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This article or section refers to elements from The Dune Encyclopedia |
The First Empire (16500–11105 BG)[1] was the dominant form of ancient human society on Terra, and later its interstellar vicinity, for much of its early history, lasting for 6395 years.
History[]
Early history (16500–14500 BG)[]
The First Empire succeeded the period of early civilizations on Terra (19000–16500 BG).[1] The empire was created by Aleksandr[n 1] in 16500 BG.[1] In 16400–16000 BG, the empire (in this stage known as the Roman Empire) conquered most of the known world, except for China, which resisted until 14400 BG.[1]
In 15800 BG, the Imperial Seat was moved from Rome to Byzantium in response to provincial rebellions and minor jihads,[1] inaugurating the stage known as the Byzantine Empire.[2] The Byzantine Empire came to an end in 14700 BG, beginning the Century Without an Emperor, also called "the Great Struggle".[1] Both House Corrino and House Harkonnen trace their ancestry to the Byzantine ruling dynasty, through Thomas Palaiologos, brother of the last emperor Constantine XI.[2]
By 14608 BG, discoveries in America allowed Madrid to attain the status of Imperial Seat[1] and House Bourbon to become the Imperial House.[3] After the Battle of Englichannel[n 2] in 14512 BG, the Imperial Seat was moved from Madrid to London[1] and House Windsor became the new Imperial House.[3]
Golden Age of Invention (14500–14200 BG)[]
By the late 14000s BG, the First Empire had three billion subjects, all still on one planet.[3] The period between 14500 and 14200 BG is known as the Golden Age of Invention, seeing the development of the radio, television, atomics, rockets, genetics, and the computer.[1]
Around 14265 BG,[n 3] the pretender Hitler attempted to seize the throne, though his upstart house was destroyed by House Windsor.[3]
Atomics were invented in the decade following Hitler's attempt to take the throne. Their invention is credited to Einstein,[3][n 4] known as the "Raw Mentat", who was working for House Washington.[3] In 14255 BG,[1] House Washington used two of the first atomics to settle a trade dispute with House Nippon.[3][n 5] This was the first use of atomics in interprovincial war.[1] Although fewer than a million casualties resulted, House Nippon was forced to concede the lucrative Pacific Ocean trade routes to House Washington. The possession of the only atomics in the Empire also gave House Washington the prestige and power it needed to displace House Windsor as the Imperial House.[3] The Imperial Seat was moved to their capital, Washington.[1]
The other Houses Major of the First Empire swiftly began their own research and espionage efforts to secure atomics of their own. Despite the efforts and counter-espionage directorates of King George, House Washington's first emperor, the secret of constructing atomics was soon discovered by House Steel. House Steel began stockpiling atomics in their domains in Russia. Over the next thirty years, atomics were also acquired by Houses Windsor (London), Abraham (Jerusalem), Zedong (Khitai), De Gaulle (Zurich?), Ghandi (Indus), and Ul-Haq (Karachi). Several Houses Minor also stockpiled atomics.[3] The advent of atomics made the total defeat of a House with a stockpile impossible, since it was in the power of any atomic-armed House to destroy any other House. This put an end to the tradition of completely destroying enemy Houses in war.[3] The Houses soon also realized that it was not possible to use atomics on an enemy that they could not identify. Wars began to be fought mostly with economic power, terrorism, and surrogates.[3] Atomics would not be used in war again until three centuries after their first use.[3]
First millennium in space (14200–13004 BG)[]
In the period 14100–13600 BG, known as the Little Diaspora, the solar system was colonized. These ventures were so successful that the population on Terra was eventually outnumbered by those who lived in the colonies by twenty to one.[1]
The dispersion of Houses to different planets after the Little Diaspora altered the conduct of atomic warfare. It was discovered that if a House's interstellar fleet was destroyed, one would become immune from their atomics and could thus use one's own atomics against that House with impunity, to conquer their planet or force favorable concessions.[3] This was first demonstrated at the Slagging of Ecaz[3] in around 13955 BG,[n 6] when Imperial atomics were used to end a rebellion and erase all trace of a House Major. This marked the second time atomics were used in war, as well as the last for a long time. After the conflict, Houses would typically surrender immediately to an enemy that succeeded in placing atomic platforms in orbit.[3]
In 13402 BG, Terra was struck by a planetoid and the Imperial Seat was transferred to Ceres,[1] with House Ceres becoming the Imperial House.[4] 13402–13399 BG saw the Rescue of Treasures from Terra, followed by an Imperial edict in 13360 BG that saw the planet be re-seeded and then set aside as a natural park.[1]
Decline and fall (13004–11105 BG)[]
The Suspensor-nullification effect was discovered by a computer, Verifax Mark II, developed by scientists in the First Empire[4] in 13004 BG,[1] ten centuries after the empire first ventured into space.[4] The discovery of the effect allowed for a dramatic increase in space exploration and colonization.[4]
This increase in exploration and colonization eventually doomed the First Empire. The centrality crucial for imperial administration was impossible to maintain since it was no longer possible to communicate swiftly from one end of the empire to the other (and would remain impossible until the discovery of the Holtzman Effect in 7562 BG).[4] As communications became strained, the First Empire transitioned into the stage called the Empire of Ten Worlds in 12200 BG.[1] In 11200 BG, the empire further transitioned into the Empire of a Thousand Worlds,[1] a time of complete collapse[4] when it was an empire in name only - imperial power had become so diffuse that it scarcely existed anymore.[1] In 11105 BG, Ceres was destroyed in a rebellion and the Imperial Seat ceased to exist as a single entity, ending the First Empire.[1]
Aftermath[]
The fall of the First Empire was followed by the Age of Ten Thousand Emperors (11100–7562 BG), also known as the "Great Dark Ages", which in turn was followed by the Wars of Reunification (7562–5022 BG). A united empire was not restored until 5022 BG, in the form of the Empire of Ten Thousand Worlds under Ladislaus the Great.[1]
Imperial Seats and Houses[]
The Imperial Seats and Houses of the First Empire were, in order:
- 16500–16400 BG: Unknown
- 16400–15800 BG: Rome[1] (600 years; unknown Imperial House(s))
- 15800–14700 BG: Byzantium[1] (1100 years; unknown Imperial House(s))
- 14700–14608 BG: None, the "Century Without an Emperor"[1]
- 14608–14512 BG: Madrid[1] (96 years; House Bourbon)
- 14512–14255 BG: London[1] (257 years; House Windsor)
- 14255–13402 BG: Washington[1] (853 years; House Washington)
- 13402–11105 BG: Ceres[1] (2297 years; House Ceres)
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 The Dune Encyclopedia, "A CHRONOLOGY OF SOME IMPORTANT EVENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Dune Encyclopedia, "HARKONNEN, HOUSE OF"
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 The Dune Encyclopedia, "FAMILY ATOMICS, HISTORY OF"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 The Dune Encyclopedia, "HOLTZMAN EFFECT"
Notes[]
- ↑ Alexander III of Macedon; Alexander the Great
- ↑ The battle between the English navy and the Spanish armada in 1588.
- ↑ The Dune Encyclopedia describes Hitler's "attempt to seize power" (i.e. the start of World War II) as occuring in the decade immediately before the development of atomics.
- ↑ The precise history has clearly been garbled over the millennia; in real history, Albert Einstein did not invent the atomic bomb.
- ↑ The end of World War II (1945).
- ↑ Three hundred years after atomics were first used - this is established as being the second time atomics were used.