Padishah Emperor - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Padishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire

Old Empire (Dune)

The Old Empire is a fictional galactic empire in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The term has been applied to two distinct eras in the fictional history of the Dune series.-The Padishah Empire:...

in the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

Dune universe

Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...

created by Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert

Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...

Original series

In Herbert's originating novel Dune

Dune (novel)

Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...

(1965) it is established that the Imperium of the Padishah Emperor encompasses the entire universe known to mankind. While the Emperor is supreme sovereign

Sovereign

A sovereign is the supreme lawmaking authority within its jurisdiction.Sovereign may also refer to:*Monarch, the sovereign of a monarchy*Sovereign Bank, banking institution in the United States*Sovereign...

ruler of the universe, power is shared, in a quasi-feudal

Feudalism

Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...

arrangement, with the noble houses of the Landsraad

Landsraad

The Landsraad is a fictional organization in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It is the assembly of all noble Houses in the Imperium.-Overview:...

and with the Spacing Guild

Spacing Guild

The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...

, which possesses a monopoly over interstellar travel

Interstellar travel

Interstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...

. Members of House Corrino

House Corrino

Imperial House Corrino is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The Corrinos come to power after mankind's victory against the thinking machines at the Battle of Corrin , and rule until deposed by Paul Atreides approximately 10,000 years later during the events...

sit on the Golden Lion throne as Padishah Emperors from the time of the ancient Battle of Corrin until the events of Dune some 10,000 years later. Dune establishes that Salusa Secundus

Salusa Secundus

Salusa Secundus is a fictional planet appearing in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. With harsh conditions rivaling those of the desert planet Arrakis, Salusa is used as the Imperial Prison Planet, and is one of two planets on which shigawire is grown .-Dune:In "Terminology of the Imperium," the...

had been the homeworld of House Corrino, and at some point the Imperial Court had moved to the planet Kaitain

Kaitain (Dune)

Kaitain is a fictional planet in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.In Herbert's 1965 novel Dune, it is mentioned briefly as the seat of power of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, the Royal Court being previously located on the planet Salusa Secundus.The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy ...

As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor is Shaddam Corrino IV

Shaddam Corrino IV

Shaddam Corrino IV is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is Padishah Emperor of the known universe in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. Shaddam's accession to the throne is chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Born...

, successor to Elrood IX; all that is noted of Elrood in Dune is that he had died by chaumurky (poison) and that Shaddam's close friend Count Hasimir Fenring

Hasimir Fenring

Count Hasimir Fenring is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is featured in the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert, and is also a key character in the Prelude to Dune trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...

was rumored to have been responsible. During the events of Dune, Shaddam himself is deposed by Duke Paul Atreides

Paul Atreides

Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...

in 10,193 A.G. (After Guild

Spacing Guild

) after Paul seizes control of the desert planet

Desert planet

A desert planet is a single-biome planet on which the climate is mostly desert, with little or no natural precipitation. Desert planets are known to exist; Mars is often considered a prime example. Indeed, many terrestrial planets would be considered desert planets by this definition...

Arrakis

Arrakis — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is...

, only source of the vitally all-important spice melange. Though Paul subsequently rules as Emperor, the term "Padishah" is dropped, and the Imperium as it has previously been known essentially ceases to exist since absolute control of the spice gives Paul unprecedented power over the Landsraad, Spacing Guild and all other factions.

As detailed in Dune Messiah

Dune Messiah

Dune Messiah is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the second in a series of six novels. It was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. The American and British editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel...

(1969), Paul's apparent death 13 years later puts his sister Alia

Alia Atreides

Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...

in place as Imperial Regent for his children, Leto II

Leto Atreides II

Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...

and Ghanima. Young Leto ascends the throne in 1976's Children of Dune

Children of Dune

Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...

, becoming a human-sandworm

Sandworm (Dune)

The sandworm is a fictional form of desert-dwelling creature from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They first appear in the 1965 novel Dune, considered to be among the classics in the science fiction genre, and are iconic of the Dune series.In the series, the sandworms called Shai-Hulud...

hybrid to achieve superhuman physical abilities and longevity. Leto rules as God Emperor for over 3,500 years; his assassination in God Emperor of Dune

God Emperor of Dune

God Emperor of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert published in 1981, the fourth in the Dune series. It was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly.-Plot introduction:...

(1981) effectively abolishes the Imperial throne.

An early Emperor named Shaddam I is mentioned in the glossary of the novel Dune, and another called Shakkad the Wise is noted in Children of Dune. The non-canon

Canon (fiction)

In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...

