailu or, later, to the emperor and, as it were, rented out to a member of the community. Every autumn there was a redistribution of land - plots increased or decreased depending on the size of the family. All agricultural work in Islew were made together.

At the age of 20, men were supposed to marry. If the young man himself could not find a mate, a wife was chosen for him. In the lower social strata, the strictest monogamy was maintained, while the representatives of the ruling class practiced polygamy.

Some women had the opportunity to leave the ailya and improve their situation. We are talking about the "chosen ones" who, for their beauty or special talents, could be taken to Cusco or to the provincial center, where they were taught the art of cooking, weaving or religious rituals. Dignitaries often married the “chosen ones” they liked, and some became the concubines of the Inca himself.

State of Tahuantinsuyu.

The name of the Inca empire - Tahuantinsuyu - literally means "four connected cardinal points". Four roads ran out of Cuzco in different directions, and each, regardless of its length, bore the name of the part of the empire where it led. Antisuyu included all the lands east of Cusco - the Eastern Cordillera and the Amazonian selva. From here, the Incas were threatened with raids by tribes that they had not pacified. Continsuyu united western lands, including the conquered cities of the Costa - from Chan Chan in the north to Rimac in Central Peru (the location of the current Lima) and Arequipa in the south. Collasuyu, the most extensive part of the empire, extended south from Cuzco, covering Bolivia with Lake Titicaca and parts of modern Chile and Argentina. Chinchasuyu ran north to Rumichaki. Each of these parts of the empire was ruled by an apo, related by blood to the Inca and answerable only to him.

Decimal administrative system.

The social and, accordingly, the economic organization of Inca society was based, with some regional differences, on a decimal administrative-hierarchical system. The accounting unit was purik - an adult capable man who has a household and is able to pay taxes. Ten households had their own, so to speak, "foreman" (the Incas called him pacha-kamayok), a hundred households were headed by a pacha-kuraka, a thousand - by a fry (usually the manager big village), ten thousand - the governor of the province (omo-kuraka), and ten provinces constituted a "quarter" of the empire and were ruled by the apo mentioned above. Thus, for every 10,000 households, there were 1,331 officials of various ranks.

Inca.

The new emperor was usually elected by a council of members of the royal family. Direct succession to the throne was not always respected. As a rule, the emperor was chosen from the sons of the lawful wife (koya) of the deceased ruler. The Inca had one official wife with countless concubines. So, according to some estimates, Huayna Capac had about five hundred sons alone, who happened to live already under Spanish rule. His offspring, who constituted a special royal ailya, the Inca appointed to the most honorable positions. The Inca Empire was a true theocracy, since the emperor was not only the supreme ruler and priest, but also, in the eyes of the common people, a demigod. In this totalitarian state, the emperor had absolute power, limited only by customs and fear of rebellion.

Taxes.

Each purik was obliged to partially work for the state. This compulsory labor service was called "mita". Only state dignitaries and priests were exempted from it. Each aylyu, in addition to its own land allotment, jointly cultivated the field of the Sun and the field of the Inca, giving the crops from these fields to the priesthood and the state, respectively. Another type of labor service extended to public works - mining and construction of roads, bridges, temples, fortresses, royal residences. All these works were carried out under the supervision of experts-professionals. With the help of the kipu knot letter, an accurate record was kept of the fulfillment of duties by each aylyu. In addition to labor duties, each purik was a member of the detachments of rural law enforcement officers and could be called to war at any moment. If he went to war, the community members cultivated his plot of land.

Colonization.

In order to subjugate and assimilate the conquered peoples, the Incas involved them in a system of labor duties. As soon as the Incas conquered new territory, they expelled from there all the unreliable and instilled Quechua speakers. The latter were called "mita-kona" (in the Spanish vowel "mitamaes"). Remaining local residents it was not forbidden to observe their customs, wear traditional clothes and speak their native language, but all officials were required to know Quechua. The mita-kona was entrusted with military tasks (protection of border fortresses), managerial and economic ones, and in addition, the colonists had to introduce the conquered peoples to the Inca culture. If the road under construction ran through a completely deserted area, these areas were settled by mita-kona, who were obliged to oversee the road and bridges and thereby spread the power of the emperor everywhere. The colonists received significant social and economic privileges, similar to the Roman legionaries who served in outlying provinces. The integration of the conquered peoples into a single cultural and economic space was so deep that 7 million people still speak Quechua, the Ailyu tradition is preserved among the Indians, and the influence of the Inca culture in folklore, agricultural practice, and psychology is still tangible over a vast territory.

Roads, bridges and couriers.

