Atahualpa

Atawallpa (/ˌɑːtəˈwɑːlpə/ ^ⓘ), also Atahualpa or Ataw Wallpa (Classical Quechua: Ataw Wallpa, pronounced [ˈataw ˈwaʎpa]) (c. 1502 – 29 August 1533), whose regnal name was Caccha Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui Inca (from the caccha idol and to honour the emperor Pachacuti), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

Atawallpa was the son of the emperor Huayna Cápac, who died around 1525 along with his successor, Ninan Cuyochi, in a smallpox epidemic. Atawallpa initially accepted his half-brother Huáscar as the new emperor, who in turn appointed him as governor of Quito in the north of the empire. The uneasy peace between them deteriorated over the next few years. Atawallpa sought to create an independent state in Quito. From 1529 to 1532, they contested the succession in the Inca Civil War. Huáscar managed to take Atawallpa prisoner. Atawallpa escaped and rallied his forces, winning several battles against Huáscar's forces before capturing Huáscar.

Around the same time as Atawallpa's victory, a group of Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, arrived in the region. In November 1532, they captured Atawallpa during an ambush at Cajamarca. In captivity, Atawallpa gave a ransom in exchange for a promise of release and arranged for the execution of Huáscar. After receiving the ransom, the Spanish accused Atawallpa of treason, conspiracy against the Spanish Crown, and the murder of Huáscar. They put him on trial and sentenced him to death by burning at the stake. However, after his baptism in July 1533, he was garroted instead.

A line of successors continued to claim the title of emperor, either as Spanish vassals or as rebel leaders, but none were able to hold comparable power.

Although this monarch's name is written with some major discrepancies in early sources, most spellings seem to reflect /ataw waʎpa/ (which in contemporary orthography would be written ⟨Ataw Wallpa⟩). As such, ⟨Atabalipa⟩, ⟨Tavalipa⟩ and others are spellings that represent the first impressionistic orthographies of his name.

Since the earliest Quechua dictionaries, atawallpa and wallpa were offered as the Quechua word for "chicken". For centuries several historians believed that this Sapa Inca's name came from the bird name. Some even translated the name as "happy rooster" or "bird of fortune". Considering such species was new in the Andes, contemporary scholars believe the etymological direction was the inverse: the bird species may have been named after the monarch, as already said by Blas Valera in the 16th century.

It has been proposed that this person name may have been a compound of two Puquina roots, ata-w "appointed, chosen" and wallpa "diligent or courageous". However, this analysis is not consensual.

There are uncertainties about Atawallpa's date and place of birth. He was likely born around the turn of the 16th century, c. 1502. There is disagreement on his place of birth. Below are the versions of some chroniclers and historians: