The Incas arose in the early 13th century. Their administrative, political and military center was located in Cuzco. From the late 1430s to around 1530 the Incas peacefully assimilated or if necessary conquered huge parts of western South America with a strong army. The central coast of Peru with great Ceremonial and Religious Centers was subjected from 1460 to 1470. The Incas not only tried to repress the people but also their unique cultures.

The official language of the empire was Quechua, although probably hundreds of local languages were spoken. There were many local forms of worship, most of them concerning huacas, but the Inca leadership encouraged the worship to Inti (the sun god). Inti was imposed against the cult of Pachacamac which was the god worshiped in the coastal region. Under Inca rule the area of today’s Peru including the Lima region was completely reorganized. Amazing cities, administrative and religious centers were built in the central coastal region, added on or reshaped.

One of the many achievements of the Inca Empire was the establishment of a functional infrastructure system. Heavily divided, in the middle of a civil war and weakened by civilization diseases (especially smallpox, that swept to Peru from already conquered Panama), the Spanish conquerors under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro and his brothers easily captured the Inca ruler Atahualpa in 1532, defeated his army and ended the Inca rule in most parts of Peru. The great Inca Empire lasted less than 100 years.