Abulurd Harkonnen
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Abulurd Harkonnen is the name of two characters in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The first is the ancestor of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, identified in later prequels as the grandson of Xavier Harkonnen; the second is the younger half-brother to Vladimir and the father of Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha, featured in the prequel trilogy Prelude to Dune.
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[edit] Abulurd Harkonnen I
In Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses) in Dune (1965), Herbert notes simply that Vladimir Harkonnen "is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin."
In the Legends of Dune trilogy (2002-2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, this Abulurd Harkonnen is born in 126 B.G. as Abulurd Butler, the third child of Wandra Butler, daughter of Xavier Harkonnen. Wandra (and later her husband, Quentin Vigar) had changed her name from Harkonnen to Butler, her mother Octa's maiden name, to avoid the scandal created when Xavier's reputation had been sullied by Butlerian Jihad propaganda after his death. Abulurd's eldest brother is Faykan Butler, who later changes his name to Faykan Corrino and establishes the Corrino empire as the first Padishah Emperor.
Abulurd changes his name to Harkonnen after learning that his grandfather Xavier had been wrongly demonized and that he was in fact a hero. Abulurd attempts to redeem Xavier's name with the help of his mentor, Vorian Atreides, who had been good friends with Xavier and is the only person who knows the truth. This attempt becomes futile, however, when during the Battle of Corrin, Abulurd and Vorian have a moral disagreement.
As Supreme Bashar of the Army of Humanity, Vorian has control over the entire force. The thinking machine Erasmus comes up with a solution to make a last-ditch defense of Corrin — using all the human slaves on the planet as a human shield. If the fleet comes any closer to Corrin, the hostages will be killed. Twenty years previously, the Army of Humanity had destroyed countless lives in their purge of Omnius from the universe, only held back by the defenses at Corrin. Vorian feels that after such a slaughter, another two million lives would not matter in the grand scheme of things. After failing to convince Vorian of the mistake he is about to commit, Abulurd decides to disable the weapons system to give his friend time to reconsider. However, Vorian presses his attack against the thinking machines, and sees Abulurd's act as cowardice rather than an act of wisdom.
After disobeying Vorian's orders, Abulurd is deemed a coward and the Harkonnen name is irredeemable. Vorian disowns his protege, which triggers the beginning of the Atreides-Harkonnen feud:
| “ | You failed me at the moment I needed you most. Never again will I look upon your face. This I swear: From this day forth, let all who bear the name Atreides spit on the name of Harkonnen! | ” |
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— Vorian Atreides, Dune: The Battle of Corrin
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Abulurd is exiled to Lankiveil, where his descendants stay for several generations until finally being accepted back into the young empire.
[edit] Abulurd Harkonnen II
As established in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999-2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the second Abulurd Harkonnen is the younger half-brother of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and son of Dmitri Harkonnen through his second wife. Abulurd marries Emmi Rabban, and fathers Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha.
In Dune: House Atreides, an epigraph from the post-Jihad edition of the Landsraad Encyclopedia of Great Houses says of Abulurd:
The paintbrush of history has depicted Abulurd Harkonnen in a most unfavorable light. Judged by the standards of his older half brother, Baron Vladimir, and his own children Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha Rabban, Abulurd was a different sort of man entirely. We must, however, assess the frequent descriptions of his weakness, incompetence, and foolhardy decisions in light of the ultimate failure of House Harkonnen. Though exiled to Lankiveil and stripped of any real power, Abulurd secured a victory unmatched by anyone else in his extended family: He learned how to be happy with his life.
Before the events of Dune: House Atreides, House Harkonnen had been in charge of the all-important and valuable melange harvesting operations on the planet Arrakis. After seven years of management, Abulurd had been removed from his duties by his brother the Baron, who claims Abulurd is responsible for increasing equipment losses and decreasing production. Abulurd had been stripped of his noble title and relegated to the quiet, Harkonnen-controlled planet of Lankiveil.
In the Prelude to Dune trilogy, Abulurd petitions and is granted permission to change his last name from Harkonnen to Rabban, sickened by the self-serving, underhanded, and violent actions of his brother and oldest son Glossu Rabban. A peace-loving man and the polar opposite of his older brother Vladimir, Abulurd is happy to be rid of Arrakis. Unfortunately, Abulurd's peace-loving nature and selflessness have dire consequences. Glossu Rabban goes on a whale-hunting rampage when on Lankiveil, thus driving the whales away from that area indefinitely. Enraged by this disastrous crippling of the whale fur industry, Abulurd strikes Rabban. Disgusted with his father's "weakness," Rabban sides with his uncle, disowns his father, and leaves Lankiveil. Abulurd goes to the Landsraad to get the official governorship over Lankiveil, and to permanently withdraw from the Harkonnen family. In retaliation, the Baron takes Abulurd's newly-born son and heir, Feyd-Rautha, in order to make Feyd his heir-apparent. Discovering one of the Baron's illegal spice hoards, Abulurd decides to seek retribution by giving the melange to Lankiveil's people, rather than turn his brother in to the Landsraad. Upon discovery of this, Glossu Rabban strangles Abulurd to death; Rabban's patricide gives him the nickname "Beast."