Excellent roads with a well-functioning courier service made it possible to keep a vast territory under unified control. The Incas used the roads laid by their predecessors and built ca. 16,000 km of new roads designed for all weather conditions. Since the pre-Columbian civilizations did not know the wheel, the Inca roads were intended for pedestrians and caravans of llamas. The road along the ocean coast, stretching for 4055 km from Tumbes in the north to the Maule River in Chile, had a standard width of 7.3 m. The Andean mountain road was somewhat narrower (from 4.6 to 7.3 m), but longer (5230 km). At least a hundred bridges were built on it - wooden, stone or cable; four bridges crossed the gorges of the Apurimac River. Every 7.2 km there were distance signs, and every 19–29 km there were stations for travelers to rest. In addition, courier stations were located every 2.5 km. Couriers (chasks) transmitted news and orders by relay, and in this way information was transmitted over 2000 km in 5 days.

Saving information.

Historical events and legends were kept in memory by specially trained storytellers. The Incas invented a mnemonic for storing information called quipu (lit. knot). It was a rope or stick, from which colored cords with knots hung. The information contained in the kipu was orally explained by a specialist in knot writing, kipu-kamayok, otherwise it would have remained incomprehensible. Each ruler of the province kept a lot of kipu-kamayok with him. , who kept a meticulous record of the population, warriors, taxes. The Incas used the decimal system, they even had a zero symbol (skipping the knot). The Spanish conquistadors left rave reviews about the system quipu .

The courtiers of the quipu-kamayok performed the duties of historiographers, compiling lists of the deeds of the Inca. Their efforts created official version history of the state, excluding mention of the achievements of the conquered peoples and asserting the absolute priority of the Incas in the formation of the Andean civilization.

Religion.

The religion of the Incas was closely connected with state administration. The demiurge god Viracocha was considered the ruler of all things, he was assisted by deities of a lower rank, among which the sun god Inti was most revered. The veneration of the sun god, who became a symbol of Inca culture, was of an official nature. The Inca religion included numerous decentralized cults of gods who personified natural realities. In addition, the veneration of magical and sacred objects (waka) was practiced, which could be a river, lake, mountain, temple, stones collected from the fields.

Religion was practical and permeated the life of the Incas. Agriculture was revered as a sacred occupation, and everything connected with it became huaca. The Incas believed in the immortality of the soul. It was believed that an aristocrat, regardless of his behavior in earthly life, after death enters the abode of the Sun, where it is always warm and abundance reigns; as for commoners, only virtuous people got there after death, and sinners went to a kind of hell (oko-paka), where they suffered from cold and hunger. Thus, religion and customs influenced the behavior of people. The ethics and morality of the Incas were reduced to one principle: "Ama sua, ama lyulya, ama chelya" – "Don't steal, don't lie, don't be lazy."

Art.

Inca art gravitated towards rigor and beauty. Weaving from llama wool was distinguished by a high artistic level, although it was inferior in richness of decor to the fabrics of the peoples of the Costa. Carving of semi-precious stones and shells, which the Incas received from the coastal peoples, was widely practiced.

However, the main art of the Incas was casting from precious metals. Almost all now known Peruvian gold deposits were developed by the Incas. Goldsmiths and silversmiths lived in separate city blocks and were exempt from taxes. The best works of Inca jewelers perished during the conquest. According to the testimony of the Spaniards, who first saw Cusco, the city blinded with a golden sheen. Some buildings were covered with gold plates imitating masonry. The thatched roofs of the temples had golden inclusions imitating straws, so that the rays of the setting sun lit them with brilliance, giving the impression that the entire roof was made of gold. In the legendary Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun in Cusco, there was a garden with a golden fountain, around which life-sized stalks of maize made of gold, with leaves and cobs, "grew" from golden "earth" and "grazed" on golden grass twenty llamas of gold - again - life-size.

Architecture.

In the field of material culture, the Incas achieved the most impressive accomplishments in architecture. Although Inca architecture is inferior to Mayan in richness of decoration and Aztec in emotional impact, it has no equal in that era either in the New or Old World in terms of boldness of engineering solutions, grandiose scales of urban planning, skillful arrangement of volumes. Inca monuments, even in ruins, are amazing in their number and size. An idea of ​​the high level of Inca urban planning is given by the Machu Picchu fortress, built at an altitude of 3000 m in a saddle between two peaks of the Andes. Inca architecture is characterized by extraordinary plasticity. The Incas erected buildings on the processed surfaces of rocks, fitting stone blocks together without lime mortar, so that the building was perceived as a natural element of the natural environment. In the absence of rocks, bricks baked in the sun were used. Inca craftsmen were able to cut stones according to given patterns and work with huge stone blocks. The fortress (pucara) of Sascahuaman, which protected Cusco, is undoubtedly one of the greatest creations of fortification art. 460 m long, the fortress consists of three tiers of stone walls overall height 18 m. The walls have 46 ledges, corners and buttresses. In the cyclopean masonry of the foundation, there are stones weighing more than 30 tons with beveled edges. It took at least 300,000 stone blocks to build the fortress. All the stones are irregularly shaped, but fitted together so tightly that the walls have withstood countless earthquakes and deliberate attempts at destruction. The fortress has towers, underground passages, living quarters and an internal water supply system. The Incas began building in 1438 and finished 70 years later, in 1508. According to some estimates, 30 thousand people were involved in the construction.

