The Chimu King­dom, with Chan Chan as its cap­i­tal, reached its apogee in the 15th cen­tu­ry, not long before falling to the Incas. The plan­ning of this huge city, the largest in pre-Columbian Amer­i­ca, reflects a strict polit­i­cal and social strat­e­gy, marked by the city‘s divi­sion into nine ‘citadels‘ or ‘palaces‘ form­ing autonomous units.