Atahualpa (1497-1533), the last sovereign emperor of the the Inca Empire prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru. During this conquest, the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and used him to control the Inca empire. The Spanish saw Atahualpa as too much of a liability and decided to execute him. Pizarro staged a mock trial and found Atahualpa guilty of revolting against the Spanish, practicing idolatry, and murdering Huascar, his brother. With his death the Inca's empire quickly began to erode.