Shield Wall
the great rock barrier of Arrakis
The Shield Wall was a towering mountain range in the northern reaches of Arrakis that sheltered a small region from the planet's coriolis storms and kept the sandworms from human settlements. Paul Atreides breached it with the Family Atomics during the Battle of Arrakeen.
The Shield Wall was a mountainous, rocky geographic feature in the northern reaches of Arrakis. It sheltered a small area from the full force of the planet's coriolis storms, rising to as much as 4,500 metres in certain places. Though it was not a work of human hands, it held back the storms and barred the sandworms from the human settlements that gathered in its lee, among them the capital city of Arrakeen.
A natural barrier#
The Shield Wall stood in the northern reaches of Arrakis as a barrier of rock and mountain, reaching heights of up to 4,500 metres in some places. It was not built by any hand, yet it shielded a small region from the full violence of the planet's coriolis storms and, crucially, kept the sandworms away from the human settlements that sheltered behind it. In this protected band lay many of the most important sites of Arrakis, including the city of Arrakeen, capital under House Atreides; Carthag, the capital during the Harkonnen tenure; the Skull Tomb, where Paul Atreides laid the remains of Leto the Just to rest; and the Plains of Arrakeen, the battlefield on which Muad'Dib's armies broke the Sardaukar. The Cave of Birds, Mount Idaho, the Imperial Basin, the Minor Erg, and Tsimpo were also counted among the places it guarded.
The breach at Arrakeen#
When Paul Atreides halted all spice production on Arrakis, the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV travelled to the planet to restore the flow of melange and to crush the rising. He arrived aboard a Starship Lighter carrying a hutment full of Sardaukar and set down within the Shield Wall. When Paul's Fremen forces struck, Paul used the Family Atomics to blast an opening in the Shield Wall itself. Through the breach poured Fremen wormriders, who fell upon the Sardaukar on the Plains of Arrakeen and defeated them.
The slow ruin#
In the thousands of years that followed the Battle of Arrakeen, the Shield Wall gradually crumbled. As the great terraforming of Arrakis reshaped the world, the Wall was at last reduced to little more than a small plateau. It was within this remnant that Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade later discovered the spice hoard of Leto II.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Shield Wall on Arrakis?
- The Shield Wall was a mountainous, rocky feature in the northern reaches of Arrakis, rising to as much as 4,500 metres in places. Though not built by human hands, it sheltered a small region from the full force of the planet's coriolis storms and barred the sandworms from the human settlements behind it.
- What settlements did the Shield Wall protect?
- Within the band protected by the Shield Wall lay many important sites of Arrakis, including Arrakeen, the capital under House Atreides, and Carthag, the capital during the Harkonnen tenure. It also sheltered the Skull Tomb, the Plains of Arrakeen, the Cave of Birds, Mount Idaho, the Imperial Basin, the Minor Erg, and Tsimpo.
- How did Paul Atreides breach the Shield Wall?
- When Shaddam IV travelled to Arrakis to restore spice production and set down within the Shield Wall with his Sardaukar, Paul used the Family Atomics to blast an opening in the Wall itself. Through the breach poured Fremen wormriders, who fell upon the Sardaukar on the Plains of Arrakeen and defeated them.
- What happened to the Shield Wall over time?
- In the thousands of years after the Battle of Arrakeen, the Shield Wall gradually crumbled. As the great terraforming of Arrakis reshaped the world, it was reduced to little more than a small plateau, within which Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade later discovered the spice hoard of Leto II.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- WikiShield Wall — Dune Wiki entry
- WikiArrakeen — Dune Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Arrakis
Arrakis, known as Dune and later as Rakis, was a harsh desert world in the Canopus system and the only natural source of the spice melange. Home to the Fremen and the sandworms, it became the seat of the Atreides empire and the center of the known universe.
Carthag
Carthag was the capital of Arrakis during the rule of House Harkonnen, the larger and more populous of the planet's two great cities. When House Atreides took the fief in 10,191 AG, Duke Leto moved the capital to the more defensible Arrakeen.
Fedaykin
The Fedaykin were Fremen fighters of Arrakis, first the guerrillas of the Arrakis Revolt and then the personal death commandos of Paul Muad'Dib. By the time of his children they had become the elite of the Jihad army, before Alia Atreides dissolved them and the word returned to its old meaning.
Fremen
The Fremen were a culture of humans descended from the Zensunni Wanderers who made the desert planet Arrakis their home. Hardened by water scarcity and generations of persecution, they became the finest fighters in the Known Universe and the foot soldiers of Paul Atreides and his jihad.
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II was the third and final ruler of the Atreides Empire and its first and only God Emperor. The pre-born son of Paul Muad'Dib, he bonded with a colony of sandtrout to gain near-immortality and ruled mankind for thirty five hundred years to set humanity upon the Golden Path.
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides was the last Duke of House Atreides and the prophet Muad'Dib of the Fremen. The long-awaited Kwisatz Haderach of the Bene Gesserit, he toppled Emperor Shaddam IV, founded the Atreides Empire, and unleashed a jihad across the Known Universe before walking blind into the desert.
Mentioned in8 entries
Arrakeen
Arrakeen was the first settlement on Arrakis and its seat of power, a city near the northern pole sheltered by the Shield Wall. It served as the governor's seat under the Corrino Empire, the capital of Muad'Dib's empire, and later the festival city Onn before becoming Keen.
Arrakeen governor's palace: the Residency of Arrakis
The Arrakeen governor's palace, known colloquially as the Arrakeen Residency, was the largest building in Arrakeen and the seat of planetary power on Arrakis. It passed from the Fenrings to House Atreides, fell to the Harkonnens in the Siege of Arrakeen, and was retaken by Paul Atreides.
Arrakis
Arrakis, known as Dune and later as Rakis, was a harsh desert world in the Canopus system and the only natural source of the spice melange. Home to the Fremen and the sandworms, it became the seat of the Atreides empire and the center of the known universe.
Battle of Arrakeen
The Battle of Arrakeen was the pivotal engagement of the Arrakis Revolt, fought between Muad'Dib Paul Atreides's Fremen and the Sardaukar of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. The Fremen routed the Imperial forces, and in the surrender that followed Paul won control of the known universe.
Desert War: the fall of the Corrino Empire
The Desert War, also called the Harkonnen war or the Arrakis Affair, was the conflict that destroyed House Harkonnen, ended the Corrino Empire, and raised Paul Atreides to the Golden Lion Throne. It began as a War of Assassins in 10191 AG and concluded with the abdication of Shaddam Corrino IV.
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II was the third and final ruler of the Atreides Empire and its first and only God Emperor. The pre-born son of Paul Muad'Dib, he bonded with a colony of sandtrout to gain near-immortality and ruled mankind for thirty five hundred years to set humanity upon the Golden Path.
Pardot Kynes
Pardot Kynes was the Imperial Planetologist who first studied Arrakis, married into the Fremen, and gave them his dream of greening the desert. His vision of a transformed Dune would be carried on by his son Liet-Kynes.
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides was the last Duke of House Atreides and the prophet Muad'Dib of the Fremen. The long-awaited Kwisatz Haderach of the Bene Gesserit, he toppled Emperor Shaddam IV, founded the Atreides Empire, and unleashed a jihad across the Known Universe before walking blind into the desert.
Get new articles in your inbox
No spam. New lore drops, canon conflicts, and deep dives only when they’re worth reading.
Some links on Lore Fortress are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.