Great House The Great Houses were a Klingon feudalistic social organization that dominated the Klingon Empire . The twenty - four most powerful Houses were represented on the Klingon High Council . ( ) By the 24th century , each House was usually led by the eldest male of the ruling family . His wife was the of the Great House , who typically oversaw the running of the household and approved all marriages into the family . The ruling family was traditionally of noble descent , though this was not always the case by the late 24th century . The Great House also included various properties and holdings , and commanded military forces . ( ; ) When the head of a Great House died , either in battle or of natural causes , leadership of the House passed to his heir , usually his eldest son . If the head of the House had been defeated in honorable combat , his wife also had the right to perform the " brek ' tal " ritual and choose his victor as the new head of her House . If the head of the House left no male heir and died under unusual circumstances , the High Council could arrange special dispensation for someone else to rule the House , such as the Mistress . ( ) It was possible for individuals unrelated by blood to join a Great House , by consent of the House ' s head . ( ; ; " see also : " R ' uustai " ) Great Houses which were gravely dishonored by the actions of their rulers could be disbanded , and their holdings claimed by other Houses . ( ) History . Throughout Klingon history , the Great Houses were generally at odds with one another , lacked any sort of unity , or were on the verge of civil war . In 2151 , T ' Pol explained to Klingon captain Vorok that if it were not for Captain Jonathan Archer having found and returned Klaang to the Klingon High Council , " " your Houses would be at war with each other , " " and for that , that Vorok was in Archer ' s debt . ( ) In 2256 , the Empire was dominated by twenty - four Great Houses . T ' Kuvma , who led a House not represented on the High Council , attempted to unite all the Houses by pitting the Empire against the Federation . ( ) Upon Worf and Kor discovering the Sword of Kahless in 2372 , the two argued over who the sword belonged to . Worf believed that it belonged to because " " It will allow him to unify the Houses against Gowron . " " ( ) Years later , when General Martok refused to give Kor a command during the Dominion War , Worf questioned the General ' s motives , later noting , " " There is no feud between our Houses . " " When Worf brought news of Martok ' s decision to Kor , Kor reminded Worf , " " I know your bloodline . We both come from noble Houses . " " ( ) As later revealed in 2377 , according to the Sacred Scrolls followed by Kohlar and his people that sought the " kuvah ' magh " , " " You will find me after two warring houses make peace . " " Kohlar later expanded that interpretation to include the cessation of hostilities between the Klingon Empire and the Federation . ( ) " In an alternate 2410 , when Alexander Rozhenko , a diplomat by trade , became the leader of the House of Mogh , he thought that he " " could single - handedly end the fighting between the Great Houses . " " He " " announced that the House of Mogh would end the feuding , that there would be no more retribution or revenge , " " yet despite warnings of showing weakness from his father Worf , Alexander found that his " " enemies saw my weakness and moved against me , " " a move that ultimately resulted in the death of Worf on the floor of the Great Council Chamber . " ( ) Great Houses . The Klingon Empire was divided between twenty - four Great Houses in the 2250s . ( ) Each of the twenty - four Great Houses in the 2250s held a seat on the High Council . ( ) The House of Martok was not a powerful noble - born Great House in the 23rd century ; due to General Martok ' s exemplary military career , it rose to political influence in the 24th century . ( ) It is possible for a House to change its name over time after new members , but others do not ( see " Background " below ) . Great Houses active in the 23rd century . During the 23rd century , political power within the Empire was divided up between explicitly twenty - four Great Houses , including : Lesser houses , not counted among the twenty - four Great Houses , included : Appendices . Background information . The defined " house " , in the Klingon culture , as being an extended family unit . Ronald D . Moore stated , " " We ' ve never explored the hows and whys regarding the naming of Klingon Houses . The House of Mogh reference was probably something that Worf carried on out of respect for his deceased father . This might be the right of a son – to perpetuate a single name for the House instead of supplanting it with his own . " " The episode turned out to be the conceptual genesis of Klingon Houses . Recalling his writing of the installment , Ron Moore explained , " " I started thinking about [ . . . ] Houses , and sort of , you know , the idea of bonding people to a Klingon House [ . . . ] The idea of bloodlines and families and sort of this Shakespearian idea of how the Klingon Empire ran – I was starting to , sort of , deal with that in this episode . " " Moore reckoned , " " I think I used the word ' House ' in my draft [ of ' The Bonding ' ] , even though it ' s not in the episode . " " ( The Bonding " audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu - ray ) Neither is the term included in the third revised draft of the installment ' s script . Ron Moore ' s concept of the conflicting , family - organized Great Houses was inspired by the created by . In a Klingon - defining memo which Moore sent to Michael Piller at the outset of working on , Moore stated , " " A Klingon regards the honor of his or her family to be valuable , above all else . The family name can be besmirched by any member of the family , regardless of age or infirmity . A Klingon would sooner kill himself and his closer brother than live with a mark on the name of his ancestral lineage . The family is all , and a member of the family is responsible for the actions of his kin . The oldest son of a Klingon warrior may be called upon to give his life for the actions of his father . " " The same document also referred to certain families being of importance in the Klingon Empire , the leaders of which comprised the High Council . ( " Sins of the Father " audio commentary , TNG Season 3 Blu - ray )