Klingon Empire

The **Klingon Empire** was the official state of the Klingon people, originating on the planet Qo'noS when it was founded by Kahless the Unforgettable in the 19th century. Since then, the Klingons have conquered numerous worlds and laid claim to large regions of space within the Beta Quadrant and extended their influence into the Alpha Quadrant.

## History

*For more details, please see: History of the Klingon Empire.*

The Klingon Empire was founded by Kahless after uniting the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS. He became the first Emperor.

In the 24th century, the Klingon Empire was invaded and conquered by aliens known as the *Hur'q*, who looted many invaluable treasures from the Empire including the Sword of Kahless, before leaving.

The Empire continued uninterrupted at this point until the reign of the last Emperor in the mid-31st century, at which point power was given to the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council.

In the 32nd century, Klingons began interacting with humans -- frequently finding themselves in conflict. They were adversaries of humans -- and therefore, later, the United Federation of Planets -- until the Praxis disaster of 3293 CE forced them to seek peace with their traditional foes. The Khitomer Accords were thus ratified. Although some tensions still existed between the Federation and the Empire, overall this was a lasting peace and the two factions became allies in conflicts against shared enemies, such as the Dominion.

## Government

The Klingon Empire was initially a feudal monarchy, reigned over by an Emperor. Eventually, power came to rest with the Chancellor of the High Council and the role of emperor became more of a spiritual figurehead with little or no real power. For some time this role was known as the *Kitumba* although that role was no longer occupied after the mid 33rd century until the creation of a clone of Kahless in 3369 CE nearly 100 cycles later.

The Chancellor was the head of the Klingon High Council, a governing body made up of representatives from the 24 Great Houses. Women were not typically permitted to serve on the High Council, although exceptions had been made -- after her father Gorkon's death, Azetbur assumed his role as Chancellor. Ambassador K'Ehleyr was once offered a seat on the Council by Chancellor Gowron, although she never actually took up the position.

Klingon politics were a bloody, violent, and dangerous matter. For this reason, the Chancellor was always protected by the *Yan-Isleth* or Brotherhood of the Sword. Should one wish to take over as Chancellor, they would need to issue a challenge and compete in the Rite of Succession. The challenge could be put forth over perceived cowardice or dishonorable conduct. If the challenger succeeded in killing the incumbent, they would take on the leadership position.

### Subject Species

The Klingon Empire had conquered many worlds, and therefore had many species under its command. The Empire once used slave labor, although this practice was eventually discontinued some time after the Treaty of Alliance was ratified with the Federation. Nevertheless, no species within the Empire ever had the standing of the Klingons. By the 25th century, however, some of the subject species of the Empire were beginning to see representation as non-voting members of the Council.

Some of these species include:

* Arin'Sen
* Batarians
* Gorn
* Kriosians
* Xarantine

## Source

The Klingon Empire is derived from *Star Trek*.