Dune Encyclopedia (1984) by Willis E. McNelly

Willis E. McNelly

Willis Everett McNelly was a professor and writer best known for The Dune Encyclopedia, the 1984 companion to Frank Herbert's classic Dune series of science fiction novels....

invents an extensive, alternate chronology of Padishah Emperors.

Prequels

Several prequel

Prequel

A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...

novels by Brian Herbert

Brian Herbert

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert....

and Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson

Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...

further explore the back-story

Back-story

A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...

of the Dune universe. According to the Legends of Dune

Legends of Dune

Legends of Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe.* Dune: The Butlerian Jihad * Dune: The Machine Crusade * Dune: The Battle of Corrin...

prequel trilogy

Trilogy

A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...

(2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, the Empire had been founded on Salusa Secundus. The Prelude to Dune

Prelude to Dune

Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe....

prequel trilogy (1999–2001) further reveals that, after centuries as the capital of the Corrino Padishah Empire, Salusa had been devastated by atomics. The Imperial throne had been relocated to the planet Kaitain, where it remains for millennia.

Name	Reign	Ordinal
House Corrino
Faykan I (Faykan Butler)	88 BG - ? BG or AG	1
Hassik III	Unknown
Ishaq XV	Unknown
Idriss I	Unknown
Crown Prince Raphael	Unknown
Vutier II	Unknown	78
Fondil III	? - 10,018	79
Elrood IX	10,018 - 10,156	80
Shaddam IV Shaddam Corrino IV Shaddam Corrino IV is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is Padishah Emperor of the known universe in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. Shaddam's accession to the throne is chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Born...	10,156 - 10,196	81
House Atreides
Paul "Muad'Dib" Paul Atreides Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...	10,196 - 10,209
Imperial Regent Alia Alia Atreides Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...	10,209 - 10,219
Leto II Leto Atreides II Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J... , "The God Emperor"	10,219 - 13,728
Note: Dunes Imperial dating system is based upon the formation of the Spacing Guild, measured as "Before Guild" and "After Guild" (B.G. and A.G.)

Faykan I

The first Padishah Emperor of the known universe was Faykan Corrino I. In the events of Dune: The Battle of Corrin

Dune: The Battle of Corrin

Dune: The Battle of Corrin is a 2004 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the third book in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place over 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's...

, he was born in 145 B.G. as Faykan Butler, grandson of Xavier Harkonnen

Xavier Harkonnen

Xavier Harkonnen is a character in the fictional Dune universe. Xavier's role existed in the Legends of Dune series, in the books Dune: The Butlerian Jihad and Dune: The Machine Crusade. He was also referenced in Dune: The Battle of Corrin....

. A primero (general) in the Army of the Jihad, Faykan later became Viceroy of the League of Nobles, using the political atmosphere and the religious fervor of the Cult of Serena to gain popularity and respect among the League, along with leverage over it. In 100 B.G. he married Jessica Boro-Ginjo, great-granddaughter of former Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo and descendant of the Boro family, the Imperial House in the time before the Titan

Titan (Dune)

The Titans are a group of fictional characters in the Legends of Dune series of novels, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson and set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert...

s took control of the Old Empire

Old Empire (Dune)

.

In 88 B.G., after the Battle of Corrin ended the Butlerian Jihad

Butlerian Jihad

The Butlerian Jihad is an event in the back-story of Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Occurring over 10,000 years before the events chronicled in his 1965 novel Dune, this jihad leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "thinking machines", a collective term for computers...

, Faykan merged the position of Viceroy with the vacant position of Grand Patriarch as the first step to consolidate his power. Faykan changed his family name to Corrino

House Corrino

in tribute to the Battle of Corrin and declared himself Emperor, thereby establishing the Corrino Empire. Later, he asserted his power through military might over the factions of the former League through the formation of the army that became known as the Sardaukar. The Landsraad was formed by the League in order to keep the power of the Corrinos in check.

It can be argued that Faykan may not have been considered an actual Padishah Emperor, as the Golden Lion Throne, CHOAM

CHOAM

The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles is a fictional universal development corporation in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, first mentioned in the 1965 novel Dune...

, the Guild, and the Landsraad were founded circa 1 A.G. The first Emperor to bear that title was most likely Faykan's son or grandson.

Hassik III

Hassik Corrino III was the Padishah Emperor when the Corrino homeworld of Salusa Secundus was laid to waste by an atomic attack by a renegade House. Hassik relocated the Imperial throne to Kaitain and turned Salusa into a prison planet.

