kingdom · South America

Pacajes

1150 CE – 1450 CE (approx.) · capital Caquiaviri

An Aymara kingdom on the southern shore of Lake Titicaca whose territory included Tiwanaku and later became a key Spanish province.

Origins

The Pacajes, or Pakasa, formed one of the Aymara kingdoms that emerged around Lake Titicaca after Tiwanaku's collapse, occupying the high plain south of the lake in modern Bolivia from the 12th century. Their capital was Caquiaviri.

Rule and society

Like other Aymara kingdoms, Pacajes was divided into two halves, Urcosuyu and Umasuyu, each with its own lords. Its economy was based on herding llamas and alpacas and farming tubers such as potatoes, freeze-dried into chuño. Pacajes lords built chullpa burial towers and kept colonies in warmer valleys to the east.

Decline and legacy

Pacajes was absorbed into the Inca Empire in the mid-15th century. Under Spanish rule it became a province of the Royal Audiencia of Charcas, and its people supplied labour for the Potosí mines under the mita. Caquiaviri retains a notable colonial church.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Pacajes. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pacajes
MLA
“Pacajes.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pacajes. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Pacajes.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pacajes.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Pacajes’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/pacajes (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