THE FALL OF THE INCA EMPIRE

It is still difficult to understand how a pitiful handful of Spaniards could conquer a powerful empire, although many considerations are put forward on this score. By that time, the Aztec empire had already been conquered by Hernán Cortés (1519–1521), but the Incas did not know about this, since they did not have any direct contact with the Aztecs and the Maya. The Incas first heard of white people in 1523 or 1525, when a certain Alejo Garcia, at the head of the Chiriguano Indians, attacked an empire outpost in the Gran Chaco, an arid lowland on the southeastern frontier of the empire. In 1527, Francisco Pizarro landed briefly at Tumbes on the northwestern Peruvian coast and soon sailed away, leaving two of his men behind. After that, Ecuador was devastated by an epidemic of smallpox, which was introduced by one of these Spaniards.

Emperor Huayna Capac died in 1527. According to legend, he was aware that the empire was too big to rule it from one center in Cusco. Immediately after his death, a dispute broke out for the throne between two of his five hundred sons - Huascar from Cuzco, the offspring of his legal wife, and Atahualpa from Ecuador. The feud between the blood brothers erupted into a five-year devastating civil war in which Atahualpa won a decisive victory just two weeks before Pizarro's second appearance in Peru. The winner and his 40,000th army rested in the provincial center of Cajamarca in the north-west of the country, from where Atahualpa was going to go to Cusco, where the official ceremony of his elevation to the imperial rank was to take place.

Pizarro arrived in Tumbes on May 13, 1532 and moved to Cajamarca with 110 foot and 67 horse soldiers. Atahualpa was aware of this from intelligence reports, on the one hand, accurate, on the other, biased in the interpretation of facts. So, the scouts assured that horses do not see in the dark, that a man and a horse are a single creature that, when falling, is no longer able to fight, that arquebuses emit only thunders, and even then only twice, that Spanish long steel swords are completely unsuitable for battle. A detachment of conquistadors on its way could be destroyed in any of the gorges of the Andes.

Having occupied Cajamarca, protected by walls on three sides, the Spaniards conveyed to the emperor an invitation to come to the city to meet with them. To this day no one can explain why Atahualpa let himself be drawn into a trap. He was well aware of the strength of the foreigners, and the favorite tactic of the Incas themselves was precisely the ambush. Perhaps the emperor was driven by some special motives beyond the understanding of the Spaniards. On the evening of November 16, 1532, Atahualpa appeared on Cajamarca Square in all the splendor of imperial regalia and accompanied by a large retinue - however, unarmed, as Pizarro demanded. After a short slurred conversation between the Inca demigod and the Christian priest, the Spaniards attacked the Indians and killed almost all of them in half an hour. During the massacre of the Spaniards, only Pizarro suffered, accidentally wounded in the arm by his own soldier, when he blocked Atahualpa, whom he wanted to capture alive and unharmed.

After that, apart from a few violent skirmishes in different places, the Incas did not actually offer serious resistance to the conquerors until 1536. The captive Atahualpa agreed to buy freedom by filling the room where he was kept twice with silver and once with gold. However, this did not save the emperor. The Spaniards accused him of conspiracy and "crimes against the Spanish state" and, after a short formal trial on August 29, 1533, strangled him with a garrote.

All these events plunged the Incas into a state of strange apathy. The Spaniards, almost without resistance, reached Cuzco along the great road and on November 15, 1533 took the city.

New Ink State.

Manco II.

Having made the former Inca capital of Cuzco the center of Spanish rule, Pizarro decided to give the new government a semblance of legitimacy and for this he appointed Huayn Capac's grandson Manco II as the emperor's successor. The new Inca had no real power and was subjected to constant humiliation by the Spaniards, but, nurturing plans for an uprising, showed patience.

