In human memory, i believe that there is no account of a road as great as this, running through deep valleys, high mountains, banks of snow, torrents of water, living rocks, and wild rivers . . in all places it was clean and swept free of refuse, with lodgings, storehouses, sun temples, and posts along the route. oh! can anything similar be claimed for alexander [the great] or any of the [other] powerful kings who ruled the world . .? —pedro cieza de léon, spanish explorer what was significant about the roads described here? during an uprising, they allowed ordinary people to escape rebels. the inca was the first civilization to construct and use them. they allowed armies and news to move rapidly throughout the empire. all roads led through tenochtitlán, the inca capital.