From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador , western and south central Bolivia , northwest Argentina , north and central chile , and a small part of southern Columbia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia.

The official language of the empire was Quecha , although hundreds of local languages and dialects of Quechua were spoken.

Many local forms of worship persisted in the empire, most of them concerning local sacred hucuas , but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship of Inti their sun god

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

• Belief in the after life
• Spirits dwelled huacas
• Emperor was descended

By the end of two long reigns (about fifty-five years in all) the Cuzco dynasty, known as the Incas, are in loose control of an empire stretching from Quito in modern Ecuador to the Maule river in Chile - a distance of nearly 2500 miles.

Before the hand-to-hand combat would start, the Inca army would use ranged weapons (slingshots, arrows and short spears) in order to break the enemy's lines. The army would also feign a retreat, then when the enemy attacked the Incas would counter-attack using a pincer movement.