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This article or section refers to elements from The Dune Encyclopedia |
The Era of the Princes (1701-2191 AG)[1] was a chaotic period in the history of House Corrino. Coinciding with the rule of the First House of Corrin Corrino, the Era of the Princes saw the Imperial House falling under the influence of the then economically dominant House Atreides. The Atreides used their wealth to at first reduce the power of the emperor, and then to force a rapid turnover in the occupants of the imperial throne, to ensure no dynast held power for too long.
Background[]
The long-ruling House of Alman Corrino was rendered extinct with the death of Emperor Henoor III in 1604 AG. Henoor's death was followed by a Landsraad-led imperial Regency, which lasted until 1680. Iraklii Harkonnen artificially stimulated unrest in the Imperium through the weapons trade, with the chaos growing so great that Regent Maria I Mustami (1647–1680), and her successor Damiano Fulgencio (1680) were forced to resign, terminating the Regency.[2] After the end of the Regency, the only Imperium-wide government was a loosely a loosely organized committee of different Houses Major. The chaos stimulated by Iraklii continued; Iraklii eventually rooted out a Corrino descendant, Corrin, who was elected Emperor Corrin IV in 1701, restoring monarchic rule and increasing Iraklii's status.[2]
Many Houses Minor and several Houses Major had been forced into sharp economic decline in the chaos of 1680–1701, though the wealth of House Atreides had increased; Count Count Achilleus Atreides sold his family estates on Chalcedony to invest in CHOAM shares of undeveloped worlds, developed their raw resources, and sold the processed goods back to the Houses at a huge profit. By 1701, Count Achilleus was the richest man in the Imperium.[3]
History[]
The Era of the Princes began in the 1700s as Achilleus Atreides used his economic ascendancy to reduce the power and influence of the emperor.[3] This policy continued under Achilleus's descendants. His grandsons, the brothers Philipos III Atreides and Markos Atreides, went even further, beginning an effort to prevent any one member of the Imperial House from achieving too much power and influence. This took the form of forcing a rapid turnover in the occupants of the imperial office, with frequent depositions and accessions of emperors.[3] Emperor Corrin V, a grandson of Corrin IV, ruled briefly nine times between 1846 and 1969.[1]
Emperor Sidir XIII (r. 2188–2191)[1] attempted to stop the influence of the Atreides and had Maximos Atreides killed during an audience. Maximos's son, Peleus Atreides, avenged him by poisoning Sidir in his bed.[3] With Sidir's death, both the First House of Corrin Corrino and the Era of the Princes came to an end.[1] The Era of the Princes was followed by a brief interregnum (2191–2197), which was followed by the accession of a new Imperial House, the House of Shahrukh Corrino.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Dune Encyclopedia, "EMPERORS OF THE KNOWN UNIVERSE"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Dune Encyclopedia, "HARKONNEN, HOUSE OF"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Dune Encyclopedia, "ATREIDES, HOUSE, Prominent members"
| Preceded by Regency (1604-1680) and then an interregnum (1680-1701) |
Historical period 1701-2191 AG |
Succeeded by Rule of the House of Shahrukh Corrino |