Inca Empire

The Inca Empire expanded rapidly from the Cusco region during the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. A vast road system, storehouses and labour obligations allowed rulers to govern territories stretching along the Andes.

Imperial religion centred on the Sun, royal ancestors and sacred places, while local communities retained many of their own traditions. Succession conflict and regional resistance existed beneath the appearance of central unity.

The Virgin of the Sun imagines adventure, dynastic rivalry and religious obligation within an idealised pre-conquest Inca world.