Sardaukar



The Sardaukar were the elite military force of the Padishah Emperor who served prominently during the Corrino Empire. They were renowned and feared throughout the Known Universe for their fanatic zeal, superior fighting abilities, and sheer ruthlessness.

Upbringing and Training
Members of the Sardaukar were raised from a young age in a ferocious natural environment that saw almost half (6 out of every 13) die before the age of 11. Intense training gave them formidable swordsmanship and espionage abilities, and instilled in them a religious fervor that added to their mystique and served to make them even more loyal to the Imperial house.

The fighting abilities of the Sardaukar were renowned throughout the Old Imperium. At the apex of their sway over the affairs of the Universe, it was said that their swordsmanship was comparable to that of Ginaz Tenth Level, and their cunning abilities at in-fighting were said to match that of a Bene Gesserit adept. The abilities of the Sardaukar were largely attributed to the harsh environment and brutal discipline they were exposed to on planet Salusa Secundus, the Corrino prison planet. Only the Fremen, raised in the fanatical warrior culture and merciless desert environment of Arrakis, were capable of matching the Sardaukar. Fremen typically scorned Harkonnen soldiers as cowardly and weak, but judged that the Sardaukar fought well, and even respected them to some degree.

During the Fremen uprising on Arrakis, the Sardaukar suffered a devastating defeat, opening the way for Paul Atreides' elevation to the Golden Lion Throne and the title of Emperor. Subsequently, the Sardaukar became a marginal force, continuing to act as the standing army and guardians for the newly-deposed House Corrino, though they deliberately avoided direct conflict with the powerful Fremen forces of the Atreides Empire.

Personal Armament, Melee (short range)

 * Flip-dart (see below)
 * Kindjal
 * Sardaukar knife
 * Sardaukar sword
 * Shigawire garrote
 * Slip-tip

Flip-dart
This small barb-like needle delivers potent drugs or poisons, upon penetrating the skin of the intended victim. It is so named for the protective "flip-cover" used to conceal the needle, and to protect its user from inadvertent harm. Flip-darts can be concealed within ornamented finger rings, fighting girdles, wrist bracers, or weapon sheaths.

Length: 0.5 centimeters

Mass: negligible

Personal Armament, Ranged

 * Hunter-seeker (long range)
 * Lasgun (long range)
 * Maula pistol (mid-to-long range)
 * Needle gun (mid-range; see below)
 * Stunner (short-to-long range)
 * Sardaukar throwing knife (mid-range)

Needle gun
This small projectile weapon resembles a wristwatch in size and form. Too small to contain more than a single envenomed dart, needle guns are easy to conceal and light to wear...and typically hidden beneath long baggy sleeves. To discharge the weapon, its user needs only point his arm toward the target and lift his hand from the missile trajectory; this triggers the reflexive firing mechanism. Needle guns are often worn in pairs.

Length: 3 - 5 centimeters (barrel)

Mass: negligible

Range: 1 - 10 meters

Appearance and Fighting Style
Sardaukar troops typically wore uniforms and helmets of grey and black with gold trimming. They wore their hair long, which was taken as a sign of arrogance by those who beheld them. They had a distinct combat style, which allowed them to be recognised easily. When in close-quarter, hand-to-hand combat, if they found themselves surrounded they would group into threes and adopt a fighting stance with their backs to each other. They would carry weapons on their person that would be ingeniously concealed, such as shigawire in their hair or a fake toe or two inserted with small stabbing weapons. Sardaukar were also experts at covert operations, managing to conceal themselves among groups for extended periods of time before striking.

During the Harkonnen attack on planet Arrakis, when it was under the control of House Atreides, Sardaukar troops were provided by Emperor Shaddam IV to assist the Harkonnens. Even though the Sardaukar forces were disguised in Harkonnen livery, the Atreides managed to recognize the Sardaukar by their combat style and often hawk-like features.

Fall of the Sardaukar
The Sardaukar were a key element in maintaining the Imperial hegemony of House Corrino. By the time of Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, although still formidable, they had fallen prey to arrogance and overconfidence and the sustaining mystique of their warrior religion had been deeply undermined by cynicism. Finally the utter defeat of the Sardaukar by Paul Atreides and the Fremen on the plains of Arrakis sealed the fate of the Sardaukar.

After House Corrino's fall as the ruling power, it was allowed to maintain only one Imperial standard legion (approximately 30,000 men) on Salusa Secundus. The Sardaukar ceased to exist as a viable entity after Farad'n Corrino became the concubine of Ghanima Atreides when Leto II ascended to the Imperial Throne as God Emperor. During his rule, one of Leto II's many Duncan Idaho gholas led the last of the Sardaukar in an attempted revolt.

The defeat on Arrakis, the Sardaukar's later revolt against the God Emperor, and the general decline of the Sardaukar organization all finally caused the dissolution of the Sardaukar corps. They were replaced by the female Fish Speakers who had (some) Sardaukar blood in their veins and in turn fell into decline after the Scattering.

Known Sardaukar
Original Dune:
 * Aramsham
 * Tyekanik

Expanded Dune:
 * Cando Garon
 * Jopati Kolona
 * Torynn
 * Zum Garon

Dune Encyclopedia:
 * Abulurd Harkonnen/DE
 * Ancas Aramsham
 * Costin
 * Feyd al-Feyd
 * Hanin Dart Famun
 * Harmhab
 * Nadab Nadar
 * Otto Aramsham/DE
 * Palaigo
 * Sheuset Costin Ecevit
 * Wei Forald

Apocrypha (RPG/Card Games):
 * Erta
 * Kardif
 * Khan
 * Marduk
 * Maximilian Banarc
 * Wolfram von Wallach

Comparison to real life Armies
They are most similar to the Roman Praetorian Guard, Ottoman Janissaries, and the French Foreign Legion because their soldiers can wear beards (as the Sardaukar can wear long hair) and some are former prisoners. They also look like the Spartan army because like the Sardaukar, the Spartan was brought up from an early age and around the age of 18 he had to kill his first person to become a soldier.

Appearances
Sardaukar Sardaukar Sardaukarzy Сардукары