Ra

Ra
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**Ra** was a Supreme System Lord of the Goa'uld Empire for over 20 000 years. Because of this many civilisations have heared of him, the so called Sun god. To this day he remains the Goa'uld who ruled over the Empire the longest: over a third of the entire recorded history of the Goa'uld race.

## **Biography**

Nothing is known of Ra before he appeared at Apep's side, an underlord alongside Shak'ran and Thoth, who was given ownership over a portion of Atok's territory and forces after his death at the hands of Apep. United under the rulership of Apep, Ra and his kind swept across the Avalon Galaxy like a plague, taking many worlds under their control and very nearly wiping out the Unas who were at that time the hosts of the Goa'uld symbiotes.

### **The begining**

Shak'ran grew in Apep's favor, eventually earning a place at his side and becoming his most trusted adviser. Centuries later, Apep's original sons and daughters, Ra among them, became jealous of Shak'ran for the favor he had with Apep. They warned Apep about Shak'ran's ambition to replace him, but he did not take any mesures against Shak'ran. Very soon after the warning Ra gave him, Shak'ran killed Apep, and that this very act caused the Goa'uld to band their forces together in order to defeat him. The battles raged from 8 410 to 8 974 GC, very nearly decimating the Goa'uld themselves and taking many Unas with them before Shak'ran was eventually defeated.

Being the most powerful Goa'uld, Ra instated himself as the new ruler of the Empire, reinstating the old order which had been put in place by Apep. To show his appreciation for his help in the fight against Shak'ran, Yu-Huang Shang-Ti was rewarded by Ra himself: he was promoted to the rank of an Underlord. It was at this time that Ra also banished Thoth for his creation of the unstable Sarcophagus, though Thoth's understudy Telchak remained and was named the chief researcher of the Empire.

### **War with the Asgard**

By 10 000 GC, the Goa'uld discovered small quantities of Naquadah which caused Ra to petition the System Lords for a new era of expansion, offering exclusive rights and access to the now dwindling Unas in exchange for shipments of the valuable material. Their attention diverted away from gaining power of their own, the System Lords set about exploration in order to gain more and more Naquadah. It was perhaps because of this expansionist nature that the Goa'uld ran afoul of the Asgard for the first time in 13 980 GC. Seeing the Goa'uld for what they were, the Asgard immediately declared themselves enemies of the System Lord collective and the Goa'uld responded in kind.

Relishing the opportunity to flex their muscles, the Goa'uld soon struck against the Asgard but it became apparent that they were more than a match for the technology of the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld begrudgingly retreated and, having lost the co-ordinates for their homeplanet and thus their primary source for hosts, Ra once again called for stockpiles of Naquadah as well as putting an end to the ritual cannibalism which had been a part of Goa'uld society for generations. Nearly four thousand years later, with their resources running low, the System Lords performed a daring attack against both the Asgard and the Furlings which struck a resounding effect. Rather than winning the war, however, this simply caused the two races to fight back even harder and in the years that followed the Asgard dealt the Goa'uld many major setbacks, though strangely did not press the attack. The Furlings dissapeared from the Galaxy in 18 984 GC, thus letting the Goa'uld focus on the war with the Asgard. This war continues to this very day, even after the death of Ra.

**Discovery of Humans**

 Despite the lack of a head-on attack, many skirmishes and bloody battles raged on for several centuries and, somehow, Ra found himself leaving his Unas host in order to take the body of the Asgard Famrir. However, the Asgard physiology began to reject Ra. Worse, in 17 410 GC, he was injured in a battle with the Asgard. Fleeing his Asgard pursuers, Ra found a lush world in an alien system; Earth. It was there that he found the solution to the lack of hosts in a race of primitives who bowed to his divinity; the Tau'ri. Transferring himself into one of these primitives, Ra became infused with new vigor and life, soon discovering that they provided a near-ideal host for his race. He continued taking over his host and supressing his counsciusness, making him a prisoner in his own body. Part of the reason Ra chose Humans to be the new hosts was because they offered many benefits that other races did not, while still being easy to control. At the same time he found ancient energy jewels that he named the "Eyes of the Goa'uld", that he addapted to the Goa'uld technology and shared with his most trusted Underlords. He naturaly kept the ost powerful jewel for himself.

Ra quickly enslaved the Human race, using the Stargate to keep in contact with the other Goa'uld, and informing them of his new bounty. The System Lords soon fought amongst themselves for the right to claim some of the Tau'ri, but Ra instated a system which gave each System Lord stewardship in order for them to visit the planet and claim some followers who were taken to a world of the Goa'uld's choice to act as breeding stock. Ra also divided the planet into strict geographical lines to ensure that no System Lord would encroach upon another's territory—he, however, took place as the ruling god in several other cultures such as the Canaanites where he was known as El. Ra himself took some of his followers offworld to a planet known as Abydos where he used them as slaves to mine Naquadah for himself.

