Sardaukar

The Sardaukar /ˈsɑːrdəkɑːr/^[1] are a fictional fanatical army from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, primarily featured in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune, as well as Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001).

Background

The Imperial Sardaukar are soldier-fanatics loyal to the Padishah Emperors of House Corrino, who have ruled the Known Universe (the Imperium) for over 10,000 years at the time of the events of the first novel in the series, Dune.^[2][3][4] The key to House Corrino's hold on the Imperial throne, the Sardaukar troops are the foremost soldiers in the universe and are feared by all. They are secretly trained on the inhospitable Imperial Prison Planet of Salusa Secundus: the harsh conditions there ensure that only the strongest and most "ferocious" men survive.^[2][5] Sardaukar training emphasizes ruthlessness, near-suicidal disregard for personal safety, and the use of cruelty as a standard weapon in order to weaken opponents with terror.^[2] In Dune, a Sardaukar colonel sneers at Dr. Yueh's mere mention of the word "pity".^[2] Dune describes the elite fighters as living a life almost "as exalted as that of any member of a Great House".^[2] Their uniforms are described as gray with silver and gold trim.^[2]

Dune

As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV has put Duke Leto Atreides in control of the desert planet Arrakis, known as Dune, which is the only source of the all-important spice melange, the most valuable commodity in the known universe. Leto is aware that Shaddam, threatened by the rising power and influence of House Atreides, has sent him into a trap; failure to meet or exceed the production volume of their predecessors, the vicious House Harkonnen, will negatively affect the financial and political position of the Atreides. Further, the very presence of the Atreides on Arrakis inflames the 10,000-year-old feud between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. A subsequent surprise attack on the Atreides by Harkonnen troops — bolstered by two legions of Sardaukar in Harkonnen colors – and made possible by a traitor on the inside, results in the obliteration of the Atreides forces, and the death of Leto. His concubine, Lady Jessica, and son Paul escape and find refuge with the native Fremen of Arrakis, a fierce people with secretly large numbers and fighting skills rivaling the Sardaukar. The Fremen prove capable of holding their own against the Sardaukar, and are even able to defeat and capture the "undefeatable" Emperor's soldiers. Paul's training in Bene Gesserit martial arts and galvanization of their rebellion under his command makes the newly allied Fremen forces unstoppable.^[2]

Using the Bene Gesserit compulsion technique called the Voice, Paul himself manages to compel the Sardaukar Captain Aramsham to humiliate himself by surrendering. However, Aramsham's Sardaukar stoicism is so great that he will not even give his name until Paul uses the Voice again. Aramsham, the epitome of a loyal soldier, finally submits to his sworn enemy, symbolically sealing the doom of the old Corrino order. When, following the Battle of Arrakeen, Paul tells a captured Sardaukar officer (of the "blond, chisel-featured caste" said to be "synonymous with rank" in the Sardaukar) to bring a message to the Emperor, he at first stoically ignores Paul; only Paul's warning that "your Emperor may die" causes the captured officer to agree to take the message. The defeat of the Sardaukar and Paul's stranglehold on the spice supply allows him to depose Shaddam, marry his eldest daughter Princess Irulan, and ascend the throne. Paul indicates that he would order the restoration of the ecology of Salusa Secundus as part of his plan to exile Shaddam and his family to the devastated world.^[2]

Dune Messiah

The Sardaukar do not appear in Dune Messiah (1969), but it is noted that Shaddam retains a single legion of them, ostensibly as a "police force", in his exile on Salusa Secundus. Paul's concubine Chani later recognizes Sardaukar spies hidden among a visiting Spacing Guild entourage, and they are killed. It is also revealed that a "wise Sardaukar commander" had retrieved the corpse of the slain Atreides Swordmaster Duncan Idaho, which had been entrusted to the Tleilaxu and used to create a ghola duplicate.^[6]

Children of Dune

During the events of Children of Dune (1976), Princess Wensicia, younger daughter of Shaddam IV, initiates a plot for her family and the Sardaukar to return to power. By this time, Paul has allowed the Corrinos to retain only a relatively small Sardaukar force. He has improved conditions on Salusa under the guise of making the planet more hospitable for the exiled Corrinos, but with the intent of rendering it an ineffective training ground for more soldiers. Seeing this motive, Wensicia's son Farad'n has tried to maintain the strict discipline that keeps the Sardaukar at their best. However, Wensicia's efforts fail, Farad'n voluntarily surrenders the army to the new Emperor, Paul's son Leto II Atreides.^[7]

God Emperor of Dune

The text of God Emperor of Dune notes that, during the 3,500-year reign of Leto II after the events of Children of Dune, one of Leto II's many gholas (clones) of Duncan Idaho had led the remnants of the Sardaukar in an unsuccessful revolt. This revolt, the Sardaukar's original defeat on Arrakis, and the general decline of the Sardaukar organization had all finally resulted in Leto II's abolishment of the Sardaukar corps. Their replacements are the all-female Fish Speakers, Leto II's personal army, who had Sardaukar blood in their veins. Leto believes that male-dominated military organizations were essentially predatory and would turn on the civilian population in the absence of an external enemy, and had "a strong tendency toward homosexual activities.^[8]

The Dune Encyclopedia

The Dune Encyclopedia (1984), written by Dr. Willis E. McNelly to accompany the Dune books, was authorized by Frank Herbert but somewhat contradicted by him in subsequent works and declared non-canon by his estate.^[9] The Encyclopedia's two articles on the Sardaukar note that the Sardaukar battle flag is plain black, and that those who became Sardaukar had once been members of a warlike ethnic group on Salusa Secundus called the Sardau. Another article on an "Aramsham, Otto" mentions that, after the fall of the Corrino dynasty, the captain writes books hearkening back to the glory days of the Sardaukar. One is called The Sardaukar Strike! and another is called Sardaukar Victorious; the article goes on to say that he ended his life by suicide, unable to adjust to new realities.^[10]

Dune games

Emblem of the Imperial Sardaukar from Emperor: Battle for Dune (2001)

In the Dune board game published by Avalon Hill in 1979, the player in control of the Emperor faction had access to several special tokens that were designated as Sardaukar by being imprinted with stars. These tokens could be used to gain an advantage in battle.

The Sardaukar appeared in the Dune RTS games. In Dune II (1992) and Dune 2000 (1998), they served as House Corrino's infantry in the single player campaigns, although, in Dune 2000, they could also be trained by a Harkonnen player in a multiplayer game. In Emperor: Battle for Dune, they are one of the five sub-factions.

References