Wayna Capac had been on the throne since 1498 and was one of the most experienced kings in the world, although he himself had no knowledge of any world save his own. A formidable man, he was good at weighing people and situations. When guests saw him on his golden throne or his red, jewel-studded war litter, they saw a man "short, but stocky, well made with a fine face and a grave expression."

According to tradition, he was "handsome and charming — widely esteemed by the people and friendly in his manner." Like all successful kings, he was a skillful diplomat, a charismatic army leader; "A man of few words and many deeds" was how those who knew Wayna Capac described him to Cieza de León.

But Wayna Capac also had the common touch. He could talk as a man to the lowly, and was a "great friend of the poor" (not to mention a man who could out-drink three people, but was never seen drunk).

For nearly 30 years, Wayna Capac had overseen the Tawantinsuyo, which, if laid across Europe, would stretch from Spain to Moscow. He and his council believed they had united the world, that virtually all the peoples were under their rule. For, as his grandson Titu Cusi would say later, "Until the Spanish came, we thought this was all the world, for we knew of no other."