Pachacuti in the context of "Inti"

The Incas were most notable for establishing the Inca Empire which was centered in modern-day Peru and Chile. It was about 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) from the northern to southern tip. The Inca Empire lasted from 1438 to 1533. It was the largest Empire in America throughout the Pre-Columbian era. The Inca state was originally founded by Manco Cápac in the early 1200s, and is known as the Kingdom of Cuzco. Under subsequent rulers, through strategic alliances and conquests, it expanded beyond Cusco and into the Sacred Valley. Their territory then rapidly grew under the 9th Sapa Inca (emperor), Pachacuti and his descendents.

Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate the territory of modern-day Peru, followed by a large portion of western South America, into their empire, centered on the Andean mountain range. However, shortly after the Inca Civil War, the last Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, Atahualpa, was captured and killed on the orders of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, marking the beginning of Spanish rule. The remnants of the empire retreated to the remote jungles of Vilcabamba and established the small Neo-Inca State, which was conquered by the Spanish in 1572.

Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at 2,430 meters (7,970 ft). It is situated in the Machupicchu District of Urubamba Province about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Cusco, above the Sacred Valley and along the Urubamba River, which forms a deep canyon with a subtropical mountain climate.

Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most iconic symbols of the Inca civilization and a major archaeological site in the Americas. Built around 1450, it is believed to have served as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti, though no contemporary written records exist to confirm this. The site was abandoned roughly a century later, likely during the Spanish conquest. Modern radiocarbon dating places its occupation between c. 1420 and 1530.

Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (Cusco Quechua: Thupa Inka Yupanki, pronounced [ˈtʰupa ˈiŋka juˈpaŋki]), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 1471 – 1493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and his son was Huayna Capac. Topa Inca belonged to the Qhapaq Panaca (one of the clans of Inca nobles). His quya (principal wife) was his older sister, Mama Ocllo.

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.

Atahualpa (/ˌɑːtəˈwɑːlpə/ ), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa (Classical Quechua: Ataw Wallpa, pronounced [ˈataw ˈwaʎpa]) (c. 1502 – 26 July 1533), whose regnal name was Caccha Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Inca (from the caccha idol and to honour the emperor Pachacuti), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.