Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui

Hello! My name is Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, but I was not always called that. I was born with the name Cusi Yupanqui around the year 1400. I grew up in the city of Cusco, which was the heart of our kingdom in the beautiful Andes Mountains. As a young prince, my days were filled with learning. I learned all about our gods, the history of our people, and the important traditions of the Inca. Cusco was a magical place, and I knew from a young age that it was my duty to protect it and help our people thrive.

When I was a young man, a great challenge came to our home. Around the year 1438, a powerful neighboring group called the Chanka people marched to attack our city of Cusco. It was a frightening time for everyone. My father, who was the king, and my older brother believed we could not win the battle. They decided to leave the city, thinking it was a lost cause. But when I looked at our home and our people, I could not imagine abandoning them. I knew I had to stay. With a group of loyal generals and brave soldiers by my side, I prepared to defend Cusco with all my strength.

To everyone's surprise, we won the battle! Our small group of defenders fought with great courage and we saved Cusco from being captured. This incredible victory changed everything for me. The people saw me as a true leader, and because of my actions, I became the new Sapa Inca, which means emperor. It was then that I took a new name for myself: Pachacuti. In my language, this name means 'He Who Remakes the World' or 'Earth-shaker.' I thought it was the perfect name, because from that day forward in 1438, I began my life's work of changing our world by expanding our small kingdom into a great and powerful empire.

As the new emperor, I had many grand ideas. I wanted to build a strong and organized empire, which we called Tawantinsuyu, meaning 'the land of the four quarters.' My first project was to rebuild our capital city, Cusco. I helped design it to be a grand and beautiful city, a true center of our world. I also ordered new cities and royal estates to be built high in the mountains. One of these special places, which was likely constructed starting in the mid-1400s, is a place you may have heard of called Machu Picchu. To connect all the parts of our growing empire, we built thousands of miles of roads. We also built many storehouses to hold food, making sure that no one in the empire would ever go hungry.

My rule as emperor lasted until about the year 1471. I lived a full life and had the great honor of watching my small kingdom grow into the largest empire in the Americas at that time. Today, people remember me as the founder of the Inca Empire. The amazing stone cities I helped build, like the incredible Machu Picchu, and the thousands of miles of roads we created still stand today. They are a powerful reminder to everyone of the great civilization we built together, high in the Andes Mountains.