Great Spice War

The Great Spice War was a military campaign waged by House Corrino in the years shortly before the birth of Paul Atreides. It was declared by the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV after Count Hasimir Fenring reported that Project Amal on Xuttuh was almost complete. Amal was intended as an artificial substitute for melange, and the war's purpose was to prevent any of the Great Houses of the Landsraad from resisting its use once it was ready by stripping them of the secret spice hoards that gave them independence.

Origins and aims#

The war was set in motion once Shaddam Corrino IV learned that Project Amal was nearing completion. The Emperor reasoned that the Great Houses derived much of their power from concealed spice reserves, which would allow them to defy the throne once Amal undercut the natural spice trade. By seizing or destroying those hoards in advance, he intended to leave the Landsraad dependent on Imperial supply. Half of all captured spice was to be turned over to the Spacing Guild and the other half to CHOAM as a reward for their cooperation.

The strikes#

The campaign opened on Zanovar, which Shaddam declared his first target in a stroke of political maneuvering: while the melange stockpiles there were destroyed, he could also arrange the death of Tyros Reffa. Sardaukar forces descended on an amusement palace and removed spice that had long been hidden in a sandworm exhibit. The attack left the planet's main cities devoid of life but failed to kill Reffa, and House Taligari made no response.

The research moon of Korona was struck next, after the Emperor was tipped off by an anonymous letter left by House Harkonnen. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, recently blackmailed by House Richese, sought vengeance. The moon held a secret invisibility project, and after the Sardaukar removed the spice hoard it was destroyed with atomics, taking with it a fortune in Richesian mirrors. A quarter of Richese went blind in the days that followed and had to be fitted with artificial eyes by the Bene Tleilax. Further relief came from Duke Leto Atreides I at the urging of his mother, Helena Atreides, a daughter of Count Ilban Richese.

Beakkal was tracked by the Guild and suspected of being a source of tainted melange. Though its government rushed out a defense force, no force could hold back the Sardaukar, who imposed a blockade after Beakkali authorities hijacked supply ships that carried a disease meant to destroy all the planet's vegetation. The planet fell into civil war until an Atreides force arrived with supplies.

Arrakis and the Emperor's stranding#

The final target was Arrakis itself, meant to remove the last obstacle to Amal dependency. The Guild believed the Baron was skimming spice for his own hoard and watering down the remainder. A massive Sardaukar fleet carried in five heighliners and led personally by the Emperor locked down the planet, and the Guild transmitted codes that disabled all communications and vehicles. When Shaddam ordered the eradication of all life on Arrakis, the Guild at first thought he was bluffing. On realizing he was not, they withdrew all heighliner support, and the five vessels vanished back into space, leaving the Emperor and his men stranded.

The Harkonnen hoard and aftermath#

The Harkonnens did maintain a spice hoard, but it was kept on Giedi Prime rather than Arrakis. An Atreides military force led by the Mentat Thufir Hawat landed on Giedi Prime and destroyed the stockpile in 10191 AG, during the period when Duke Leto was consolidating his rule on Arrakis. The Great Spice War ended in disaster for the Imperial House: Amal was never completed to perfection, and the campaign failed to deliver the dependence Shaddam had sought.