The Emperors' List

The 1500-year period of interstellar anarchy known as the Long Night ended about a thousand years ago with the establishment of the Third Imperium.  The traditions of the First Imperium and the Second Imperium (the Rule of Man) remained even after centuries of disorganization, and it was only natural for a new interstellar empire to draw on its predecessors for precedent and for stability.

In a thirty-year campaign which molded public opinion at the same time that battle starships were convincing local governments, Cleon Zhunastu committed a family industrial base and a firm foundation of industrial support to the creation of an empire that would rival the glories of past ages.  He succeeded in forming a government that controlled, with velvet-gloved fist, nearly a hundred subsectors: the Third Imperium.

In the 1122 years since the assumption of Cleon I, the Emperors' List has been a convenient reference for the events in the growth and development of the Imperium.  The relationship of dates and emperors serves as a mnemonic device and lends color to the data.

Ascending the Throne

There is only one legitimate means to ascend to the Iridium Throne: by confirmation of the Moot.  In the absence of an emperor, the Moot is the validating body for the new emperor.  The Moot has the power to examine the qualifications and credentials of any apparent heirs, and it makes the final decision confirming or rejecting them.

Under very exceptional circumstances, two other methods of ascendancy have been invoked by various emperors.  The first of the methods, the Right of Assassination, was introduced by the Moot in 245 to deal with Cleon the Mad, a legitimate emperor who became insane after his confirmation by the Moot.

The other method of gaining Imperial power is that used by countless usurpers in the past.  Acting without the all-important consent of the Moot, these interlopers have taken the government into their own hands by heinous acts of violence against the person of the proper ruler.  While there are cases in Imperial history in which these usurpers have later been confirmed by the action of the Moot, such cases are rare, and the periods of time in which such actions took place have been marked by political turmoil and needless civil strife for loyal citizens of the Imperium.

Emperors Before the Civil War

Emperor
born
crowned
died
Cleon I
-57
0
53
Cleon II (Cleon the Weak)
21
53
(abdicated 54)
Artemsus
-17
54
166
Martin I
12
166
195
Martin II
53
195
224
Cleon III (Cleon the Mad)
201
244
245
Profiria 201
245
326
Anguistus
246
326
365
Martin III
289
365
456
Martin V
357
456
457
Nicholle
401
457
475
Cleon IV
423
475
555
Jerome
525
555
582
Jacqueline I
561
582
606

Emperors of the Flag

Emperor
born
crowned
died
Olav
532
606
609
Ramon I
560
609
609
Constantus
562
609
610
Nicolai
559
610
612
George
558
612
613

Numerous emperors of uncertain status and unlikely heritage ruled fragments of the Imperial Core from 613 to 615.  None held a sufficient balance of power to be judged truly emperor, none were supported by the Moot, and the Home Worlds had formed a temporarily autonomous state.  Nevertheless, no break in the Imperium is judged to have taken place as the Imperial bureaucracy continued to function without interruption.

In 615, Cleon V was finally proclaimed emperor by a close vote in the Moot, reestablishing a proper dynastic succession.  Only a few years later, at the instigation of radical nobles in the Moot, Joseph attacked Cleon in battle and killed him.  He was proclaimed emperor by the Moot, again by a very close vote, and many nobles refused to swear allegiance to him.  Over the next four years a number of men and women sat on the Iridium Throne, some with the support of the Moot and some without it.  Because of the lack of popular Moot support for certain emperors and empresses, their successors were in some instances able to obtain Moot support even after murdering the previous ruler.  The same Moot could elect one man emperor and then later in the same year elect his murderer as the new emperor.  These were not proud times for the Third Imperium.

A proper line was not permanently reestablished by the Moot until the time of Arbellatra in 629.

Emperor
born
crowned
died
Cleon V
565
615
618
Joseph
581
618
618
Donald
579
618
618
Emdiri
571
618
619
Catharine
582
619
619
Ramon II
566
619
619
Jacqueline II
569
619
619
Usuti
558
619
620
Marava
551
620
620
Ivan
580
620
621
Martin VI
597
621
621
Gustus
581
621
622

Emperors After the Civil War

Emperor
born
crowned
died
Arbellatra
587
629 (regent 622)
666
Zhakirov
624
666
688
Margaret I
684
688
736
Paulo I
684
736
767
Tomutov I
712
767
801 (abdicated 768)
Paula II
752
768
836
Tomutova II
782
836
908
Margaret II
824
908
945
Styryx
920
945
(abdicated 989)
Gavin
946
989
1031
Paulo III
981
1031
1071
Strephon
1049
1071



-cam MW
-IE emp