Huáscar was Atahualpa’s half-brother and rival in the Inca Civil War. Both men were sons of the Inca ruler Huayna Capac, but they had different mothers and drew support from competing political centers.
After Huayna Capac’s death, Huáscar was recognized as ruler by important nobles in Cusco, the traditional imperial capital. Atahualpa, who had commanded forces in the northern part of the empire, rejected Huáscar’s authority. Their struggle developed into a succession war usually dated from 1529 to 1532.
Atahualpa’s experienced northern armies eventually defeated Huáscar’s forces and captured him. The conflict badly weakened the empire just as Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish expedition arrived. While Atahualpa was imprisoned at Cajamarca, he ordered Huáscar killed, apparently to prevent the Spanish from using his rival as a political ally. The war’s participants and chronology are described differently in surviving chronicles, but Huáscar’s identity as Atahualpa’s rival is firmly established.