The huge, steep terraces that form the outer defences of the fortress The fortress-temple of Sacsahuaman (meaning "satisfied falcon") lies immediately above Cuzco and was primarily protected by three massive terraced walls, rising over sixty feet and built in a zig-zag fashion in order to break up attacking forces. Within the terraced walls were three huge towers, the largest of which had a rectangular base sixty-five feet long and rising up five storeys. It could comfortably house over 5,000 soldiers and was described by later Spanish historians as having "too many rooms and towers for one person to visit them all". Sacsahuaman was built as more than a military fortress - the entire population of the unwalled city of Cuzco could have retreated within it during times of war.