At the death of Viracocha the sceptre passed to his eldest son, who, however, was too dull and weak, the records say, to rule over an empire composed of so many elements that had not as yet become settled and consolidated into a united people. It required a strong hand and clear judgment to direct the affairs of state so that rebellion should not overturn the rapidly growing power of the Incas, and that successful insurrection might not lessen the prestige of a monarchy that claimed celestial origin. The second son of Viracocha, Pachacutec, was the opposite of his brother in character, and possessed all the requirements of a monarch which the other lacked. He was elevated to the throne on his brother’s death, about the middle of the fourteenth century, and began his reign by cementing the bonds that held the various tributary provinces loyal to the sovereignty of Cuzco, and by making new conquests, in which the military genius of his son, the heir-apparent, was displayed in deeds as valorous and noble as those performed by his illustrious father. [Illustration: FOREIGN TOURISTS AT OLLANTAYTAMBO.] [Illustration: INCA OBSERVATORY, INTI-HUATANA, AT PISAC, NEAR CUZCO.] CHAPTER III THE VAST EMPIRE OF THE INCAS [Illustration: CORNER-STONE OF AN ANCIENT FORTRESS, CUZCO.] Although Viracocha was one of the greatest monarchs of Cuzco, it was his son who brought the Inca dynasty to such a high degree of prestige and power that the great empire gained unprecedented wealth and territory. Pachacutec has been called the second Manco-Ccapac, and his name signifies “he who creates the world anew,” showing what an exalted place he occupied among the Inca emperors in the annals of his country. He was an accomplished diplomatist as well as a skilful warrior, a statesman of far-seeing judgment, and a philosopher. It was as a diplomatist that he gained the coöperation and loyal service of the curacas of newly conquered provinces, and by his skill as a warrior that his armies were so well organized and disciplined as to win victories in all the campaigns which the heir-apparent led against the tribes of the coast, carrying his conquests from Pisco, Nasca, Ica, and Pachacámac to the realm of the hitherto much dreaded and altogether invincible Grand Chimu. The name of the young prince, Tupac-Yupanqui, is particularly associated with the conquest of Cajamarca; and the return of the hero to Cuzco at the close of that campaign was made the occasion of a national celebration throughout the empire.