Butlerian Jihad

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This page is about the fictional Butlerian Jihad. For information on the book of the same name, which details it, see .

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Butlerian Jihad is an epic turning point in the back-story of Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. While Herbert himself did not give much detail on how he imagined this conflict, it has now been made into a series of novels, Legends of Dune, by Herbert's literary heirs son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. They explain that the Jihad was a struggle between humans and thinking machines. The latter are first created to serve humankind but then are used by a conspiracy of a number of ambitious militant humans, the Titans, to enslave many worlds before the AI program Omnius usurps control from them. The machines dominate and enslave nearly all of humanity in the galaxy until a "jihad" (ignited by characters Serena Butler and Xavier Harkonnen) occurs, purging the known universe of all forms of 'thinking machines' and resulting in a ban on the re-creation of similar devices which remains in effect throughout the periods described in the original six Dune and House series novels.

End of the Conflict

The Jihad ended in human victory at the Battle of Corrin. The leader of the Jihad then renamed his royal house "House Corrino", and declared himself Emperor of the Known Universe. The Emperors of the Empire of a Million Worlds were all of House Corrino for the next 10,000 years, until the events of Dune and the ascension of Paul Atreides.

Long-Lasting Effects

The Jihad proved to have many profound long-lasting effects on the socio-political and technological development of humanity throughout the galaxy. After the destruction of the intelligent machines throughout the human worlds, the commandment from the Orange Catholic Bible, "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind", holds sway, as does the anti-AI laws in which the punishment of owning such an AI device or developing the technology resembling the human mind was death.

The Jihad also leads to the rise of the new feudal galactic order which lasts for another ten thousand years. This order, also known as the Imperium, includes the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, and the Great Houses, including House Atreides, House Corrino, and House Harkonnen. However, it seems impossible for mankind to do without new technology they had originally developed. As the centuries passed, fringe worlds like Ix and Tleilax give birth to the technological powers of the Ixians and the Bene Tleilax. The Ixians produce cutting-edge mechanical technology beyond the boundary of using "thinking machine" technology; while the Tleilaxu provide biological technology to replace the mechanical technology used before the Jihad, like mentats.

Butlerian Jihad

End of the Conflict

Long-Lasting Effects

See also