The Inca Army was a multi-ethnic army charged with defending the sovereignty of the Incan Empire, expanding its borders, and putting down rebellions. It was also often used for political purposes, such as executions or coups.
As the Incan Empire grew in size and population, the army did the same. At the height of the empire (under the reigns of Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Capac), the army grew to approximately 200,000 men.
The militaristic nature of the Incan monarchy caused great emphasis to be placed on the army and the position of the common soldier. Soldiers were given food and clothing and state aid was also provided for a soldier's family to ensure that agricultural production did not suffer due to the absence of a productive worker. For these reasons full-time soldiers were held in high regard and they even occupied their own position in the socio-political pyramid.
When the army returned to Cuzco following a successful campaign they were received by women and children as heroes in a ceremony held in their honor. The ceremony took place in the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco and consisted of exhibiting the plunder and parading the prisoners as a symbol of the victory.
Read more about Inca Army: Composition, Tactics, Structure, Equipment, Famous Generals in The Incan Army
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“I was interested to see how a pioneer lived on this side of the country. His life is in some respects more adventurous than that of his brother in the West; for he contends with winter as well as the wilderness, and there is a greater interval of time at least between him and the army which is to follow. Here immigration is a tide which may ebb when it has swept away the pines; there it is not a tide, but an inundation, and roads and other improvements come steadily rushing after.”
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