[김용범의 세계유산] 116. 페루_쿠스코 (Cuzco) 역사상 최고의 몸값 내고 화형 당한 잉카 제국의 왕

Stretching north to south along the western Pacific coast of South America, the Andes Mountains are the world's longest mountain range, stretching 7,000 kilometers. This immense mountain range boasts over 50 peaks exceeding 6,000 meters in elevation. Even within this rugged highland, a brilliant civilization existed: the Inca Empire. Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire, sits 3,400 meters above sea level in the Andes. In 1521, the Aztec Empire in Mexico fell to Spain. A few years later, a Spanish viceroyalty was established in Panama. Hearing rumors of a land of gold far to the south, Pizarro led an expedition south. Pizarro landed in Tumbas, northern Peru, met the Incas for the first time, and confirmed that Cuzco was the capital of the Inca Empire. In 1532, after two months of hardship, Pizarro's 160-man army arrived in Cuzco, the heart of the Inca Empire. The Inca Emperor Atahualpa welcomed the tall strangers he had never seen before without much resistance. Meeting Pizarro, Atahualpa thoughtlessly threw down the Bible given to him by a friar, and a bullet flew as if waiting for him. The emperor's guards were all killed, and the emperor was arrested. The charge was blasphemy. The terrified emperor offered Pizarro gold equal to the size of the room in which he was imprisoned. In just a few days, the room was filled with gold and silver collected from all over the country. The amount of gold received as ransom was unimaginable at the time. It was the largest ransom in history. However, Pizarro accepted the ransom and burned the emperor at the stake. For the Incas, who believed in resurrection, the most extreme form of punishment was burning at the stake. They begged for the emperor's execution to be spared, but... When news of the emperor's execution spread, the Incas gathered at Sacsayhuaman with weapons. This is where the Inca warriors fought to the end. Constructed with three pedestals over 300 meters long and massive stones piled high, it is believed to have served as both a fortress and a place for religious ceremonies. One massive stone, 7 meters tall and weighing over 120 tons, is hard to believe it was moved and stacked here. The Spanish conquistadors built a new city here. They demolished the Inca temples and built a Baroque cathedral. The demolition of the temples and the construction of the cathedral was a symbolic gesture marking the beginning of the colonial era. The empire disappeared 500 years ago, but its descendants still carry on its legacy.