7 Yahuar Huaccac Aucaylli
8 Viracocha Inca Sucsu
Inca Urcon
9 Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Hatun
Inca Yupanqui Iñaca
10 Topa Inca Yupanqui Capac
11 Huayna Capac Tomebamba
12 Huascar
Atahualpa
Túpac Hualpa
Manco Inca
Sayri Túpac
Titu Cusi Yupanqui
Túpac Amaru IBefore describing the development of the king list used today, it is important to
consider whether a list of 12 male monarchs adequately reflects Inca power.
Some scholars have noted the strong patterns of dual organization in Andean
communities, and have taken descriptions of chroniclers such as José de Acosta
as evidence that the Incas governed with corulers from both of the royal
moieties, or halves, known as hanan and hurin (see Cuzco; Dualism; Planning,
Settlement). Although such an approach contradicts most Colonial sources,
which describe the Inca monarch as a peerless lord, there is ample evidence of
royal power sharing, including temporary delegation of military command and
administrative responsibilities.
The Inca ruler had a female counterpart, and some chronicles describe the
royal female title, Coya, or queen, as a unique paramount office that belongs in
the discussion of the king list. Multiple chronicles state that some Inca women
received royal funerary honors and that their mummies circulated after death like
those of kings (see Mummies, Royal; Women). Several chroniclers, such as
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa and Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, recorded
the names of Inca queens, although there is less consistency in the dynastic list
of queens than of kings.
The Sapa Inca was not an absolute monarch, but rather, with his Coya, a
cofounder of a royal household that interacted with other royal lineages to staff
the highest positions in the military and administrative hierarchy. The
descendants of earlier rulers were key players in the succession of new rulers