In Dune: House Atreides

Dune: House Atreides

Dune: House Atreides is a 1999 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the first book in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune...

, Shaddam IV noted that the Imperial Observatory had been built by Hassik III. A builder of many grand edifices, "Hassik III had wanted to show that even after the near obliteration of House Corrino, the Imperium and its business would continue at a more exalted level than ever before." The Golden Lion Throne itself, first mentioned in Dune, had been carved from a single piece of blue-green Hagal quartz — "the largest such gem ever found, dating back to the days of Emperor Hassik III."

According to Dune: House Corrino

Dune: House Corrino

Dune: House Corrino is a 2001 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the third book in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune...

, Hassik III was the first to be entombed in the Imperial Necropolis, the large catacombs beneath the Imperial Palace in Corrinth, the capital city of Kaitain.

In Dune: House Corrino, Lady Jessica went to the Hassik III Center for the Performing Arts (with Emperor Shaddam IV and the Lady Anirul) to see the play My Father's Shadow while she was on Kaitain serving as a personal lady-in-waiting for the Corrino family. It was noted that "Hassik III ... had taxed his subjects nearly into bankruptcy in order to rebuild a governmental infrastructure."

The following excerpts of Hassik III's writings are referenced via epigraphs

Epigraph (literature)

In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...

in the Prelude to Dune novels:

How easily grief becomes anger, and revenge gains arguments. — Lament for Salusa Secundus (Dune: House Harkonnen
Dune: House Harkonnen
Dune: House Harkonnen is a 2000 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the second book in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune...

)
It is difficult to make power lovable — this is the dilemma of all governments. — private Kaitain journals (Dune: House Corrino)

Idriss I

Idriss Corrino I was the father of Imperial Crown Prince Raphael Corrino, and was assassinated by his political enemies. Later, Idriss was featured in My Father's Shadow, a play based upon Raphael's life.

The following excerpts of Idriss I's writings are referenced via epigraphs in Dune: House Corrino:

Man participates in all cosmic events. — Legacies of Kaitain
The natural destiny of power is fragmentation. — Landsraad Archives

Raphael

According to most historians, Crown Prince Raphael Corrino was one of the most brilliant politicians and scholars of House Corrino, and to quote Earl Dominic Vernius, "the only good Corrino of them all!" Raphael was also the originator of the term "Law is the ultimate science", which is the motto of House Corrino.

Raphael was born as the eldest son of the Padishah Emperor Idriss I, and thereby the Imperial Crown Prince of the Padishah Empire. When Idriss was nearly assassinated, but left in a permanent coma, Raphael refused to be crowned Emperor, claiming he was not worthy of the throne. Instead, he seated himself upon a smaller throne beside the Imperial Golden Lion Throne. Even as the defacto ruler, Raphael always referred to himself as "Crown Prince". His wife Herade, however, used the title Empress. Much later, a play was written based upon Raphael's life, named My Father's Shadow.

The following quotes and excerpts of Raphael's writings are referenced via epigraphs in the Prelude to Dune novels:

History allows us to see the obvious — but unfortunately, not until it is too late. (Dune: House Atreides)
Among the responsibilities of command is the necessity to punish ... but only when the victim demands it. — Discourses on Leadership in a Galactic Imperium, 12th Edition (Dune: House Atreides)
We all live in the shadows of our predecessors for a time. But we who determine the fate of planets eventually reach the point at which we become not the shadows, but the light itself. — Discourses on Leadership (Dune: House Atreides)
The worst sort of alliances are those which weaken us. Worse still is when an Emperor fails to recognize such an alliance for what it is. — Discourses on Leadership (Dune: House Atreides)
A world is supported by four things: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the righteous, and the valor of the brave. But all of these are as nothing without a ruler who knows the art of ruling. — Discourses on Galactic Leadership (Dune: House Atreides)

Secrets are an important aspect of power. The effective leader spreads them in order to keep men in line. — Discourses on Leadership in a Galactic Imperium, Twelfth Edition (Dune: House Harkonnen)
Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions. — Discourses on Leadership (Dune: House Harkonnen)
An empire built on power cannot attract the affections and loyalty that men bestow willingly on a regime of ideas and beauty. Adorn your Grand Empire with beauty, with culture. — From a speech, L'Institut de Kaitain Archives (Dune: House Harkonnen)
Facts mean nothing when they are preempted by appearances. Do not underestimate the power of impression over reality. — The Rudiments of Power (Dune: House Harkonnen)
Political leaders often don't recognize the practical uses of imagination and innovative new ideas until such forms are thrust under their noses by bloody hands. — Discourses on Galactic Leadership (Dune: House Harkonnen)
It requires a desperate and lonely sort of courage to challenge the accepted wisdom upon which social peace of mind rests. — In Defense of Change in the Face of Tradition (Dune: House Harkonnen)

