[Dune] – History of the Dune Universe Part 1

Calendar of Dune – Desert war

The Dune series starts off from a timeline 20,000 years from the 20th century (About 1960). The formation of the Spacing Guild becomes the calendar standard of the Dune Universe.

The Dune series utilize the term ‘AG’ and ‘BG’ as of ‘After Guild’ and ‘Before Guild’ instead of the Gregorian calendar that we use in real life.

The Space Folding Company plays a massive role in the Dune Universe as members of the Space Folding Company are able to navigate intergalactic travel by folding space and time. The Space Folding Company later becomes the Spacing Guild and the Spacing Guild is granted monopoly in space travel. 

 

 

Somehow due to this significance, the Spacing Guild formation becomes the calendar standard of the Dune Universe. 1960 AD is about 11,200 BG and AD 1960 is defined as the when humanity commenced space travel according to the Dune Universe set up.

The Dune Cinematic Series starts around AG 10191 and the series of events during the Cinematic Series are known as the ‘Desert War’ or the Harkonnen war. This event was also called the Arrakis Affair in recorded history of the Dune novel series.

 

 

Formation of the Old Empire – 2500 BG

Space travel begins in 1960 AD (11200 BG in terms of 11,200 years before the formation of the Spacing Guild) and humans spread out the whole universe.

As humans started populating and developing planets, the ‘Empire’ that was rather a union of inhabited planets formed. This Empire was called the Old Empire to differentiate from the Corrino Empire.

 

 

Since the formation of the Old Empire, from Islamic Movements, Buddhist movements and all kinds of religions spread out through the galaxy as well.

Religions would diverge into neo-religion such as Buddislamics as well. Religions may have diversified and in this fiction, for example the second and third Muhammed prophet is born and takes part in Islamic missionaries. However, religions still did originate from earth and earth still stands as the cradle of all humanity.

 

 

Time of Titans & Birth of the League of Nobles – 1287 BG ~ 1182 BG

20 people with power, wealth and knowledge takeover the Old Empire. These 20 people were called titans. The titans overthrow the reign of the Old Empire and this event is called the Revolt of the Titans.

However, despite the Revolt of the Titans, the titans couldn’t seize all control of the Old Empire.

There was resistance all over the galaxy and even in Titan seized territories, sporadic revolts happened. Systems that weren’t under the control of the titans would resist to the titans.

 

 

Many planets would later form an alliance, or a confederacy called the League of Nobles that resisted to the reign of the titans. Salusa Secundus which is the prison planet in the Dune Cinematic series that secretly train and barrack the Sardaucar becomes the center of the League of Nobles.

Salusa Secundus later becomes House Corrino’s core planet(Later House Corrino shifts its capital planet to Kaitain) The League of the Nobles is the preceding body that later becomes the Landsraad of the Dune Universe that incorporated all the noble houses of the galaxy.

 

 

The titans constantly seek to maintain order in the galaxy. Some titans would later transform themselves to machines called cymex to extend life while utilize computers and artificial intelligence to take even tighter control of the galaxy. Artificial Intelligence, computers were utilized by the titans to maintain control but their reign soon enough becomes a tyranny.

 

 

Reign of Omnius and tyranny by the Synchronized Empire (1182 BG ~ 201 BG)

The titans have developed an even advanced artificial intelligence computer network that eventually even reigns over the titans who created it.

This network crowns himself as the Omnius and takes control of the Titan seized territories. Now the titans serve the Omnius and the Omnius starts its conquest to rule the whole galaxy.

 

 

The Omnius names its empire the Synchronized Empire and commence military campaigns to attack and conquer territories of the League of Nobles.

The Omnius would enslave people and would even transform them to cyborgs named neo-cymex as obedient machines. These machines would be enlisted into the Omnius’s military conquest.

Later on, neo-cyemx technology is utilized by both the Synchronized Empire and the League of Nobles but eventually these are also destroyed as part of the anti-machine and anti-computer revolts.