In 1536, when part of the conquistadors, led by Diego Almagro, set off on an aggressive expedition to Chile, Manco, under the pretext of searching for imperial treasures, slipped out of the supervision of the Spaniards and raised an uprising. The moment for this was chosen favorable. Almagro and Pizarro, at the head of their supporters, started a dispute over the division of spoils, which soon developed into open war. By that time, the Indians had already felt the yoke of the new power and realized that they could only get rid of it by force.

Having destroyed all the Spaniards in the vicinity of Cuzco, four armies attacked the capital on April 18, 1536. The defense of the city was led by an experienced soldier Hernando Pizarro, brother of Francisco Pizarro. He had only 130 Spanish soldiers and 2000 Indian allies at his disposal, but he showed extraordinary military skill and withstood the siege. Simultaneously, the Incas attacked Lima, founded by Pizarro in 1535 and declared the new capital of Peru. Since the city was surrounded by flat terrain, the Spaniards successfully used cavalry and quickly defeated the Indians. Pizarro sent four detachments of conquistadors to help his brother, but they could not break through to the besieged Cusco. The three-month siege of Cusco was lifted due to the fact that many soldiers left the Inca army in connection with the start of agricultural work; besides, the army of Almagro, returning from Chile, was approaching the city.

Manco II and thousands of people loyal to him retreated to previously prepared positions in the Vilcabamba mountain range northeast of Cuzco. The Indians took with them the preserved mummies of the former Inca rulers. Here Manco II created the so-called. New Ink State. In order to protect south road from the military attacks of the Indians, Pizarro set up an Ayacucho military camp. Meanwhile, a civil war continued between Pizarro's warriors and the "Chileans" of Almagro. In 1538 Almagro was captured and executed, and three years later his supporters killed Pizarro. The warring parties of the conquistadors were led by new leaders. In the battle of Chupas near Ayacucho (1542), Inca Manco helped the "Chileans", and when they were defeated, he sheltered six Spanish fugitives in his possessions. The Spaniards taught the Indians horseback riding, firearms, and blacksmithing. Arranging ambushes on the imperial road, the Indians obtained weapons, armor, money and were able to equip a small army.

During one of these raids, a copy of the "New Laws" adopted in 1544 fell into the hands of the Indians, with the help of which the king of Spain tried to limit the abuses of the conquistadors. After reviewing this document, Manco II sent one of his Spaniards, Gomez Perez, to negotiate with Viceroy Blasco Nunez Vela. Since the strife between the conquistadors continued, the viceroy was interested in a compromise. Soon after, the renegade Spaniards, who settled in the New Inca state, quarreled with Manco II, killed him and were executed.

Sayri Tupac and Titu Cusi Yupanqui.

The head of the New Inca state was the son of Manco II - Sayri Tupac. During his reign, the borders of the state expanded to the upper reaches of the Amazon, and the population increased to 80 thousand people. In addition to large herds of llamas and alpacas, the Indians raised a fair number of sheep, pigs, and cattle.

In 1555 Sayri Tupac launched military operations against the Spaniards. He moved his residence to the warmer climate of the Yucai Valley. Here he was poisoned by those close to him. Power was succeeded by his brother Titu Cusi Yupanqui, who resumed the war. All attempts by the conquistadors to subdue the independent Indians were in vain. In 1565, Fray Diego Rodriguez visited the Inca stronghold of Vilcabamba in order to lure the ruler out of hiding, but his mission was not successful. His reports on the morals of the royal court, the number and combat readiness of the soldiers give an idea of ​​the strength of the New Inca state. The following year, another missionary repeated the same attempt, but during the course of negotiations, Titu Cusi fell ill and died. A monk was blamed for his death and was executed. Subsequently, the Indians killed several more Spanish ambassadors.

Tupac Amaru, the last Supreme Inca.

After the death of Titu Cusi, another of the sons of Manco II came to power. The Spaniards decided to put an end to the citadel in Vilcabamba, made gaps in the walls and after a fierce battle took the fortress. Tupac Amaru and his commanders, chained with collars, were taken to Cusco. Here, in 1572, on the main city square, with a confluence of a large number of people, they were beheaded.

Spanish dominance.

The colonial authorities of Peru retained some of the administrative forms of the Inca empire, adapting them to their own needs. The colonial administration and the latifundists ruled the Indians through intermediaries - community elders "kurak" – and did not interfere everyday life householders. The Spanish authorities, like the Incas, practiced mass migrations of communities and a system of labor duties, and also formed a special class of servants and artisans from the Indians. Corrupt colonial authorities and greedy latifundists created intolerable conditions for the Indians and provoked numerous uprisings that took place throughout the colonial period.