There are tides of leadership, rising and falling. Into each Emperor's reign flow the tides, ebbing and surging. — Discourses on Leadership in a Galactic Imperium, Twelfth Edition (Dune: House Corrino)
Law always moves in the direction of protecting the strong and oppressing the weak. Dependence upon force corrodes justice. — Precepts of Civilization (Dune: House Corrino)
Greatness must always be combined with vulnerability. (Dune: House Corrino)
Inevitably, the aristocrat resists his final duty — which is to step aside and vanish into history. (Dune: House Corrino)

In Dune: House Corrino, the following quotes are attributed to Raphael in the play about his life, My Father's Shadow (though Lady Jessica notes that the lines have been slightly altered in some way from the original text):

To be born a Corrino is more blessing than any man deserves.
I shall not usurp my father's throne, and woe to any parasite who considers it.

Raphael's consort is also quoted via epigraph in Dune: House Corrino:

In a society where hard data is uncertain at best, one must be careful to manipulate the truth. Appearance becomes reality. Perception becomes fact. Use this to your advantage. — Empress Herade, A Primer on the Finer Points of Culture in the Imperium
Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere. You must climb the mountain just a little ... enough to test that it's a mountain, enough to see where the other mountains are. From the top of any mountain, you cannot see that mountain. — Empress Herade, consort to Crown Prince Raphael Corrino

Vutier II

Vutier Corrino II was the 78th Emperor of the known universe, and father to the 79th Emperor Fondil III. Little is known about Vutier II, though in Dune: House Atreides Shaddam IV remarks that Vutier was a great patron of the arts.

Fondil III

Fondil Corrino III (9843 - 10,018 A.G.) was the 79th Emperor of the known universe, son of Vutier II and father to Elrood IX. After striking down many revolts, he became known as "the Hunter".

According to Dune: House Corrino, Fondil was laid to rest in a walled-up vault in the Imperial Necropolis:

The pitted iron door was flanked by the stuffed carcasses of two ferocious predators the man had killed: a spiny ecadroghe from the high plateaus of Ecaz and a tufted saber-bear from III Delta Kaising. Fondil, however, had taken his epithet from hunting men, ferreting out enemies and destroying them. His big-game adventures had been a mere diversion.

The following quotes are attributed to Fondil III via epigraphs in Dune: House Corrino:

The fact that any family in the Imperium could deploy its atomics to destroy the planetary bases of fifty or more Great Houses need not concern us overmuch. It is a situation we can hold in check. If we remain strong enough.
Pay your spies well. One good infiltrator is more valuable than legions of Sardaukar.
The conquerors despise the conquered for allowing themselves to be beaten.

Elrood IX

Elrood Corrino IX (9,999-10,156 A.G.) was the 80th Emperor of the known universe, son of Fondil III "The Hunter" and father to Shaddam IV

Shaddam Corrino IV

. Elrood was the penultimate emperor in the Corrino Dynasty and ascended to the throne at the age of 19. During his reign of 138 years, Elrood married into many royal houses of the Imperium, among them House Mutelli, House Hagal and House Ecaz.

According to the back matter of Dune: House Atreides, Elrood married Barbara Mutelli in 10,019 A.G.; they had a daughter called Wensicia (who should not be confused with Elrood's granddaughter), and a son called Elliott. Elrood murdered one-year-old Elliott himself, after which "Barbara went insane; Elrood kept her, though, and impregnated her repeatedly ... the fertilized embryos were placed in storage for later dynastic emergencies." Barbara died in 10,026, and Elrood's subsequent marriage to Yvette Hagal in 10,036 produced three daughters: Crystane, Tara and Edwina (b. 10,070). Edwina would later marry Count Ilban Richese in 10,090, and eventually became the great-grandmother of Paul Atreides.

Yvette died in 10,075 A.G., and Elrood next married Alexandra Ecaz in 10,079. She gave birth to the Crown Prince Fafnir, but later disappeared in 10,098. Elrood's "impulsive marriage" to Habla of Hassika V in 10,100 was childless for 19 years. Using one of the frozen embryos from his first wife, Barbara Mutelli, Elrood made it possible for Habla to produce a son — Shaddam. Shaddam himself never knew that his genetic mother was Barbara.

