In a ruthless political move, Atahualpa directed the gold-hungry Spanish to loot two of the empire's most sacred temples. Both were located in regions loyal to his civil war rival, Huascar, effectively using the invaders as a tool to punish his internal enemies.

Despite commanding armies of tens of thousands, Inca generals were so disoriented by the unheard-of capture of their divine emperor that they offered no resistance. This complete bewilderment allowed a handful of Spaniards to dictate terms to a vastly superior force.

Focused on winning his civil war, Atahualpa fatally misjudged the Spanish. He saw the small group as a potential asset—a source of mercenaries, horses, and superior swords to be captured and repurposed. He never considered them an existential threat to his empire, which sealed his fate.

The Spanish didn't defeat the Inca Empire at its height. They arrived after a smallpox epidemic killed the emperor and a subsequent brutal civil war between his sons shattered the empire. This left the civilization politically fractured and militarily exhausted, making it ripe for conquest by a small force.

The absolute divine authority of the Sapa Inca meant that capturing a single man, Atahualpa, effectively paralyzed a 12-million-person empire. With no alternative power structure, his generals were bewildered and leaderless, allowing a tiny Spanish force to maintain control.

The famous moment where Atahualpa supposedly threw down a prayer book, sparking the massacre, was a manufactured pretext. The Spanish, already in ambush positions, simply needed a justification. The book ending up in the dust—whether thrown or dropped—provided the trigger for their pre-planned attack.

After executing Inca emperor Atahualpa, the Spanish installed his brother as a puppet ruler. This co-opted the existing power structure, making the conquest seem like a restoration of the natural order to local chiefs and smoothing the transition of power.

Francisco Pizarro's invasion of Peru was heavily influenced by the recent success of his cousin, Hernán Cortés, in Mexico. The fall of the Aztecs provided a tangible model for conquest, proving that small bands of conquistadors could topple vast empires. This precedent made it easier for Pizarro to secure funding and royal support.

The arrival of a new Spanish faction under Diego Almagro created a power struggle. Almagro's men, who had no relationship with Atahualpa and wanted to seize Cusco's gold for themselves, successfully pressured a reluctant Pizarro to kill the emperor to advance their own agenda.