Ccuri-chulpa, had passed over all his legitimate sons, and declared the bastard Urco to be his heir. The two veteran generals, Apu Mayta and Vicaquirau, and the legitimate sons, were resolved that this should not be. There was internal trouble ahead, but much greater danger threatened from without. While the Incas were consolidating their rule between the two rivers, the heads of other confederacies were doing the same elsewhere. The most formidable confederacy was that of the Chancas. The founders of this powerful kingdom were two chiefs named Uscovilca and Ancovilca. They established their principal seat in the extensive and fertile valley of Andahuaylas, and their descendants had conquered the greater part of the western and northern districts of the Andes. The Chanca chiefs were warlike and ambitious, and they had a great military force at their command.
The chiefs of the Chancas were two brothers named Asto-huaraca and Tomay-huaraca, proud and insolent warriors who could not endure the existence of any neighbours who maintained their independence. The river Apurimac separated their territory from that of the children of the sun, and they resolved to bring the Inca under subjection. They sent a messenger to Cuzco demanding submission, and, without waiting for an answer, they crossed the Apurimac with a numerous army, advancing over the great plain of Suriti or Ychupampa. In their wars the Chancas carried an image of their founder, Uscovilca, in front of the
