Which Inca ruler founded the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba?

Manco Inca Yupanqui founded the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba. He was a son of Huayna Capac and initially became an Inca ruler with Spanish support, but he later rebelled against Spanish control.

After the conquest of Cusco, Spanish officials treated Manco as a useful puppet ruler while restricting his authority and subjecting him to abuse. He escaped, raised a major rebellion, and attacked Cusco in 1536. Spanish and Indigenous forces eventually forced him away from the highlands.

Manco retreated through Ollantaytambo and Vitcos into the remote Vilcabamba region, where he established an independent Inca polity in 1537. From its mountain and forest strongholds, the state resisted Spanish domination and maintained Inca political traditions. Manco was assassinated in 1544 by Spanish dissidents sheltered in Vilcabamba, but the state survived under later rulers, including Sayri Túpac, Titu Cusi, and Túpac Amaru I.