Padishah Emperor[1] is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.
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In Herbert's originating novel Dune (1965) it is established that the Imperium of the Padishah Emperor encompasses the entire universe known to mankind. While the Emperor is supreme sovereign ruler of the universe, power is shared, in a quasi-feudal arrangement, with the noble houses of the Landsraad and with the Spacing Guild, which possesses a monopoly over interstellar travel.[2] Members of House Corrino sit on the Golden Lion throne as Padishah Emperors from the time of the ancient Battle of Corrin until the events of Dune some 10,000 years later.[3][4] Dune establishes that Salusa Secundus had been the homeworld of House Corrino, and at some point the Imperial Court had moved to the planet Kaitain.[3][5]
As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor is Shaddam Corrino IV, successor to Elrood IX; all that is noted of Elrood in Dune is that he had died by chaumurky (poison)[6] and that Shaddam's close friend Count Hasimir Fenring was rumored to have been responsible.[7] During the events of Dune, Shaddam himself is deposed by Duke Paul Atreides in 10,193 A.G. (After Guild)[4] after Paul seizes control of the desert planet Arrakis, only source of the vitally all-important spice melange.[8] Though Paul subsequently rules as Emperor, the term "Padishah" is dropped, and the Imperium as it has previously been known essentially ceases to exist since absolute control of the spice gives Paul unprecedented power over the Landsraad, Spacing Guild and all other factions.
As detailed in Dune Messiah (1969), Paul's apparent death 13 years later puts his sister Alia in place as Imperial Regent for his children, Leto II and Ghanima.[9] Young Leto ascends the throne in 1976's Children of Dune, becoming a human-sandworm hybrid to achieve superhuman physical abilities and longevity.[10] Leto rules as God Emperor for over 3,500 years; his assassination in God Emperor of Dune (1981) effectively abolishes the Imperial throne.[11]
An early Emperor named Shaddam I is mentioned in the glossary of the novel Dune,[12] and another called Shakkad the Wise is noted in Children of Dune.[13] The non-canon Dune Encyclopedia (1984) by Willis E. McNelly invents an extensive, alternate chronology of Padishah Emperors.[14]
Several prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson further explore the back-story of the Dune universe. According to the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, the Empire had been founded on Salusa Secundus.[15] The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) further reveals that, after centuries as the capital of the Corrino Padishah Empire, Salusa had been devastated by atomics. The Imperial throne had been relocated to the planet Kaitain, where it remains for millennia.[16]
| Name | Reign | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| House Corrino | ||
| Faykan I (Faykan Butler) | 88 BG - ? BG or AG | 1 |
| Hassik III | Unknown | |
| Ishaq XV | Unknown | |
| Idriss I | Unknown | |
| Crown Prince Raphael | Unknown | |
| Vutier II | Unknown | 78 |
| Fondil III | ? - 10,018 | 79 |
| Elrood IX | 10,018 - 10,156 | 80 |
| Shaddam IV | 10,156 - 10,196 | 81 |
| House Atreides | ||
| Paul "Muad'Dib" | 10,196 - 10,209 | |
| Imperial Regent Alia | 10,209 - 10,219 | |
| Leto II, "The God Emperor" | 10,219 - 13,728 | |
| Note: Dune's Imperial dating system is based upon the formation of the Spacing Guild, measured as "Before Guild" and "After Guild" (B.G. and A.G.) |
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The first Padishah Emperor of the known universe was Faykan Corrino I. In the events of Dune: The Battle of Corrin, he was born in 145 B.G. as Faykan Butler, grandson of Xavier Harkonnen. A primero (general) in the Army of the Jihad, Faykan later became Viceroy of the League of Nobles, using the political atmosphere and the religious fervor of the Cult of Serena to gain popularity and respect among the League, along with leverage over it. In 100 B.G. he married Jessica Boro-Ginjo, great-granddaughter of former Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo and descendant of the Boro family, the Imperial House in the time before the Titans took control of the Old Empire.
In 88 B.G., after the Battle of Corrin ended the Butlerian Jihad, Faykan merged the position of Viceroy with the vacant position of Grand Patriarch as the first step to consolidate his power. Faykan changed his family name to Corrino in tribute to the Battle of Corrin and declared himself Emperor, thereby establishing the Corrino Empire. Later, he asserted his power through military might over the factions of the former League through the formation of the army that became known as the Sardaukar. The Landsraad was formed by the League in order to keep the power of the Corrinos in check.
