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

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