Phezzan Dominion

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The Phezzan Dominion is an autonomous planet-state (a City state in a galactic scale) within the universe of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It is located in the eponymous Phezzan Corridor, one of the only two routes (the other one being the infamous Iserlohn Corridor) between the two great powers of the galaxy, the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire. While nominally a part of the territory of the Galactic Empire during the Goldenbaum dynasty, Phezzan possessed full autonomy, with a state government of its own. During the war between the Empire and the Alliance, it held a neutral stance and traded with both nations. Using its neutrality as its advantage, Phezzan often sold intelligence to both sides, acquired with their vast wealth, their great merchant fleet and the covert support of the Terraism cult. Phezzan's intentions, according to its chief administrator, Adrian Rubinsky, were to maintain the balance of power between the galactic superpowers - and, therefore, Phezzan's independence.

[edit] Involvement in the novels

After the ill-fated Alliance expedition into Imperial territory and the Battle of Amlitzer, Rubinsky realized the Alliance was too weakened to continue fighting the Empire, and decided to aid the Empire destroy the Alliance completely, in order to insure Phezzan's survival. This would prove to be the undoing of his country's independence, since during Operation Ragnarok, the Empire's massive assault on the Alliance, Reinhard von Lohengramm seized control of the planet with his fleet while using the Corridor to avoid the impregnable Iserlohn Fortress. The Phezzani free traders resented the Imperial control of their homeworld, but eventually the populace came to accept Reinhard's fair rule. Soon after the fall of the Alliance and the establishment of the Neueland administration, Reinhard decided to move the Imperial capital from Odin, the Empire's traditional seat of power, to Phezzan, due to the planet's central position in the galaxy. Plans were made to establish Iserlohn-class space fortresses in both ends of the corridor, but they would not be finished before Reinhard's untimely death.