Atahualpa (), also Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (in Hispanicized spellings) or Atawallpa (Quechua) (c.
1502–26 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor.
After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) before the Spanish conquest ended his reign.
Before the Inca Emperor Huayna Capac died in Quito in 1524 (possibly due to smallpox), he had appointed his son Ninan Cuyochi as his successor.
Ninan died of the same disease.
The Cusquenian nobles named Huáscar (another son of Huayna) as Sapa Inca, and he appointed his brother Atahualpa as governor of Quito.
Atahualpa became Inca emperor in May 1532 after he had defeated and imprisoned Huáscar and massacred any pretenders to the throne.
The Spaniard Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa in November 1532 and used him to control the Inca Empire.
While imprisoned by the Spaniards, Atahualpa gave orders to kill Huáscar in Jauja, thinking Huáscar would use the Spaniards as allies to regain his throne.The Spanish eventually executed Atahualpa, effectively ending the empire.
A succession of emperors, who led the Inca resistance against the invading Spaniards, claimed the title of Sapa Inca as rulers of the Neo-Inca State, but the empire began to disintegrate after Atahualpa's death.