At first, the Incas were simply a small tribe that lived in the city of Cuzco in Peru located in South America. They worshiped gods of nature. They believed in omens and dreams. Around 1430 C.E., a neighboring tribe attacked the Incas. The Incas won!! That was the beginning of the Inca Empire. Over the next 100 years, the Inca Empire grew into a vast empire. The Incas had a strong central government. The Inca people was the Inca, sometimes called the Sapa Inca (the only Inca), the emperor. His was not an elected position. The Incas believed that their ruler was the direct descendant of the Sun God, Inti. Their ruler was a god. The government was responsible for taking care of the people, including the poor, the sick, and the elderly. The government built roads and bridges and aqueducts to carry water to the people. In times of drought, the government distributed food. In times of natural disaster, such as earthquake, the government sent troops with food and blankets. In exchange, it was the people's job to work for the government. To feed the millions of people in the Inca Empire, the Incas invented terrace farming so they could grow crops on the steep mountain slopes. They used systems of irrigation to catch the rainfall and the spring runoff from the snow-capped Andes mountaintops.
