Hurin Qusqu

The Hurin Qusqu, or Lower Cusco, was the first royal dynasty of the Kingdom of Cusco and the senior half of the Inca diarchy. From Inticancha it ruled the city-state in the Cusco valley.

Its legendary founder Manco Capac led ten ayllus into the valley around the start of the thirteenth century. His successors subdued or expelled neighbouring peoples, terraced the valley and fought the Ayarmaca confederacy.

After the ruler Capac Yupanqui died around 1350, allegedly poisoned by his Ayarmaca wife, the rival Hanan Qusqu branch seized power under Inca Roca and killed the Hurin heir Quispe Yupanqui. The two halves then came to terms: the Hanan held secular and military rule as Sapa Inca, while the Hurin kept Inticancha, the royal treasures and the chief religious offices, including perhaps that of Willaq Umu.