Empire Builders: The Inca

The Inca were a civilisation which flourished from the 12th century until their conquest by the Spanish in 1533 in modern-day Peru and surrounding countries.

With a centre in Cuzco in the Peruvian highlands, the Incas expanded into the largest pre-Columbian kingdom in the Americas, spreading across a diverse selection of climates such as the highlands of the Andes’ plateaus and jungles. Famous for their advanced technology, opulent and magnificent art and impressive architecture, the Inca were nonetheless undermined by their lack of military technology and resistance to European diseases. We look at the rise and fall of one of the largest kingdom in the Americas.