Inti in the context of "Sapa Inca"

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👉 Inti in the context of Sapa Inca

The Sapa Inca (from Quechua: sapa inka; lit. 'the only emperor') was the monarch of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu "the region of the four [provinces]"), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba. While the origins of the position are mythical and originate from the legendary foundation of the city of Cusco, it seems to have come into being historically around AD 1100. Although the Inca believed the Sapa Inca to be the son of Inti (the Sun god) and often referred to him as Inti churi "solar son" or Intip churin "son of the Sun", the position eventually became hereditary, with son succeeding father. The principal wife of the Inca was known as the coya or quya. The Sapa Inca was at the top of the social hierarchy, and played a dominant role in the political and spiritual realm.

Manco Capac, the first Inca monarch, adopted the title capac or qhapaq (roughly translated as "king"). Inca Roca, the sixth Inca monarch, was evidently the first to bear the title sapa Inca ("emperor") officially.

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Inti in the context of Pachacuti

Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, also called Pachacútec (Quechua: Pachakutiy Inka Yupanki, pronounced [ˈpatʃa ˈkuti ˈiŋka juˈpaŋki]), was the ninth Sapa Inca of the Chiefdom of Cusco, which he transformed into the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca site of Machu Picchu was built as an estate for Pachacuti.

In Quechua, the cosmogonical concept of pachakutiy means "the turn of the world" and yupanki could mean "honorable lord". During his reign, Cusco grew from a hamlet into an empire that could compete with, and eventually overtake, the Chimú empire on the northern coast. He began an era of conquest that, within three generations, expanded the Inca dominion from the valley of Cusco to a sizeable part of western South America. According to the Inca chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, Pachacuti created the Inti Raymi to celebrate the new year in the Andes of the southern hemisphere. Pachacuti is often linked to the origin and expansion of the cult of Inti.

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