Sapa Inca

The Sapa Inca (in hispanicized spelling) or Sapa Inka (Quechua for "the only Inca"), also known as Apu ("divinity"), Inka Qhapaq ("mighty Inca"), or simply Sapa ("the only one") was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco and later, the Emperor of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) and the Neo-Inca State. The origins of the position are mythical and tied to the legendary foundation of the city of Cusco but historically it seems to have come into being around 1100. The position was hereditary, with son succeeding father.