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This article refers to elements from Original Dune Pages for this subject as it appears in other canons: |
For adaption and Canon equivalents, see Glossu Rabban (disambiguation)
Glossu "Beast" Rabban (10132 AG - December 10193 AG) was the brutish nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, serving as Count of Lankiveil, and Governor of Arrakis during the Desert War.
Biography[]
Glossu Rabban was the eldest son of Abulurd Rabban, Count of Lankiveil and Vladimir Harkonnen's youngest demibrother. Abulurd renounced the Harkonnen name and adopted his wife's surname of Rabban when given the sub-district governorship of Rabban-Lankiveil. Rabban inherited the Harkonnen penchant for sadism and cruelty but not much else. After coming of age, he was placed in charge of managing the Harkonnen slave pits on Giedi Prime. During this time, Rabban murdered numerous slaves, including the family of Gurney Halleck. At some point, he became known as "Beast” due to his brutal nature.
While his much younger brother Feyd-Rautha was taken in by their uncle to become his heir, Rabban went on to succeed his father as Count of Lankiveil, and was later given governorship of Arrakis by his uncle. Rabban became well known for his tyrannical but impotent governance over Arrakis, and became known to the Fremen as Mudir Nahya (Demon Ruler).
Rabban's reign ultimately led to a decline in Spice production, which resulted in Harkonnen control over the Spice Market being temporarily shut down, and control was handed over to their rivals, House Atreides. However, it was part of a plot orchestrated by the Baron and the Emperor to destroy House Atreides.
After the destruction of the Atreides, control of Arrakis was given back to House Harkonnen, and the Baron was forced to reinstate Rabban as planetary governor due to the death of Piter de Vries. The Baron planned to let Rabban rule the untamed desert planet for a time through terror and submission so that when his favored younger brother took over, Feyd would be welcomed as a hero, and would bring them back in the Emperor’s favor.
Rabban's merciless oppression of the local population prompted a lengthy rebellion that severely hindered spice production, spearheaded by guerilla fighters united under the Fremen prophet Muad'Dib. During the conflict, the Baron secretly escalated things by pulling all support lines from Arrakis, which made Rabban attempt to form a peace treaty with the Fremen, fearing for his life, however it never came to fruition.
When the rebellion became too much, Vladimir and Feyd came to Arrakis to oversee their counterattacks against the Fremen. Right before the Battle of Arrakeen began, Rabban and Feyd were sent by their uncle to scout out the desert for Fremen. Rabban lost his life in the battle when he was slain by the populace he had brutalized for years. His body was later found amongst the many Harkonnen casualties from the battle.
Description[]
- "The man who stood outside the doorfield of the Baron's bedchamber was low built, gross of face and body, with the Harkonnen paternal line's narrow-set eyes and bulge of shoulders. There was yet some rigidity in his fat, but it was obvious to the eye that he'd come one day to the portable suspensors for carrying his excess weight."
- ―1965 novel[src]
Quotes[]
- "A muscle-minded tank-brain. No Mentat, my nephew . . . not a Piter de Vries, but perhaps something more precisely devised for the task at hand. If I give him freedom to do it, he'll grind over everything in his path. Oh, how he'll be hated here on Arrakis!"
- ―Baron Vladimir Harkonnen[src]
- Baron: "My dear Rabban."
- Rabban: "You summoned me."
- Baron: "Stand closer where I can see you easily (Rabban steps forward)."
- Baron: "The Atreides are dead. The last of them, that’s why I summoned you here to Arrakis. This planet is again yours."
- Rabban: "But I thought you were going to advance Piter de Vries to the…"
- Baron: "Piter too is dead.”
- Rabban: "Piter?”
- Baron: "Piter.”
- Rabban: "You finally tired of him eh?”
- Baron: "I will say a thing to you just this once, you insinuate that I obliterated Piter as one obliterates a trifle (snaps his fingers) just like that eh? I am not so stupid nephew, I will take take it unkindly if ever again you suggest by word or action that I am so stupid.”
- Rabban: "Forgive me my lord Baron.”
Trivia[]
- The fate of Lankiveil following Rabban's demise is unknown.
- All three screen adaptations introduce Rabban much earlier than the book, in which he appears only once after the deaths of Dr. Yueh, Duke Leto and Piter de Vries.
- While the nature of his death is left vague in the book, his first two adaptations assume decapitation. In the 1984 film, the Baron is informed that the Emperor had Rabban arrested while en route to his ship, and arrives to see his nephew's severed head on a platter. In the 2000 miniseries, realizing there's no hope of escape or mercy, Rabban drops his knife and screams toward the sky as Fremen mobs rush him and dismember his body. However, in 2024's Dune: Part Two, he is fatally stabbed in the throat by his former slave Gurney Halleck.
- His first name of Glossu is only stated in the original novel's appendix and never in the narrative itself. Because of this, and Gurney referring to him as Rabban Harkonnen while speaking with Chani, the book's screen adaptations end up either implying or, in the case of Dune: Part Two, explicitly stating Rabban as his given name rather than his surname. This consequentially downplays his unfavored status - Rabban being the surname of his father's wife after he cut ties with the Harkonnens, thus being denied that surname.
- The age gap between Rabban and Feyd often varies. In the novel, he is around 41 years older than his brother. In the 1984 film and the Denis Villenueve films, he appears to be 20-30 years older, and in the 2000s miniseries, he is around 10-15 years older.
- Despite his lack of cunning, Rabban did possess at least some degree of common sense and foresight - repeatedly warning his uncle and subordinates not to underestimate the Fremen or their numbers - and he posed an insightful enough question about his uncle's politically-sensitive subversion of Dr. Yueh that the Baron himself reconsidered his prior sentiments.
Gallery[]
Apocrypha[]
Adaptions[]
Appearances[]
- Dune
- Dune Messiah (mentioned only)
- Children of Dune (mentioned only)
- God Emperor of Dune (mentioned only)
| Preceded by Abulurd Rabban |
Count of Lankiveil ? - 10193 AG |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Leto Atreides I |
Governor of Arrakis 10191 AG - 10193 AG |
Succeeded by Stilgar |
House Harkonnen
| |
|---|---|
| Barons | |
| Family |
Abulurd Harkonnen • Abulurd Rabban • Glossu Rabban |
| Retainers |
Piter de Vries • Umman Kudu • Iakin Nefud • Thufir Hawat • Czigo • Kinet • Pardee • Guild Bank Agent |