The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan language family, also called "Muysca" and "Mosca". They were encountered by conquistadors ordered by the Spanish Empire in 1537 at the time of the conquest. Subgroupings of the Muisca were mostly identified by their allegiances to three great rulers: the "zaque", centered in Hunza, ruling a territory roughly covering modern southern and northeastern Boyacá and southern Santander; the "zipa", centered in Bacatá and encompassing most of modern Cundinamarca, the western Llanos; and the "iraca", religious ruler of Suamox and modern northeastern Boyacá and southwestern Santander.