The Imperial House Corrino was once the most deadliest and grandest Major House found within the Dune universe, and for many thousands of years the official seat of the Imperium. The official residence of the Imperial House Corrino was the planet Kaitain and the exiled ancestral planet Salusa Secundus.
The True Origins of the Imperial House Corrino
Though Frank Herbert does not provide great detail on the origins of the Imperial House Corrino in his original Dune novels, it is known that they came into official existence following the imfamous Battle of Corrin.
The Legends of Dune prequel novels written by his son, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson provide a comprehensive narration of the rise and the fall of the Imperial House Corrino, although it is not considered canon by some Dune fans.
The Battle of Corrin
In the prequel trilogy, Herbert and Anderson describe how descendants of Octa Butler and Xavier Harkonnen continued the heritage of the Butler name founded by Octa's ancestors and reinforced by her sister Serena Butler.
After the negative reputation bestowed on Xavier Harkonnen following his involvement in the death of Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo, most of their descendants abandoned the Harkonnen name and took the name Butler (the notable exception being Abulurd Harkonnen.
Following the Battle of Corrin and the destruction of Omnius Prime, the Butler family adopted the name Corrino as a blatant reminder of their involvement in the war against and defeat of the Thinking Machines.
The events after the Battle of Corrin also saw the newly formed House Corrino capture the title of the new Imperium.
Armies
During their Imperial rule, House Corrino maintained the most powerful army in the known universe - the Sardaukar. Through their superior abilities the Corrinos were capable of crushing any military opposition. It was said that the only way the Corrino Sardaukar could be defeated would be through the combined forces of all the Great Houses of the Landsraad.
Rule
House Corrino's rule was defined as absolute while one of its members sat on the Golden Lion Throne. Moreover, House Corrino maintained a large vote in the Landsraad Council, larger than any other Great House.
The Downfall of the Galactic Padishah Empire
Over the subsequent millenia, the Imperial House Corrino maintained a firm grip on the Empire.
However, corruption, arrogance and the scheming of the Bene Gesserit eventually saw other Great Houses, such as House Atreides acquire significant respect and credibility in the Imperium.
In an attempt to discredit House Atreides and retain their hegemony, the Imperial House Corrino under the leadership of Shaddam Corrino IV, devised a plan to dispose of their potential rival by ordering them to take over the planetary fief of Arrakis and then disposing of the Atreides family. This was to be done through House Harkonnen, who had maintained a bitter feud with House Atreides for hundreds of years.
When the plan backfired, both the Imperial House Corrino and House Harkonnen were caught off-guard, and the Corrinos was forced to relinquish the Golden Lion Throne, after thousands of years of rule, to the Atreides. The Corrinos witnessed the legitimization of Atreides rule through Paul Atreides' marriage to Shaddam Corrino IV's youngest daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino. Shaddam IV and the remainder of his family were then sent into effective exile on the planet Salusa Secundus, where one of Shaddam's five daughters, Princess Wensicia Corrino plotted the Great House's re-emergence.
However, her plans were also foiled and her son, Prince Farad'n Corrino became the official concubine of his stepcousin, the Crown Princess Ghanima Atreides and an enslaved scribe of her true husband and brother, the God-Emperor Leto Atreides II.
This spelled the effective end of House Corrino, although their bloodline survived, inextricably mixed with the descendants of Paul Atreides and the Fremen Chani.