Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Sapa Inca emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui's army began a ten-month siege of Cusco against a garrison of Spanish conquistadors and Indian auxiliaries led by Hernando Pizarro.

The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish soldiers under conquistador Francisco Pizarro, along with his brothers in arms and their indigenous allies, captured the last Sapa Inca, Atahualpa, at the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532. It was the first step in a long campaign that took decades of fighting but ended in Spanish victory in 1572 and colonization of the region as the Viceroyalty of Peru. The conquest of the Inca Empire, led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia, as well as expeditions to the Amazon Basin and surrounding rainforest.

The Sapa Inca was the monarch of the Inca Empire, as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba. While the origins of the position are mythical and originate from the legendary foundation of the city of Cusco, it seems to have come into being historically around AD 1100. Although the Inca believed the Sapa Inca to be the son of Inti and often referred to him as Inti churi "solar son" or Intip churin "son of the Sun", the position eventually became hereditary, with son succeeding father. The principal wife of the Inca was known as the coya or quya. The Sapa Inca was at the top of the social hierarchy, and played a dominant role in the political and spiritual realm.

Manco Inca Yupanqui was the founder and first Sapa Inca of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, although he was originally a puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known as Manco II and Manco Cápac II. He was one of the sons of Huayna Cápac and a younger brother of Huáscar.