Which empire built the road network centred on the city of Cuzco?

The Inca Empire built the road network centred on the city of Cuzco.

The Inca state, known as Tawantinsuyu, expanded across the Andes in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Its capital was Cuzco, in present-day Peru. The empire connected communities across difficult terrain using an extensive system of roads, bridges, stairs, and administrative stations.

The road system supported military movement, government communication, trade, and the redistribution of food and other supplies. Runners called chasquis carried messages between stations, allowing information to travel rapidly without a written alphabet in the European sense.

The Inca used rope suspension bridges to cross deep mountain valleys, while storehouses called qullqas held provisions. Spanish forces led by Francisco Pizarro captured the Inca ruler Atahualpa in 1532, beginning the conquest that ended the empire’s political independence.