Literature:

Bashilov V. Ancient Civilizations of Peru and Bolivia. M., 1972
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. History of the Inca state. L., 1974
Zubritsky Yu. Inca Quechua. M., 1975
Culture of Peru. M., 1975
Berezkin Yu. Mochica. L., 1983
Berezkin Yu. The Incas. The historical experience of the empire. L., 1991



"State of the Incas"

1. Formation of the state of the Incas

The Incas dominated what is now Peru for a long time. During the period when the territory of the empire reached largest sizes, it included part of South America and stretched over almost a million square kilometers. In addition to present-day Peru, the empire included most of present-day Colombia and Ecuador, almost all of Bolivia, the northern regions of the Republic of Chile and the northwestern part of Argentina.

Term the Incas, or rather inca, has a variety of meanings. Firstly, this is the name of the entire ruling stratum in the state of Peru. Secondly, it is the position of the ruler. Thirdly, the name of the people as a whole. Original name inca worn by one of the tribes that lived in the Cusco 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 evidenced by the fact that the representatives of these tribes received a privileged position compared to other tribes and were called "Incas by privilege." The "Incas by privilege" did not pay tribute, and they were not enslaved.

There are 12 known rulers who were at the head of the state. The first royal couple, who were at the same time brother and sister, were the first Inca, Mango Capac and his wife Mama Oklio. Historical legends tell of Inca wars with neighboring tribes. The first decade of the XIII century is the beginning of the strengthening of the Inca tribe and, possibly, the time of the formation of an alliance of tribes led by the Inca. The reliable history of the Incas begins with the activities of the ninth ruler - Pachacuti (1438-1463). From this time begins the rise of the Incas. The state is growing fast. In subsequent years, the Incas conquer and subjugate the tribes of the entire Andean region from South Colombia to Central Chile. The population of the state is 6 million people.

2. Economy of the Incas

The Incas achieved great success in many branches of management, and above all in metallurgy. The mining of copper and tin was of the greatest practical importance. Silver deposits were developed. The Quechua language has a word for iron, but most likely it was not an alloy, but meteoric iron, or hematite, gave the meaning to the word. There is no evidence of iron mining or iron ore smelting.

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

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

Significant development in the state of the Incas received agriculture, although the area on which the Inca tribes were located was not particularly conducive to development. Agriculture. 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. In such conditions, the Incas had to irrigate the land in order to keep moisture in the fields. For this, special structures were created, which were regularly updated. The fields were arranged in stepped terraces, the lower edge of which was reinforced with masonry, which retained the soil. A dam was built at the edge of the terrace to divert water from mountain rivers to the fields. The channels were laid out with stone slabs. The state allocated special officials, whose duty was to supervise the serviceability of structures.

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

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

The Inca Empire was a country that created many miracles. One of the most remarkable are the ancient Peruvian "highways of the Sun" - a whole network of highways. The longest of the roads exceeded 5 thousand kilometers. Two main roads ran through the whole country. Canals were built along the roads, on the banks of which fruit trees grew. Where the road went through the sandy desert, it was paved. Where the road intersected with rivers and gorges, bridges were built. Bridges were built as follows: they were supported by stone pillars, around which five thick ropes woven from flexible branches or lianas were fixed; the three lower ropes that formed the bridge itself were intertwined with branches and lined with wooden beams. Those ropes that served as railings were intertwined with the lower ones and protected the bridge from the sides. These suspension bridges represent one of the greatest achievements of Inca technology.

As you know, the people ancient America wheels were not invented. Cargo was transported in packs on llamas, and ferries were also used for transportation. Ferries were improved rafts made of beams or beams of very light wood. The rafts were rowed and could lift up to 50 people and a large load.

Most of the tools of production, fabrics, pottery were made in the community, but there was also a separation of craft from agriculture and cattle breeding. The Incas chose the best craftsmen and moved them to Cusco, where they lived in a special quarter and worked for the supreme Inca, receiving food from the court. These masters, cut off from the community, actually found themselves enslaved. Girls were selected in a similar way, who had to learn spinning, weaving and other needlework for 4 years. The work of craftsmen and spinners was a rudimentary 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 hung. Exchange and trade were underdeveloped. There were no bazaars inside the villages. The exchange was random. After the harvest, in certain places, the inhabitants of the highlands and coastal regions met. Wool, meat, furs, leather, silver, gold were brought from the highlands. Grain, vegetables and fruits, cotton were brought from the coast. The role of the universal equivalent was played by salt, pepper, furs, wool, ore and metal products.

