Inca chieftains and heirs to the Inca Empire, d. 1532 ( Cajamarca, Peru).
Huáscar was the legitimate heir to the Inca Empire. He succeded his father in 1525 but exercised power only over Cuzco and the adjacent parts of the Inca state. About one fifth of the territory (the region around Quito) went to Huáscar's younger half-brother Atahuallpa.
Atahuallpa soon showed desires to usurp power over all of the Inca Empire and took up arms. Huáscar went with his troops to quell the rebellion, but Atahuallpa's troops emerged consistently as winners.
Huáscar and his troops had to flee Cuzco. When he was caught by Atahuallpa's troops he was forced to witness the murder of his family, friends and supporters and was then taken to Atahuallpa's residence in Cajamarca.
When Francisco Pizarro arrived in Cajamarca in 1532, Atahuallpa was kidnapped and placed under arrest. He managed to raise the immense ransom demanded by the Spanish, but Pizarro did not release him. Fearing that Huáscar could return to power with the help of the Spanish invaders, Atahuallpa ordered Huáscar's assassination. Pizarro then used this order to justify Atahuallpa's execution.