 

Right is Giedi Prime. Just for reference

 

Collectively, such computers, artificial intelligence including cyborg technology such as cymex and neo-cymex were referred as ‘Thinking Machines’.

Throughout the whole galaxy, despite the benefits of such technologies, abhorrence against ‘Thinking Machines’ would disperse and ideology that a world without any kind of Thinking Machine related technology would be better emerges.

Such anti-computer, anti-thinking machine ideologies spread through the whole galaxy, and this would later trigger a duel of fate between the Thinking Machines and humans. that would cost the loser annihilation of their own kind.

 

 

Resistance against the Thinking Machines sets through the whole universe

War and revolutions break out through the whole galaxy and territories of the League of Nobles start to fall under the Synchronized Empire.

Numerous humans were enslaved by the Thinking Machines. Tyranny by the Omnius, machines and the titans form anti-artificial intelligence-ism anti-computer-ism throughout the whole galaxy.

 

 

Around 400 BG, sorceresses with special powers are concerned of the destiny of mankind and plot on the Kwisatz Haderach program. These sorceresses later become a much powerful organization, the Benne Gesserit.

The grand program of the Kwisatz Haderach is to make a Messiah with super cognitive prescience abilities. Prescience abilities refer to the ability to foresight the past, present and the future.

 

 

Tyranny of the Synchronized Empire continues and the Omnius’s military of neo-cymex which are partial or fully transformed cyborgs that follow the command of the Omnius brings horror to the galaxy.

While there was only sporadic unorganized resistance throughout the whole galaxy, the League of Nobles agree that an organized war is inevitable. Now, from religion to everyday life, computers and such ‘Thinking Machines’ are now a heresy to destroy.

 

 

The League of Nobles would utilize technologies such as neocymex just so for the victory of mankind later to be destroyed.

Although ideas of the destruction of all Thinking Machine analogous technologies seem extreme and fanatic, the League of Nobles are now desperate to eliminate all Thinking Machines and prepare all means for the victory against the Synchronized Empire.

Such fanaticism and ultra extremism characterized both by the Synchronized Empire and the League of Nobles become a fundamental basis throughout the whole Dune series.

 

Reference image

 

Butlerian Jihad – Crusade against ‘Thinking Machines’ begins – 201 BG ~ 108 BG

Unlike the individual, sporadic and unorganized revolts against the Thinking Machines, the Butlerian Jihad was a Jihad declared by the League of Nobles.

Tyranny of the Synchronized Empire gave birth to the idea of complete obliteration of the thinking machines, artificial intelligence and computers out of human civilization.

People across the galaxy developed a more human based culture and ideas. This led to the Butlerian Jihad that glorified the destruction of all computers, thinking machines and end the tyranny of the Synchronized Empire, Omnius and the titans.

 

 

Members of the Butler family were the core leaders of the Butlerian Jihad, which gave the Jihad its name after the Butler family. The Butler family is also important as its descendants also become the very first ancestor of House Corrino and House Harkonnen. T

he crusade, the jihad begins with desperate fanatic and extreme will of the survival of humanity. The League of Nobles nuclear bombed planet Earth which wiped the Thinking Machine's occupation as well as all life forms on such planets. War progresses and the League of Nobles and the Syncrhonized Empire clash throughout the galaxy.,

 

 

The Omnius and the Thinking Machines would strike back with biological weapons such as the Omnius Scourge. The Omnius virus is fatal and causes a galactic pandemic in 108 BG. The crusade between the humans and Thinking Machines became an intergalactic catastrophe.

Melange spice wasn't fully research during this time, and it didn't have much market value as well. However, the discovery of Mélange spice’s protective effect against the Omnius Scourge leads to more extensive research on Mélange spice.

Melange spcie becomes important as it is discovered that it not only protects humans from the infection of the Omnius virus but it also halts progression of the disease.