Region

Americas

Nezahualcoyotl: Poet-King of Texcoco and Aztec Ally

Restored to the throne of Texcoco, Nezahualcoyotl made his city a partner in the Aztec Triple Alliance and its leading centre of law, learning and the arts.

1431 · 6 min read

Middle Ages

Inca Road System: The Qhapaq Nan Across the Andes

A network of roads, bridges and way stations bound the Inca Empire together and remains one of the greatest engineering achievements of the pre-industrial world.

c. 1438–1530 · 6 min read

Middle Ages

Pachacuti and the Rise of the Inca Empire (c. 1438)

Pachacuti's victory over the Chanka and his seizure of power launched the expansion and reorganisation that created the Inca Empire, Tawantinsuyu.

c. 1438 · 8 min read

Middle Ages

Ollantaytambo: Inca Town and Temple in the Sacred Valley

Ollantaytambo became a royal estate and ceremonial centre of the Inca, and its town plan survives as one of the best-preserved in the Andes.

c. 1440s · 4 min read

Middle Ages

Sacsayhuaman: The Inca Stone Walls Above Cusco

Sacsayhuaman became the greatest monumental complex of the Inca capital; after the 1536 siege the Spanish quarried it for building stone.

c. 1440s onward · 6 min read

Middle Ages

Moctezuma I (1440–1469): The Aztec Ruler Who Built an Empire

Moctezuma I turned the Triple Alliance into a far-reaching tributary empire and left Tenochtitlan with new waterworks, laws and temples.

1440–1469 · 7 min read

Middle Ages

Famine of One Rabbit (1454): Aztec Mexico's Great Hunger

Thousands left the Valley of Mexico or sold themselves into servitude; the famine led to new food storage policies and was remembered as a disaster tied to the year 1 Rabbit.

1450–1454 · 4 min read

Middle Ages

Aztec Flower Wars: Ritual Warfare Against Tlaxcala and Allies

The flower wars left Tlaxcala and its neighbours unconquered but hostile to the Aztecs, which made them willing allies of the Spanish in 1519.

c. 1450s · 6 min read

Middle Ages

Machu Picchu: History of the Inca Royal Estate in the Andes

Machu Picchu served as a royal estate until it was abandoned around the time of the Spanish conquest; it became world famous after 1911 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

c. 1450 · 8 min read