Cusco is the cradle of Inca culture. From 1000 AD to 1533 AD, it was the political, economic, cultural and religious center of the Inca Empire. The splendid and magnificent ancient buildings have survived the vicissitudes of life, but the remains still exist, from which it is not difficult to appreciate the former style of the Inca Empire.
The Inca Empire was divided into four "Suyu" (administrative regions) during its heyday: the northwest was Chincha Suyu, including present-day north-central Peru and Ecuador; the southeast was Kolya Suyu, which ruled the Lake Titicaca Basin, most of present-day Bolivia, northern Argentina, and central Chile; the southwest was Konde Suyu, which occupied the north and south of Peru; the northeast was Antioch; and the south-west was Konde Suyu, which occupied the north and south of Peru. Peru to the north and south; and the Antisuyu in the northeast, with the eastern foothills of the central Andes. Corresponding to the four "Suyu", the city of Cusco is divided into four areas, the local chiefs in the corresponding area to build houses, in order to prepare for the pilgrimage to the emperor to stay, and different neighborhoods represent the customs of different regions, so the city of Cusco has become a microcosm of the Inca Empire.
The center of the ancient city of Cusco was the central square of Huacay-Pata, now known as Plaza de Armas. Square is square, side length of 183 meters, successive Inca Palace is concentrated in the square around, from the central square, with the increase in distance, the building from the stone palace government offices gradually turned into mud walls and thatched cottages, hierarchical, noble and lowly different. Inca Empire's greatest emperor Pachacuti era, in this square has been held many times a grand military parade and solemn religious ceremonies. Whenever a grand ritual ceremony, the center of the square is enshrined with gold made of the sun, thunder, lightning and other gods, both sides of the gold throne, enshrined in the successive generations of Inca emperors on the mummy, before the image of the gods, herds of camels and horses in the priests' prayers to become a ghost of the knife, and when the Inca emperor showed up, the masses of people cheered, the rituals to reach a climax. Today, a bronze statue of the Inca's proud ancestor, Pachacuti, stands in the plaza.
The most prestigious ancient building in Cusco is the Biracocha Palace, 160 meters long and 130 meters wide, splendid and majestic, with a temple dedicated to Biracocha. The palace was destroyed after the Spanish invasion and was replaced by the Cathedral of La Compa?ía, which took 100 years to complete and is now occupied by the Church of Torrivenho.
The largest religious center in the city is the Temple of the Sun at Coricancha, where all the emperors lived from Manco Capac, the founder of the Inca Empire, until Inca Roca. The Temple of the Sun is a rectangular building 70 meters long and 60 meters wide, with a royal palace and priests' residences attached. About this Temple of the Sun, the Peruvian historian and Indo-European mestizo, Garcicoso de la Vega (1539-1616 A.D.), in the book he compiled, Narrative of the King's Household, describes it this way: "The Temple of the Sun was built on a sacred site facing east, and the whole temple was built of well-tended, flat and massive slabs of stone masonry, the roof made high and thatched in order to allow air to circulate, and a very graceful altar. The surrounding walls of the great hall were all inlaid from top to bottom with thicker sheets of pure gold, so that the temple received the name of 'Golden Palace.' On the front wall was the idol of the Sun God, a circular piece of gold with a man's face, surrounded by rays and flames. It faces the east, and when it is directly illuminated by the light of the rising sun, it radiates a thousand rays of golden light. On the left and right sides of the idol of the Sun God, in accordance with ancient customs in the gold imperial chair enshrined the mummies of the Inca kings, as far as the eye can see, they look like real people. In the center of the hall is an ornate imperial chair, on which the Inca kings sat when ceremonies were held." Here the Inca emperor commanded the nation as the embodiment of the sun god, thus uniting all Indians. This temple was later destroyed by the Spanish colonizers, and now on its ruins, churches of the Dominican denominations are built.
Five small square temples were built near the Temple of the Sun. The first small temple was dedicated to the Sun God, and everything in it was made of silver; the idol of the Moon God was a silver disc with a woman's face painted on it, and on either side of it was placed the mummy of the Inca queen; the second small temple was dedicated to the Star God; the third small temple was dedicated to the Thunder God and the God of Lightning; the fourth small temple was dedicated to the God of the Rainbow; and the fifth small temple was reserved for the use of priests, and it is said that its walls were decorated with gold, silver, and precious stones. The walls of these temples were said to be decorated with gold, silver and precious stones. These temples were looted and melted down by invading Spanish colonists.
