Minbari Warrior Caste

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In the fictional Babylon 5 universe, the Warrior Caste is one of three castes in Minbari society. Members of this caste primarily serve as members of the military and protectors of the Minbari. The members of the Warrior Caste are the most aggressive of Minbari.

During the Earth-Minbari war, many of the Warrior Caste fought and died during the war. When the Religious Caste called off the war during the Battle of the Line, the Grey Council did not tell their Generals why they were stopping the war. Sineval - one of the war leaders and commander of the Trigati - committed suicide rather than obey the order. The Trigati's second in command Kalain took the ship and disappeared in to hyperspace for the next ten years. At this point, a rift began to form between the Warrior and Religious Castes.

There were two further incidents with the Warrior Caste during the first few years the Babylon 5 station was operational. In 2259, the Warcruiser Ingata was carrying the body of the war leader Brammer home after he died off planet. Brammer's second Neroon took his body to be viewed by every Minbari population from where he died to their homeworld. When they arrived at Babylon 5, a viewing was planned. Brammer's body disappeared during the night. The disappearance led to a tense situation between the humans and Minbari, until Delenn revealed that she took the body and cremated it because Neroon had ignored Brammer's wishes to be cremated and have a simple funeral. In 2260, the Trigati reappeared when Captain John Sheridan took command of Babylon 5. The Trigati tried to provoke Sheridan into attacking them, but when Sheridan refused, another war cruiser appeared. The Trigati's crew committed suicide rather than surrendering.

In 2260 the Warrior Caste gained dominance in the Grey Council when Delenn was voted off the council and Neroon replaced her. As a result, the traditional balance was upset. The Warrior Caste did not want to become involved in the Shadow War. Later, Delenn would break the council when the council refused to take an active role in the war. For the next year, the entire Minbari race was involved in fighting the Shadow War, and the differences between the castes was largely forgotten during this time. When Delenn became the Entil'za of the Rangers (or Anla'Shok in Minbari), Neroon opposed her initially but later dropped the challenge when he realized that the Rangers would follow no one else.

Following the Shadow's departure, a vacuum of power became more apparent. The Warrior Caste began to struggle with the Religious Caste for dominance. They evicted members of the Religious Caste from cities they did not wish to share, and stopped honoring agreements that the Religious Caste made on behalf of the Minbari. Eventually a brief civil war broke out between the two castes. Working with Neroon, Delenn managed to end the war. She and the leader of the Warrior Caste, Warleader Shakiri, went into the Starfire Wheel, and the energy of the wheel began to burn them. Delenn managed to stay in the wheel longer than Shakiri, and when it became apparent that she was going to sacrifice herself, Neroon sacrificed himself, declaring at the end that he was a member of the Religious Caste.

With the war over, Delenn formed a new Grey Council. This time however, the Worker Caste was given control of the council - there were five Worker Caste members, and two each from the Religious and Warrior Caste on the council. She explained that religion and war had to exist in the service of the people, not the other way around.

[edit] Notable Members

• Neroon - a member of the Warrior Caste from the Star Riders clan. He later became a member of the Grey Council - replacing Delenn and creating an imbalance in the caste system representation on the council. Converting to the Religious Caste in the final moments of his life, he died in 2261 in the Starfire wheel. He was played by John Vickery.

• Branmer - originally a high priest of the Religious Caste, he became a War Leader during the Earth-Minbari war. He led the Minbari attack at the Battle of the Line. Branmer died in 2258.

• Warleader Shakiri - Leader of the Warrior Caste during the Minbari Civil War. Joined Delenn in the Starfire Wheel. he attempted to persuade her to share power with him, but when Delenn refused he fled the Wheel.