3. social order Inca

The Inca tribe consisted of 10 divisions - khatun-ailyu, which in turn were divided into 10 ailu. Initially, Ailyu was a patriarchal clan, a tribal community: it had its own village and owned adjacent fields. Names in the tribal community were passed down through the paternal line. Islew were exogamous. It was forbidden to marry within the clan. Its members believed that they were under the protection of ancestral shrines - huaca. Ailyu were also designated as pachaca, i.e. a hundred. Khatun-ailyu (large clan) was a phratry and was identified with a thousand. Aileu turns into a rural community in the state of the Incas. This is reflected in the consideration of land use norms.

All the land in the state belonged to the supreme Inca, but in fact it was at the disposal of the ailyu. The territory owned by the community was called brand; the land owned by the community was called pacha brand, those. community land.

cultivated land ( chakra) was divided into three parts: the "land of the Sun" - the priests, the fields of the Incas and the fields of the community. Each family had its own share of the land, although all of it was cultivated jointly by the whole village, and the members of the community worked together under the direction of the elders. Having processed one section of the field, they moved to the fields of the Incas, then to the fields of the villagers and then to the fields, the harvest from which went to general village fund.

Each village had fallow lands as well as "wild lands" - pastures. Field plots were periodically redistributed among fellow villagers. Field allotment, bearing the name stupid, given to a man. For each male child, the father received one more tutu, for the daughter - half. It was a temporary possession and was subject to redistribution.

In addition to tupu, on the territory of each community there were lands that were called "garden, own land" (muya). This site consisted of a yard, a house, a barn, a shed, a garden. This land was passed down from father to son. From these plots, community members could receive surplus vegetables or fruits. They could dry meat, spin and weave, make pottery vessels - everything they had as private property.

In the communities that developed among the tribes conquered by the Incas, tribal nobility also stood out - kuraka. Representatives of the kurak were obliged to monitor the work of the community members and control the payment of taxes. The community members of the conquered tribes cultivated the lands of the Incas. In addition, they cultivated areas of kurak. In the kurak household, the concubines spun and wove wool or cotton. In the communal herd, kuraka had up to several hundred heads of cattle. But still, the kuraka were in a subordinate position, and the Incas stood above them as the highest caste.

The Incas themselves did not work. They made up the military service nobility, were endowed land plots and workers from conquered tribes. The lands received from the supreme Inca were considered the private property of the service nobility. Noble Incas were called orechens (from the Spanish word for "nut" - ear) for huge gold earrings that stretched their earlobes.

Priests occupied a privileged position in society. In favor of the priests, a part of the harvest was levied. They were not subordinate to local rulers, but constituted a separate corporation. These corporations were run by a high priesthood based in Cuzco.

The Incas had a certain number of workers - the Yanakuns - whom the Spanish chroniclers called slaves. This category was wholly owned by the Incas and did all the menial work. The position of these Yanakuns was hereditary.

Community members performed most of the productive labor. But the appearance of a large group of hereditarily enslaved workers indicates that society in Peru was an early slave-owning society with the preservation of significant remnants of the tribal system.

The state of the Incas had a peculiar structure. It was called Tawantinsuyu - "four regions connected together." Each area was ruled by a governor, who was usually a direct relative of the ruling Inca. They were called "apos". Together with several other dignitaries, they constituted the state council of the country, which could express its proposals and ideas to the Inca. In the districts, power was in the hands of local officials.

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

The Incas introduced a compulsory language for all - Quechua. They split 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 uprisings. Laws were created to protect the rule of the Incas.

4. Religion and culture of the Incas

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

The official religious system of the Incas was the "heliocentric" system. It is based on the subordination of the Sun - Inti. Inti was usually depicted as a golden disk, from which rays departed in all directions. The face of a man is depicted on the disk itself. The disk was made of pure gold, that is, the metal that belonged to the Sun.

The wife of Inti and at the same time the mother of the Incas - in accordance with the beliefs of the Indians - was the moon goddess Kilja.

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

Temples owned enormous wealth, a large number of ministers and craftsmen, architects, jewelers and sculptors. The main content of the Inca cult was the 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 a new supreme Inca, during an earthquake, drought, war. Prisoners of war or children were sacrificed, who were taken as tribute from conquered tribes.

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

In the religion of the Incas great place occupied by totemistic views. The communities were named after animals: Pumamarca (cougar communities), Condormarca (condor community), Huamanmarca (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. Images of this plant in sculpture have been preserved - vessels in the form of tubers. There was also a cult of the forces of nature. The cult of mother earth, called Pacha-mama, was especially developed.

The cult of ancestors was of great importance. Ancestors were revered as patron spirits and guardians of the land of a given community and the area in general. There was a custom of mummification of the dead. Mummies in elegant clothes with decorations and household utensils were preserved in the tombs. The cult of the mummies of the rulers reached a special development. They were credited with supernatural power. The mummies of the rulers were taken on campaigns and taken to the battlefield.