The Temple of the Sun is surrounded by five smaller temples in a courtyard called the Plaza del Sol, which contains a cornucopia and five fountains. The corn planted here was dedicated to the sun god for the holding of grand rituals, the Inca emperors and princes personally plowed, sowing and harvesting. 5 fountains of water is buried deep in the ground by the introduction of gold pipes, said to be dedicated to the Inca imperial consort before the wedding bath purification with. The cover of the fountains was made of pure gold with the image of the Sun God carved on it. This gold water cover was later plundered by a Spanish soldier named Rezasande, who lost it again in a night of wild gambling.
Southwest of the Temple of the Sun there is a dedication to the Sun God's "Golden Garden", the garden of flowers and trees, birds and animals, as well as characters are made of gold and silver, and even sprinkled with gold in the land planted in the corn is also made of gold. According to Garcilaso de la Vega records: "from the plant germination to the flowering and fruiting, its growth process have been precisely modeled. Birds perched at the top of the forest chirping, butterflies and bees collecting nectar in the flowers ...... Various animal figures are so lifelike and well-matched that it is difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake." Legend has it that the Spanish colonizers entered the garden and believed it, until they picked the flowers with their hands and realized that they were all made of gold and silver.
There is also a famous building in the Imperial City, called "Sun Chastity Hall", known as the Indian language, "Akeriawasi", is specialized in training "Sun Chastity" of the place. It was a place dedicated to the training of "virgins of the sun". This type of institution was found throughout the Inca Empire. The "virgins of the sun" were virgins who had received specialized technical training, were beautiful and dexterous, lived in seclusion, and remained virgins, mainly for religious ceremonies, weaving clothes, making corn wine, singing sacred songs, and performing sacred dances for the gods, priests, and Inca kings. The "Hall of the Virgins of the Sun" in Cusco was the largest in the empire, with a length of 120 meters and a width of 60 meters, which could accommodate between 200 and 600 virgins at the same time. After the Spanish colonizers set foot on the American continent, the Jesuit missionaries arrived and in 1571 they built the Dominican Cathedral on the site of the "Casa de la Virgen del Sol".
Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, was heavily fortified. The capital was surrounded by four ancient fortresses, the most famous being Fort Sacsayhuaman in the northwest. Fort Sacsayhuaman means "mountain eagle" in Indian language. Ancient fort built on the slopes, 4 square kilometers in circumference, there are three walls as a barrier, the wall built on the mountain, the wall height of 18 meters, the most outside of a circumference of more than 540 meters, all with boulders, the surface is smooth, tight seams, the estimated use of the total number of boulders up to more than 300,000, the heaviest piece of stone weighing about 200 tons. According to the survey, there are two avenues running through the Inca Empire: one is the coastal avenue, starting from the north of the northwest corner of Peru, the city of Tumbes, along the coastal desert to the south until the middle of Chile, a total length of 5,200 kilometers, 3.5 meters to 4.5 meters wide; the second is the plateau avenue, starting from the present day border between Colombia and Ecuador in the north, through the Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Bolivian central, and then from the Bolivian branch out of the two branches, a The Plateau Route crossed the Andes and along the way many tunnels were cut and wooden, stone, pontoon and suspension bridges were built. Suspension bridges are recognized as the Indians' most outstanding technical achievement in construction. The Incas set up a milestone every seven kilometers along the road, and built a post every 19 to 20 miles as a resting place for travelers, soldiers, messengers and officials, so that the messengers could transmit messages quickly. The Inca kings and high nobles lived in Cuzco and effectively governed the country.
At the height of the Inca Empire, the Spanish colonizers reached out to the "Golden Land," which was rumored to be rich in gold and silver. Today's Cusco has been a world-renowned historical city, the last week of June every year, the Peruvian people are here to celebrate the grand national traditional festival "Sun Festival". 1980 February to March in this first congress of the Indian Movement of South America, the city of Cusco was named the "World Indian Capital". The city of Cusco was named "Indian Capital of the World" at the first congress of the Indian Movement of South America held here between February and March 1980.