It can be argued that Faykan may not have been considered an actual Padishah Emperor, as the Golden Lion Throne, CHOAM, the Guild, and the Landsraad were founded circa 1 A.G. The first Emperor to bear that title was most likely Faykan's son or grandson.
Hassik Corrino III was the Padishah Emperor when the Corrino homeworld of Salusa Secundus was laid to waste by an atomic attack by a renegade House.[17] Hassik relocated the Imperial throne to Kaitain and turned Salusa into a prison planet.
In Dune: House Atreides, Shaddam IV noted that the Imperial Observatory had been built by Hassik III. A builder of many grand edifices, "Hassik III had wanted to show that even after the near obliteration of House Corrino, the Imperium and its business would continue at a more exalted level than ever before." The Golden Lion Throne itself, first mentioned in Dune, had been carved from a single piece of blue-green Hagal quartz — "the largest such gem ever found, dating back to the days of Emperor Hassik III."
According to Dune: House Corrino, Hassik III was the first to be entombed in the Imperial Necropolis, the large catacombs beneath the Imperial Palace in Corrinth, the capital city of Kaitain.
In Dune: House Corrino, Lady Jessica went to the Hassik III Center for the Performing Arts (with Emperor Shaddam IV and the Lady Anirul) to see the play My Father's Shadow while she was on Kaitain serving as a personal lady-in-waiting for the Corrino family. It was noted that "Hassik III ... had taxed his subjects nearly into bankruptcy in order to rebuild a governmental infrastructure."
The following excerpts of Hassik III's writings are referenced via epigraphs in the Prelude to Dune novels:
Idriss Corrino I was the father of Imperial Crown Prince Raphael Corrino, and was assassinated by his political enemies. Later, Idriss was featured in My Father's Shadow, a play based upon Raphael's life.
The following excerpts of Idriss I's writings are referenced via epigraphs in Dune: House Corrino:
According to most historians, Crown Prince Raphael Corrino was one of the most brilliant politicians and scholars of House Corrino, and to quote Earl Dominic Vernius, "the only good Corrino of them all!" Raphael was also the originator of the term "Law is the ultimate science", which is the motto of House Corrino.
Raphael was born as the eldest son of the Padishah Emperor Idriss I, and thereby the Imperial Crown Prince of the Padishah Empire. When Idriss was nearly assassinated, but left in a permanent coma, Raphael refused to be crowned Emperor, claiming he was not worthy of the throne. Instead, he seated himself upon a smaller throne beside the Imperial Golden Lion Throne. Even as the defacto ruler, Raphael always referred to himself as "Crown Prince". His wife Herade, however, used the title Empress. Much later, a play was written based upon Raphael's life, named My Father's Shadow.
The following quotes and excerpts of Raphael's writings are referenced via epigraphs in the Prelude to Dune novels:
In Dune: House Corrino, the following quotes are attributed to Raphael in the play about his life, My Father's Shadow (though Lady Jessica notes that the lines have been slightly altered in some way from the original text):
Raphael's consort is also quoted via epigraph in Dune: House Corrino:
Vutier Corrino II was the 78th Emperor of the known universe, and father to the 79th Emperor Fondil III. Little is known about Vutier II, though in Dune: House Atreides Shaddam IV remarks that Vutier was a great patron of the arts.
Fondil Corrino III (9843 - 10,018 A.G.) was the 79th Emperor of the known universe, son of Vutier II and father to Elrood IX. After striking down many revolts, he became known as "the Hunter".
According to Dune: House Corrino, Fondil was laid to rest in a walled-up vault in the Imperial Necropolis:
The pitted iron door was flanked by the stuffed carcasses of two ferocious predators the man had killed: a spiny ecadroghe from the high plateaus of Ecaz and a tufted saber-bear from III Delta Kaising. Fondil, however, had taken his epithet from hunting men, ferreting out enemies and destroying them. His big-game adventures had been a mere diversion.
The following quotes are attributed to Fondil III via epigraphs in Dune: House Corrino:
Elrood Corrino IX (9,999-10,156 A.G.) was the 80th Emperor of the known universe, son of Fondil III "The Hunter" and father to Shaddam IV. Elrood was the penultimate emperor in the Corrino Dynasty and ascended to the throne at the age of 19. During his reign of 138 years, Elrood married into many royal houses of the Imperium, among them House Mutelli, House Hagal and House Ecaz.
