Huayna Capac

Huayna Capac (?-1525?), Inca emperor, born in Cuzco, Peru. From about 1493 until his death he was the ruler of the Inca Empire and greatly extended the limits of his domain by wars in which he personally commanded the troops. At his death the empire extended to Quito (in modern Ecuador) in the north and to Atacama (in modern Chile) in the south, a region about 4830 km (about 3000 mi) long from north to south and about 645 km (about 400 mi) wide. Huayna Capac decreed that rulership of the Inca Empire should be shared after his death by the legitimate heir, Huáscar, and Huáscar's younger half brother, Atahualpa. The internal dissensions that resulted from this division, however, weakened the entire empire and made it an easy target for conquest (1532) by the Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro.