The Incas: The Fall of an Ancient Empire
——Yu Ningran/text
The Incas, along with the Mayans and the Aztecs, are known as the three major civilizations in the Americas. The total territory of the Inca Empire reached more than 2 million square kilometers at the beginning of the 16th century. Its territory included the territories of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, as well as parts of Chile, Argentina, and Colombia. The total population is as high as 6 million. However, such a vast empire, capable of conquering and fighting, and in its golden age, quickly declined under the attack of less than 200 Spanish soldiers led by Pizarro.
The Incas were originally just a small Indian tribe in the Andes Mountains. In the 13th century, they established a tribal alliance and began to take shape as an empire. In 1438, the ninth Inca king Pachacuti took office. With his successful military victory in suppressing the rebellion of the Chanca tribe, he cleared the way for the Incas to continue to expand. After hundreds of years of conquest, the Incas continued to conquer and annex other tribes and established a great empire.
When it comes to the Inca, one must mention gold. Inca is also known as the "Land of Gold". The utensils used by the people there to eat and drink were all made of gold. Gold there is as cheap as iron. It is this inducement that makes the Spaniards covet it.
The Incas are considered by scholars to be "one of the most successful totalitarian states the world has ever seen." Like our country's Qin Dynasty, the Inca Empire also implemented a centralized system. However, unlike the short-lived Qin Dynasty, the Inca Empire maintained prosperity for hundreds of years, but still could not escape the fate of destruction.
The Inca civilization existed as a primitive civilization and was eventually conquered by developed civilizations. There are too many examples in history to tell us. But this does not eliminate our doubts. After all, as an ancient empire, how could the Inca army with tens of thousands of soldiers be easily defeated by the Spanish army with less than 200 soldiers after a long journey?
There is a phenomenon worthy of our attention: during the period when the Spaniards first arrived, as the Aztec monarch, Montezuma took the initiative to meet with the Spaniards, piously presented them with wreaths, and generously gave gold; the Inca The people treated the Spaniards with the same courtesy as they treated the Inca king, and showed them unsuspectingly the Inca treasures.
What lies behind this puzzling thing?
In the ancient land of Inca, there is a prophecy that predicts the fate of the empire. When it comes to prophecies, people today can easily think of Mayan prophecies. Here, let’s take a look at how the Inca treated them.
According to legend, Viracocha was the eighth generation king of the Incas (there are no evidence of the first eight generations of Inca kings). Based on the revelation in his dream, this emperor predicted that after the empire maintained its rule for a period of time, a group of people would come to the land of the Incas. to end their faith and seize this ancient empire. He also asked the craftsmen to carve out the image of the god in his dream - the appearance was not different from the Indians, but very close to the Spaniards. In the last few years of the Inca Empire, there were also a series of bad omens: frequent earthquakes, thunder and lightning destroying palaces, comets...
Also, when the Indians saw the Spaniards and Indians for the first time, they were frightened half to death: looking at the Spaniards riding on their horses, the Indians thought they were monsters combining mythical beasts; when they saw the Spaniards getting off their horses, they , they were surprised that the connected creature actually split into two halves; facing the lethal muskets and cannons, the Indians thought they were lightning. This seemingly ridiculous fear reflects the limited cognition of the Indians. If a battle is not fought before the heart is defeated, it is not difficult to speculate on the fate of the empire. (When we thought the Incas were so ignorant, we just laughed.)
In 1532, the Inca Empire had just ended an internal conflict for the throne. Huascar and Atahualpa led their troops to fight. In the end, Atahualpa won the throne and became the 13th Inca king.
At this time, Spanish soldiers led by Pizarro arrived at the Inca. Pizarro was keenly aware that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He pretended to send someone to request a meeting, but secretly planned a Hongmen Banquet.
Out of sincerity and relying on the strength of his army, Atahualpa arrived at Cajamarca Square accompanied by 5,000 disarmed soldiers. Pizarro saw that Atahualpa was unprepared, so he ordered the cavalry and infantry lying in ambush to rush up. The unarmed Inca soldiers in the square were slaughtered by the Spaniards, and their blood spattered on the spot. Unfortunately, the Inca soldiers were numerous and tried their best to protect the king. Seeing that he could not capture it for a while, Pizarro captured the Inca King alone. This soon caused chaos among the Inca soldiers, and when the Spanish attacked the Inca capital in the future, the entire Inca army was already on the verge of disintegration. The Battle of Cajamarca Plaza was not a classic battle, but it successfully held the entire empire hostage.
What is quite ironic is that when the Spaniards were approaching the capital Cusco, they captured a messenger. He would deliver an important message to the Indians, that is - the Spaniards, like the Indians, were mortal at the same time.
How to treat Mayan prophecies? An empire tells us with its collapse: Mayan prophecies, go to hell!
