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Pachacuti as drawn by Guaman Poma

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (or Pachacutec; Quechua Pachakutiq, literally "world-turner", i.e. "world-transformer") was the ninth Sapa Inca (1438-71 CE) of the Kingdom of Cuzco, which he transformed into an empire, Twantinsuyu. He began the era of conquest that, within three generations, expanded the Inca dominion from the valley of Cuzco to nearly the whole of civilized South America. He was the fourth of the Hanan dynasty, and his wife's name is given as Mama Anawarkhi.

His given name was Cusi Yupanqui. According to many chroniclers, his career began when Cuzco came under attack from the rival Chancas. His father Viracocha abandoned the city, along with the heir apparent Urco. Cusi Yupanqui defended the city and defeated the enemy; then, pushing his brother aside, he proclaimed himself Inca. (Some chroniclers, confusingly, assign this deed to the god Viracocha instead.)

Statue of Pachacutec and town cathedral from the main square of Machu Picchu pueblo.

In the early part of his reign, he established Inca control over a swath of the Andes from north of modern Lima to Lake Titicaca. In 1463, as was common with the Incas, he put his son Tupac Inca (Topa Inca) in charge of the Inca army. Tupac Inca continued to conquer territiories to the north, reaching what is now Ecuador by his father's death in 1471.

Meanwhile, Pachacuti reorganized the new empire, the Tahuantinsuyu or "the united four provinces". Under his system, there were four apos that each controlled one of four provinces (suyu). Below these governors were t'oqrikoq, or local leaders, who ran a city, valley, or mine. By the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru, each apo had around 15 t'oqrikoq below him, but we can assume there were fewer when Pachacuti first organized this system. He also established a separate chain of command for the army and priesthood to establish a system of checks and balances on power.

He rebuilt much of Cuzco, designing it to serve the needs of an imperial city, and indeed as a representation of the empire. There was a sector of the city for each suyu, centering on the road leading to that province; nobles and immigrants lived in the sector corresponding to their origin. Each sector was further divided into areas for the hanan (upper) and hurin (lower) moieties. The Inca and his family lived in the center; the more prestigious area.

Despite Pachacuti's political and military talents, he did not improve upon the system of choosing the next Inca. His son became the next Inca without any known dispute, but in future generations the next Inca had to gain control of the empire by winning enough support from the apos, priesthood, and military to either win a civil war or intimidate anyone else from trying to wrest control of the empire.

Machu Picchu is believed to date to the time of Pachacuti.

In Quechua Pachakutiq means he who changes the world. He certainly turned his little hamlet into an empire that could compete with the Chimu, and would eventually incorporate them within the Inca empire.

Pachacuti was a poet and author of some of the most famous Inca poems, the Sacred Hymns (haillikuna) of the Situa ceremony. These can be found in English translations in Ancient American Poets (2005) by John Curl, together with a detailed biography and survey of Inca poetic traditions.

1438 CE

1463 CE

1493 CE