Chanka
The Chanka s (Chanca) , an indigenous people in today's Peru , were the most important opponents of the Empire of the Incas in the first half of the 15th century .
The settlement area of the Chankas extended over parts of today's departments of Apurímac , Ayacucho and Huancavelica . Important political centers were among other things Wamankarpa (Quechua: "falcon tent") and the city of Antawaylla ( Andahuaylas , "copper meadow "). The Chankas, themselves an expanding empire, posed a serious threat to the Incas and, under their leader Anku Walluq, besieged their capital Qusqu ( Cusco ) in 1438 with allegedly 40,000 men . However, this attempt at conquest ended in disaster. A united army of the Incas, K'anas (Cana) and Qanchis (Canchi) destroyed the Chanka force in the battle of Yawarpampa ("Blood Plain"); the territory of the Chankas was incorporated into the Inca Empire. This event represents a turning point in the Inca tradition. The victorious king of the Incas has since been known as the "world changer", Pachacútec Yupanqui .
Chanka-Quechua describes a variant of Quechua that is spoken in the Chankas settlement area and is one of the most widely spoken dialects today. It isso similar tothe dialects of Cuzco and Bolivia ( Qusqu-Qullaw ) that communication is quite possible and a common written language standard ( Southern Quechua ) has been developed. In this region, like in Cuzco and Bolivia, the Quechua probably penetrated relatively late.
In some sources, Puquina is mentioned as the original language of the Chankas , a language that is now extinct and was not related to either Quechua or Aymara. Aymara is given as another language spoken in the area . However, other language historians argue that the chankas already spoke Quechua.