House Corrino
the imperial House of the Golden Lion Throne
House Corrino was the imperial House of the Known Universe, ruling family of the Padishah Empire for ten thousand years from the Golden Lion Throne. Seated at Kaitain and rooted on Salusa Secundus, it fell to House Atreides after the Battle of Arrakeen.
House Corrino was once the grandest and deadliest House Major within the Known Universe, and for ten thousand years the ruling family of the Imperium. Its official residence was the planet Kaitain, and its personal fief was its ancestral and eventual world of exile, Salusa Secundus. The House held the Golden Lion Throne until the rise of Paul Atreides forced Shaddam Corrino IV to relinquish it to House Atreides.
Origins and the Golden Lion Throne#
The Battle of Corrin in 88 BG granted the Corrino family both their namesake and supreme rulership of the new Imperium, with the Golden Lion Throne directly honoring their Great House crest. Over the subsequent millennia, the imperial House Corrino maintained a firm grip on the Empire.
Imperial rule and the Sardaukar#
House Corrino's rule was absolute while one of its members sat on the Golden Lion Throne, and the House maintained a vote in the Landsraad Council larger than that of any other Great House. Its dominance rested above all on the Sardaukar, reckoned the most powerful army in the Known Universe, whose superior abilities could crush any military opposition. It was said that the only way the Corrino Sardaukar could be defeated was through the combined forces of all the Great Houses of the Landsraad. The Corrinos were, by most accounts, just rulers of the Imperium, yet they did not hesitate to use treachery to keep their seat of power without becoming openly involved, as when they supplied Sardaukar to the Harkonnens to deal with the Atreides.
The plot against House Atreides#
Complacency, inactivity, and corruption eventually weakened the Sardaukar. Combined with ill-considered decisions by Shaddam IV and the scheming of the Bene Gesserit, this allowed other Great Houses, particularly House Atreides, to acquire significant respect and credibility within the Imperium. To discredit a rising rival and retain Corrino hegemony, Shaddam IV devised a plan to dispose of House Atreides: he ordered the House to take over the planetary fief of Arrakis, then arranged its destruction through the hated House Harkonnen by an audacious and highly illegal invasion of the planet.
Downfall#
Initially the plan appeared to succeed. Duke Leto Atreides I was killed and his family abandoned in the deep desert. A gradual uprising of the native Fremen, led by the mysterious Muad'Dib, caught both House Corrino and House Harkonnen off guard. After the Arrakis Revolt and the Battle of Arrakeen, House Corrino was forced to relinquish the Golden Lion Throne to the Atreides after thousands of years of rule. The Corrinos saw Atreides rule legitimized through Paul Atreides' marriage to Shaddam's eldest daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino. Shaddam IV and the remainder of his family were sent into effective exile on Salusa Secundus, where one of his other daughters, Princess Wensicia Corrino, plotted the Great House's re-emergence.
Failed revival#
Wensicia's plans were also foiled by the Atreides. Her son, Prince Farad'n Corrino, became the official concubine of his step-cousin, the Crown Princess Ghanima Atreides, providing the Atreides offspring needed for Leto II's Golden Path and serving as his official scribe. Though the House had lost most of its power, it continued to exist at least through the end of the reign of Leto Atreides II. Its known members included Padishah Emperor Elrood Corrino IX, Shaddam Corrino IV, and his daughters Irulan, Wensicia, Chalice, Josifa, and Rugi.
Frequently asked questions
- What was House Corrino?
- House Corrino was the imperial House Major of the Known Universe and, for ten thousand years, the ruling family of the Imperium. Its official residence was Kaitain, and its personal fief was Salusa Secundus.
- How did House Corrino come to rule the Imperium?
- The Battle of Corrin in 88 BG granted the Corrino family both their namesake and supreme rulership of the new Imperium, with the Golden Lion Throne directly honoring their Great House crest.
- What was the source of House Corrino's military power?
- Its dominance rested above all on the Sardaukar, reckoned the most powerful army in the Known Universe. It was said the only way the Corrino Sardaukar could be defeated was through the combined forces of all the Great Houses of the Landsraad.
- Why did Shaddam IV plot against House Atreides?
- To discredit a rising rival and retain Corrino hegemony, Shaddam IV ordered House Atreides to take over the fief of Arrakis, then arranged its destruction through House Harkonnen by an illegal invasion of the planet.
- How did House Corrino lose the throne?
- A gradual uprising of the Fremen led by Muad'Dib caught both House Corrino and House Harkonnen off guard. After the Arrakis Revolt and the Battle of Arrakeen, House Corrino was forced to relinquish the Golden Lion Throne to the Atreides, and Shaddam IV and his family were sent into exile on Salusa Secundus.
Gallery
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Sources
- WikiHouse Corrino — Dune Wiki entry
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Related entries
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