Elrood's eldest son and heir Fafnir was murdered by Count Hasimir Fenring

Hasimir Fenring

in 10,138 A.G. at the urging of Shaddam, who himself desired to inherit the throne. According to Shaddam, Elrood suspected Fenring's role in Fafnir's death (and later discovered Shaddam's complicity), but accepted it as part of Imperial politics. Though they never confessed, in Dune: House Corrino, Shaddam recalled that Elrood had "cackled knowingly: and said:

It shows initiative that you are able to make difficult decisions. But do not be so eager to take the responsibility of an Emperor. I still have many years left in my reign, and you must observe my example. Watch, and learn.

In Dune: House Atreides, Shaddam remembered how Elrood had been amused when he learned that Shaddam "had been slipping contraceptives into the food of his own mother, Habla, so she couldn't conceive another son and rival to him." Elrood, however, had also fathered an illegitimate son named Tyros Reffa with his concubine

Concubinage

Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...

Shando Balut, the future wife of Earl Dominic Vernius of Ix

Ix (Dune)

Ix is a fictional planet featured in the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In Dune it is noted that Ix is classed with the planet Richese as "supreme in machine culture," and that Ixian solido projectors "are commonly considered the best." In...

.

Elrood was Padishah Emperor at the time of the first Prelude to Dune novel, Dune: House Atreides. In his later years, Elrood gave the siridar-governorship of Arrakis to House Harkonnen

House Harkonnen

House Harkonnen is a powerful noble family in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. The Harkonnens are featured prominently in the original 1965 novel Dune, and are also a major presence in both the Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune prequel trilogies by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...

. He also created the title "Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis", and appointed Pardot Kynes

Pardot Kynes

Pardot Kynes is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He was the Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis prior to the start of the novel Dune, and was featured in the Prelude to Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Pardot Kynes was first introduced in the...

to find out exactly how the spice melange was created. Elrood became a despotic and dictatorial ruler who in 10,154 A.G. authorized the Tleilaxu

Bene Tleilax

The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...

takeover of planet Ix and established the Project Amal program to create synthetic melange, intending to remove the Empire's dependency on Arrakis and control the spice himself. His long rule ended in 10,156 when he was assassinated, poisoned by slow acting chaumurky administered to him by Count Fenring (again doing the bidding of Elrood's son Shaddam).

In Dune: House Corrino it was revealed that Elrood’s remains were interred in the Imperial Necropolis:

He finally led Fenring to where the sealed ashes of Elrood IX waited in a relatively small alcove, adorned with shimmering diamondplaz, ornate scrollwork, and fine gems — a sufficient display of Shaddam’s grief at the loss of his "beloved father" ... Disrespectfully, Shaddam leaned against the resting place of his father’s ashes. The old man had been cremated to foil any Suk physician’s attempts to determine the true cause of death.

The following quotes and excerpts of Elrood IX's writings are referenced via epigraphs in the Prelude to Dune novels:

Like many culinary delicacies, revenge is a dish best savored slowly, after long and delicate preparation. — Deathbed Insights (Dune: House Atreides)
Immobility is often mistaken for peace. (Dune: House Harkonnen)
Enemies strengthen you; allies weaken. — Deathbed Insights (Dune: House Harkonnen)
Blood is thicker than water, but politics is even thicker than blood. — Memoirs of Imperial Rule (Dune: House Corrino)

Shaddam IV

The son of Elrood IX, Shaddam is featured in Dune, and his early reign is further explored in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001).

Other Emperors

The following Corrino Emperors are mentioned briefly in Dune works, but their exact place in the Imperial chronology is unknown:

Ishaq XV

Padishah Emperor Ishaq Corrino XV designed and built the Ishaq Hall of Magnificent Documents in Kaitain’s capital city of Corrinth. In its time the museum was, according to Dune: House Corrino, "one of the most spectacular constructions in the burgeoning Imperial city." However, by the time of Shaddam IV it had been "swallowed by ever more impressive architecture" and "lost among the extravagant monuments on Kaitain." The museum was a repository for, among other things, the handwritten personal diaries of past Corrino Emperors.

Mandias

The "long-forgotten" Corrino ruler called Mandias the Terrible was known as "the Emperor who made worlds tremble." According to Dune: House Corrino, his mummy was hidden in the Imperial Necropolis "in a chamber fronted by a fearsome, life-size statue" of Mandias. Shaddam IV noted when looking at Mandias' body: "I am not impressed ... Nobody even remembers him."