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

The Incas had an idea of ​​the solar and lunar years. To observe the sun, as well as to accurately determine the time of the equinox and solstice, the astronomers of the Inca Empire built special "observatories" in many places in Peru. Most major item solar observation was located in Cusco. The position of the sun was observed from four specially built towers to the east and west of Cusco. This was necessary to determine the timing of the agricultural cycle.

Astronomy was one of the two most important scientific concepts in the Inca Empire. Science was supposed to serve the interests of the state. The activities of astronomers, who, thanks to their observations, could establish the most appropriate dates for the start or simply the implementation of certain agricultural works, brought considerable benefits to both the state and all its citizens.

The Inca calendar was primarily oriented towards the sun. The year was considered to consist of 365 days, divided into twelve 30-day months, after which the calendar still followed five (and in a leap year - six) final days, which were called "days without work."

There were schools for boys. Boys from among the noble Incas, as well as the nobility of the conquered tribes, were accepted there. Thus, the task of educational institutions was to prepare the next generation of the empire's elite. The school taught for four years. Each year gave certain knowledge: in the first year they studied the Quechua language, in the second - the religious complex and the calendar, and the third or fourth years were spent on studying the so-called quipu, signs that served as a "knot letter".

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

This form of writing was used mainly to convey messages about taxes. But sometimes the quipu was used to record calendar and historical dates and facts. Thus, the quipu was a conventional communication system, but still it was not a written language.

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

There is also an opinion that the writing of the Incas existed in the form of picture writing, pictography, but due to the fact that the boards on which these signs were applied were framed in gold frames, looted and dismantled by Europeans, the writing monuments have not survived to this day. .

Literary creativity in the Quechua language was very rich. However, since these works were not recorded in writing and were preserved in the memory of reciters, only fragments have come down to us, preserved for posterity by the first Spanish chroniclers.

Of the poetic works of the Incas, hymns (hymn to Viracocha), mythical tales, and poems of historical content have been preserved in fragments. The most famous poem is "Olyantai", which sings of the exploits of the leader of one of the tribes who rebelled against the supreme Inca.

One of the most developed areas of science in the Inca Empire was medicine. The state of health of the inhabitants was not a private matter of citizens, on the contrary, the empire was interested in ensuring that the inhabitants of the country served the state as best as possible.

The Incas used some scientific methods to treat diseases. Many medicinal plants have been used; surgical intervention was also known, such as, for example, trepanation of the skull. Along with scientific methods, the practice of magical medicine was widespread.

5. End of the Inca state. Portuguese conquests

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

The Inca prince Manco led the uprising against the Spaniards, 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 in order to study the enemy. Starting to gather forces from the end of 1535, Manco in April 1536 approached Cuzco with a large army and laid siege to it. He forced captive Spaniards to serve him as gunsmiths, gunners 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 by combining the techniques of the original Indian warfare with the European one. But bribery and betrayal forced Manco to leave this city after 10 months of siege of Cusco. The rebels continued to fight in the mountainous region of Vile-capampe, where they fortified. After the death of Manco, Tupac Amaru becomes the leader of the rebels.

Resistance to the ever-increasing forces of the conquerors turned out to be futile, and the rebels were eventually defeated. In memory of this last war against the conquerors, the title of the Inca and the name of Tupac Amaru were later adopted by the leaders of the Indians as a symbol of the restoration of their independent state.

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03.10.2017 21:16 4067

The Incas are an Indian tribe that inhabited South America before the arrival of Europeans. They created a powerful empire with its capital in the city of Cuzco on the territory of the state of Peru. The Inca Empire was inhabited by about 12 million people, and the area extended through the lands of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

The Incas managed to create a great civilization. They were well versed in mathematics, astronomy and architecture. This knowledge helped them build unusual buildings and make new discoveries. The great achievement of the Inca culture, which has survived to our times, is the city of Machu Picchu, built high in the mountains. It contains various buildings and temples in which the Incas performed rituals. A water pipe was brought to the city, providing residents with water. On special terraces, peasants grew various vegetables that were used for cooking.

The Incas had their own religion. It was based on various natural phenomena. The Incas worshiped different gods. The sun god, Inti, played an important role. He was considered the progenitor of life on Earth, since the sun is a source of light and heat. The Indians considered representatives of their nobility to be direct descendants of Inti. In the city of Machu Picchu, they built a temple of the Sun, in which they observed the heavenly body.

In addition, the Incas considered sacred some rocks, which they called huaca. Ancient legends of the Indians said that celestial objects went underground during the creation of the world, and then came out through rocks and caves.

