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The most comprehensive and authoritative account available of the rapid ascendancy of the Incas, their politics, economics, religion, architecture, art and technology, and their subsequent downfall. The Incas emerged in the 14th century to build one of the largest empires of the ancient world. At its zenith Tawantinsuyu - 'The Fourfold Domain' - extended northwards from the Inca capital of Cusco along the spine of the Andes to embrace parts of modern Peru and Ecuador, and southwards into Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. The authors look in detail at Cusco and four parts of the empire, following the vast road system to explore not just famous sites such as Machu Picchu, but all the major regional settlements on and off the Inca Trail. The concluding chapter is devoted to the arrival of the Spaniards, the assassination of the Inca ruler Atawallpa, and the final years of the rebellious, neo-Inca state of the tropical forests of Vilcabamba. They look at weavers, smiths and potters, the sun, moon and the oracles, religion and ideology, herds, metals and mountains of sacrifice, finely fitted stonework to superbly engineered mountain terraces, stunning textiles to brilliant metalworking gold, silver and bronze. The Inca achievement is fully celebrated in this ideal Thames & Hudson softback. 189 illustrations, 49 in colour. 256pp.