Centuries later, the Asgard started distrupting Ra's supply lines, forcing him to gather the fleet and make a counter-attack. Having played on Ra's distraction, Sokar seized control of Earth before Ra could return and transformed it into a vision of hell, making clear his plans to seize Ra's position as Supreme System Lord. Furious, Ra threw Sokar off of Earth with the help of the other System Lords, most notably Cronus and Apophis. Sokar fled on a starship and, though his power was diminished, Sokar continued to battle against Ra and all of his followers— particularly Apophis. In 21 898 GC Apophis dealt a critical blow to Sokar's forces which once again stabilized Ra's rule, though again Sokar survived and went back to rebuilding his forces. The Tau'ri became aware of the truth behind the Goa'uld, learning that they were not in fact all-powerful gods but simply beings with advanced technology and so rose against their oppressors. Choosing the moment when the System Lords were at their most complacent— and indeed when Ra was overseeing his other territories— they overthrew their oppressors as well as the Jaffa guards, killing several on-planet Goa'uld and burying the Stargate. While the loss of the Tau'ri was a great affront to Ra, his continuing battles with the Asgard demanded more of his attention and so, as he had several other breeding planets, he simply let Earth be.

### **First Goa'uld Dynasty**

With the Unas of P3X-888 in short supply and the Goa'uld symbiotes growing once more at a steady rate, Ra and the other Goa'uld were forced to push the limitations of their species. By 23 940 GC Ra had managed to solidify his authority and appointed a new form of rulership to govern the Goa'uld, and thus the System Lords were formed with Ra as the Supreme System Lord. Ra stated that entry into the body was awarded by a vote from the current members, creating a power system that served for thousands of years. Joining the first ranks of the System Lords were Yu-Huang and Apophis. During this period, Ra also took Egeria as his Queen, though Hathor would fill this position after her betrayal.

### **Start of the end**

Because of Earth and Dendera's rebellion against him, Ra outlawed writing on all of his worlds and caused them to come to a technological standstill. On planets which were rich in Naquadah, Trinium, or other materials which he needed, Ra forced his subjects into slavery and mined the planets for everything they were worth. On some worlds, such as Abydos, he used only a handful of Jaffa and scare tactics to keep the local population in check while on other, more densely populated worlds he employed his massive armies as shock troops as well as intrusive police forces.

Despite this, Ra was known to richly reward those who served him well and commonly showered them with wealth and honors. However, any who went against him were treated to torture and death, as well as being forced to serve under him unconditionally. On most of his worlds, Ra's people would congregate in small cities where they would be allowed a degree of autonomy provided they did not rebel against him and as long as they continued to work in the mines to pay their tribute. Ra was known to have a select group of allies who he could trust to side with him in times of crisis, including his queen Hathor and his son, Heru'ur, who worked as his agent for a long time while secretly plotting to overthrow him. Having witnessed the stagnation of the Goa'uld for several millennia, as well as Ra's singular desire to wipe out the Asgard, the Queen Egeria spawned a legion of symbiotes in 19 001 GC which opposed the ways of Ra in order to change the balance of power. To add insult to injury, she even named her children the Tok'ra—literally meaning against Ra—and began her rebellion against the other Goa'uld.

Ra soon began to impose his will on the Goa'uld once more, attempting to regain the power he once had over ten thousand years ago and creating a new group of System Lords, this time incorporating Apophis, Ba'al, Cronus, Morrigan, Olokun and Yu among others.The Goa'uld once again went back to fighting the Asgard and, for the first time, started to make progress against their more advanced foe. Discovering that the Asgard's other allies had somehow disappeared, they kept pushing the battles on even after hearing of another threat which had emerged. It was in 45 349, after yet another setback, that Ra once again instigated a new set of principles, this time demanding that the other Goa'uld acquiesce and laying out formal terms for the appropriation of Goa'uld larva, Jaffa, and the division of Naquadah. Due to the renewed threat of the Asgard, the other symbiotes accepted the terms and, for a time, learned to work together for the greater goal. At this time Ra's First Prime was Anubis, his brother. He was often known to hand-pick Human warriors from the ranks of his armies—beings who other System Lords would treat as cannon fodder—and promote them to be senior officers in his military.

### **The death of Ra**

Anubis was accused of dishonorably killing Ra after "letting" a group of outsiders plant an explosive device on Ra's Mothership. As his First Prime Jaffa, Anubis was expected to be by his side always, which is why Apophis has accused him of treason. Rebeling against your Lord is among the biggest offences one Jaffa can commit, which is why many System Lords stood by Apophises side.Many System Lords rose to great power in the vacuum caused by Ra's death; however, none had the sort of command over the others that Ra had held. The main ones that rose to power were Apophis, Yu-Huang Shang-Ti, Anubis and Ba'al.

Ra's queen Hathor, one of the last Goa'uld who remained on Earth after the Stargate was buried, was freed by a team of archaeologists in 45 891 GC.

## **Appearance**

Ra's first and only human host had short black hair and dark brown eyes. He was always wearing thin clothes of diferent colors, along with a lot of jewelry and a huge golden helmet.

## **Personality**

Ra was known as a very cruel Goa'uld Lord. He trully started believing that he is a Sun god near the end of his life, so he acted as he was immortal. Many of his subjects feared him, as he was not very known as the one who shows mercy easily. Most of his subjects were slaves who worked in the mines and were brutaly punished when they didn't finish their work as it was planned for them.

## **See also**

* Goa'uld Empire
* Eyes of the Goa'uld
* Nat
* Thoth
* Hathor
* Anubis
* Apophis
* Yu-Huang Shang-Ti
* Cronus
* Olokun
* Morrigan