According to the back matter of Dune: House Atreides, Elrood married Barbara Mutelli in 10,019 A.G.; they had a daughter called Wensicia (who should not be confused with Elrood's granddaughter), and a son called Elliott. Elrood murdered one-year-old Elliott himself, after which "Barbara went insane; Elrood kept her, though, and impregnated her repeatedly ... the fertilized embryos were placed in storage for later dynastic emergencies." Barbara died in 10,026, and Elrood's subsequent marriage to Yvette Hagal in 10,036 produced three daughters: Crystane, Tara and Edwina (b. 10,070). Edwina would later marry Count Ilban Richese in 10,090, and eventually became the great-grandmother of Paul Atreides.
Yvette died in 10,075 A.G., and Elrood next married Alexandra Ecaz in 10,079. She gave birth to the Crown Prince Fafnir, but later disappeared in 10,098. Elrood's "impulsive marriage" to Habla of Hassika V in 10,100 was childless for 19 years. Using one of the frozen embryos from his first wife, Barbara Mutelli, Elrood made it possible for Habla to produce a son — Shaddam. Shaddam himself never knew that his genetic mother was Barbara.
Elrood's eldest son and heir Fafnir was murdered by Count Hasimir Fenring in 10,138 A.G. at the urging of Shaddam, who himself desired to inherit the throne. According to Shaddam, Elrood suspected Fenring's role in Fafnir's death (and later discovered Shaddam's complicity), but accepted it as part of Imperial politics. Though they never confessed, in Dune: House Corrino, Shaddam recalled that Elrood had "cackled knowingly: and said:
It shows initiative that you are able to make difficult decisions. But do not be so eager to take the responsibility of an Emperor. I still have many years left in my reign, and you must observe my example. Watch, and learn.
In Dune: House Atreides, Shaddam remembered how Elrood had been amused when he learned that Shaddam "had been slipping contraceptives into the food of his own mother, Habla, so she couldn't conceive another son and rival to him." Elrood, however, had also fathered an illegitimate son named Tyros Reffa with his concubine Shando Balut, the future wife of Earl Dominic Vernius of Ix.
Elrood was Padishah Emperor at the time of the first Prelude to Dune novel, Dune: House Atreides. In his later years, Elrood gave the siridar-governorship of Arrakis to House Harkonnen. He also created the title "Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis", and appointed Pardot Kynes to find out exactly how the spice melange was created. Elrood became a despotic and dictatorial ruler who in 10,154 A.G. authorized the Tleilaxu takeover of planet Ix and established the Project Amal program to create synthetic melange, intending to remove the Empire's dependency on Arrakis and control the spice himself. His long rule ended in 10,156 when he was assassinated, poisoned by slow acting chaumurky administered to him by Count Fenring (again doing the bidding of Elrood's son Shaddam).
In Dune: House Corrino it was revealed that Elrood’s remains were interred in the Imperial Necropolis:
He finally led Fenring to where the sealed ashes of Elrood IX waited in a relatively small alcove, adorned with shimmering diamondplaz, ornate scrollwork, and fine gems — a sufficient display of Shaddam’s grief at the loss of his "beloved father" ... Disrespectfully, Shaddam leaned against the resting place of his father’s ashes. The old man had been cremated to foil any Suk physician’s attempts to determine the true cause of death.
The following quotes and excerpts of Elrood IX's writings are referenced via epigraphs in the Prelude to Dune novels:
The son of Elrood IX, Shaddam is featured in Dune, and his early reign is further explored in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001).
The following Corrino Emperors are mentioned briefly in Dune works, but their exact place in the Imperial chronology is unknown:
Padishah Emperor Ishaq Corrino XV designed and built the Ishaq Hall of Magnificent Documents in Kaitain’s capital city of Corrinth. In its time the museum was, according to Dune: House Corrino, "one of the most spectacular constructions in the burgeoning Imperial city." However, by the time of Shaddam IV it had been "swallowed by ever more impressive architecture" and "lost among the extravagant monuments on Kaitain." The museum was a repository for, among other things, the handwritten personal diaries of past Corrino Emperors.
The "long-forgotten" Corrino ruler called Mandias the Terrible was known as "the Emperor who made worlds tremble." According to Dune: House Corrino, his mummy was hidden in the Imperial Necropolis "in a chamber fronted by a fearsome, life-size statue" of Mandias. Shaddam IV noted when looking at Mandias' body: "I am not impressed ... Nobody even remembers him."
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