The great empire ceased to exist in 1572 after a long war with the Spaniards that lasted for many years. Abandoned cities, ancient temples, ceramic psuda and much more, reminiscent of the former greatness of the mighty Inca country, have survived to this day in memory of the Inca civilization.

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in the pre-Columbian Americas and possibly the largest empire in the world, existing in the early 16th century.

Its political structure was the most complex of all the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cuzco (modern Peru).

The Inca civilization originated in the highlands of Peru in the early 13th century. The last fortress was conquered by the Spaniards in 1572.

From 1438 to 1533, the Incas inhabited much of western South America, centered on the Andean mountains. At its height, the Inca Empire included the territories of Ecuador, western and central Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, northern and central Chile, and some lands of southwestern Colombia.

The official language was Quechua. There were many forms of worship of the gods in the empire, but the rulers encouraged the worship of Inti, the supreme god of the Incas.

The Incas considered their king, Sapa Inca, "the son of the sun".

The Inca Empire was unique in that it did not have anything that the civilizations of the Old World were famous for.

For example, the inhabitants did not have wheeled Vehicle, cattle, they also lacked knowledge about the extraction and processing of iron and steel, and the Incas also did not have a structured writing system.

Monumental architecture, a system of roads covering all corners of the empire and a special style of weaving were characteristic of the Inca empire.

Scholars believe that the Inca economy was feudal, slave and socialist at the same time. It is believed that the Incas did not have money and markets. Instead, residents exchanged goods and services on a barter basis.

A kind of tax was considered the very labor of a person for the benefit of the empire (for example, the cultivation of crops). The Inca rulers, in turn, supported the work of people and organized large-scale feasts for their subjects on holidays.

The name "Inca" is translated as "ruler", "lord". In Quechua, the term is used to refer to the ruling class or ruling family.

The Incas made up a small percentage of all the inhabitants of the empire (from 15,000 to 40,000 people with a total population of 10 million people). The Spaniards began to use the term "Incas" to refer to all the inhabitants of the empire.

History

The Inca Empire was the leading civilization in the Andes, with a history spanning thousands of years. The Andean civilization is one of the five civilizations in the world, which scientists call "primordial", that is, indigenous, and not derived from other civilizations.

The Inca Empire was preceded by two large empires in the Andes: Tiwanaku (about 300-1100 AD), located around Lake Titicaca, and Huari (about 600-1100 AD), centered near modern city Ayacucho.

Huari was located on the territory of Cusco for about 400 years.

According to the legends of the Incas, their ancestors emerged from three caves: brothers and sisters who came to new lands eventually built a temple of stone and began to populate the lands around. Soon they reached Cuzco and began to build their dwellings throughout the territory.

The empire expanded. Aiyar Manco is considered its founder.

The rulers of the empire changed quite often. Many wanted to reign over large territories. However, by the time the Inca conquistadors arrived on the lands, all the tribes united in a single desire to maintain their independence.

Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro and his brothers reached the cherished lands of the Incas by 1525. In 1529, the King of Spain gave permission for the conquest of rich lands in the Americas.

The military forces of the Europeans invaded the lands of the Incas in 1532, when the population was demoralized by another war for power over the empire.

At the same time in Central America smallpox raged, which caused the death of a large number of the local population.

European soldiers led by Pizarro invaded the lands of the Incas and, having technological superiority over the "semi-wild" Incas, quickly gained power over the territories (the Spaniards also found allies who were negatively disposed towards the policies of the Inca emperors).

The conquistadors planted the Christian faith in the region, plundered the houses of the inhabitants and put their governor at the head of the empire. And in 1536 the last Inca fortress was destroyed, the emperor was overthrown, and the Spaniards gained power over the entire territory of the vast empire.

Population and language

The number of people who inhabited the empire during its heyday is not known for certain. Historians give numbers from 4 to 37 million.

The main form of communication in the empire was the language of the Incas, as well as various dialects of Quechua.

Phonetically, the languages ​​differed very much: the Andeans could not understand the population living next to Colombia.

Some languages ​​have survived to this day (for example, the Aymara language, which is spoken by some inhabitants of Bolivia to this day). The influence of the Incas survived their empire, as the Spaniards who conquered the lands continued to use the Quechua language for communication.

Culture and life

Archaeologists are still finding unique items associated with the life and way of life of the Incas.

Architecture was the most sought after art in the empire. The most important structures were made of stone (using special masonry).

Also, historians find evidence that the Incas were interested in weaving, as well as in the sciences: mathematics, chronology in principle, medicine, etc.

The discoveries of the Incas in some areas became the foundation for the development of scientific thought throughout the world (especially in Europe).