Prelude

In November 1532

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empir ...

, the king of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

, had just had won a long civil war against his brother

Huáscar Huáscar Inca (; Quechua: ''Waskar Inka''; 1503–1532) also Guazcar was Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire from 1527 to 1532. He succeeded his father, Huayna Capac and his brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Qui ...

and was on his way from the Northern city of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

to the capital

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

. But in

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

he was captured by

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

. Although he paid a huge ransom of gold and silver he was executed eight months later. His general Rumiñahui seized power in the Northern part of the empire. Before departing to Cuzco in August 1533, Pizarro sent one of his lieutenants

Sebastián de Belalcázar Sebastián de Belalcázar (; 1479/1480 – 1551) was a Spanish conquistador. De Belalcázar, also written as de Benalcázar, is known as the founder of important early colonial cities in the northwestern part of South America; Quito in 1534 and Ca ...

with a few men to his base

San Miguel de Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located in the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017. It was here that Spanish Conqueror Francisco Pizarro fou ...

near the coast. When more and more Spaniards arrived at San Miguel, attracted by the Peruvian gold, Belalcázar decided to lead an expedition to Quito, where they expected to find more gold.

The battle

Rumiñahui rallied his forces and marched them south. Both forces met at a plain near

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from th ...

. Neither the Spanish or the Incas had the upper hand at the beginning of the battle but then Rumiñahui's army started beating the Spanish back even though the Spanish possessed fire arms and cannon, when Belalcázar was about to retreat to avoid insurmountable casualties Chimborazo went into activity, startling the inca warriors that saw it as a bad omen and retreated. Rumiñahui decided to retreat from Quito. He took the treasures away and burned down the city. A year later, Rumiñahui was captured and submitted to questioning under duress (tortured) by the Spanish but he did not reveal the location of the temples' treasure. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Mount Chimborazo Mount Chimborazo Mount Chimborazo Mount Chimborazo Mount Chimborazo 1534 in South America History of Ecuador