Units of Dune - The Sardaukar LORE DOCUMENTARY

warriors stand as the most legendary fighters of the known universe projecting an aura of invincibility and trailing rivers of blood wherever they go their name is only ever whispered in fearful reverence by friend and foe alike the supremacy of their forces is unquestioned and any ignorance of this fact are made painfully aware of it in short order thus do they serve as the most prized weapon of the emperor's arsenal their blades forged his throne and over the millennia have ensured its dominion today let us dive into the history of the sardica [Music] [Applause] you too can forge your own empire in the world of frank herbert through our sponsored dune spice wars currently in early access it's a real time strategy game with 4x elements set on the planet of arrakis here you take control of four major factions house of tradies house harkonnen the fremen and smugglers each comes with its own iconic characters and unique gameplay your typical match will see you set off from a home base to explore dunes resources villages and points of interest expand your territory with troops while growing your economy through construction resource exploitation and spice mining but beware the dangers of the desert dehydration coriolis storms or the shy hallud the game is filled to the brim with different paths to claim victory be it through war politics economics or subterfuge it's a blast to play and with plenty more updates on the horizon i can't recommend it enough so click the link in the description below to get started though today the sadaka reigns supreme they once came from humble origins only scratching their way to the top through the lethal trials of countless generations this ascent can be traced back to their pre-imperial home of celusa secundus the planet is the third in the gamma wiping system which was colonized during one of humanity's many waves of expansionary ventures yet while some explorers found planets of paradise or fortune seleusa secundus yielded neither it was a world of grim climate and meager natural resources which was ravaged by the extremes of frigid winter and broiling summer here only the hardiest plants animals and humans could survive thus what semblance of civilization with which the colonists first arrived was quickly stripped away over the years their descendants devolved into fractious tribes who ward endlessly over the disparate enclaves of arable land pastoral regions and iron deposits among the many groups vying for control were the sadhu through ruthless determination they had secured control of key local resources and now leveraged these to carve out a large realm of their own on salusa this was made possible by the evolution of their brutal martial culture at age six weapons training and trials by combat began at age 8 bi-annual survival tests abandoned children to the wastelands and at age 12 teens began to join the adults in raids on their neighbors from then on their value to society would be defined by their ability to win victory for the tribe in battle it should be no surprise then that few survived the ordeal but those who did were bred for conquest [Music] thus over the centuries the sadhu gradually forged a great empire in the process however their traditions would change for instance the early practice of slaughtering the entirety of vanquished tribes proved untenable and would be replaced with the more lenient option of allowing the defeated to be absorbed should they prove worthy and survive the requisite trials often these were employed not just to weed out the weak but also the loyal suicidal missions requiring blind obedience were favored in this regard in this darwinian meritocracy it soon mattered little whether one came from sadhu or non sadhu lineage what mattered was only your abilities this mentality was perfectly embodied by the emergence of a custom called the circle its practice meant that following every military action the commanding officer would be subjected to the critique of his subordinates all officers no matter their rank could also offer their own alternative plants should they convince the circle of leaders that their approach was superior the man would be given command of the unit's next action in this way independence and initiative were preserved on a battlefield that otherwise demanded unquestioned obedience eventually the sadhu came to establish complete control of their planet by this point they ceased to be a distinguishable tribe but their martial culture was preserved in their military force that became known as the sardikar though these certainly proved formidable in dominating their local solar system they proved far less of a threat to their galactic neighbors who could leverage far superior resources and technologies especially during the golden ages of mankind thus did the sadika remain tethered to their harsh existence on celusa secundus however this would all change with the butlerian jihad which saw widespread upheaval plunge the galaxy into chaos empires were shattered populations were devastated and societies were left crippled by the sudden removal of all thinking machines while the survivors were left to desperately adapt to the darkness the people of celusa secundus were born in it molded by it under these new conditions the playing field was leveled and the sardika found new prey yet they were not the greatest predators on the prowl thus the sadhaka actually took up mercenary work for the various expansionary powers of the post-butlerian period this helped enrich their coffers and their skills soon both would be turned against their former employers house megara using captured equipment and ships the sardocar mounted a fanatical offensive to now claim large sectors of space in a series of infamous meteor strike campaigns though the speed of their expansion was somewhat slowed by the limits of post-butlerian space travel its inexorable momentum posed a threat to the feudal galactic factions of the landsrade the various sides came to blows in a war that culminated in the battle of corin it is here amidst a field of drifting debris that an elite but outnumbered force from celusa secundus used advanced intelligence to set upon its would-be ambushes the space battle was among the longest in history lasting over two hours the sardika conducted brutal boarding actions turning the tide of battle and ultimately gaining victory yet neither side was knocked out of the war which soon devolved into a strategic stalemate or the leader of the sadhaka he saw the value of compromise and now negotiated a treaty that would see him crowned the first padishah emperor from now on the sadaka would serve as the mighty arm with which he and his successors of the newly formed house carino controlled the landsrad and in turn the galaxy this transition to the imperial period would mark the true beginning of their legend we shall cover its details shortly for now let us take a closer look at these formidable warriors sardikar troops have filled all manner of roles over the years and prove quite versatile in the manner of their equipment that being said we can present a generalized description for starters while in public they traditionally wore minimal black or grey uniforms with gold trim alongside this were carried all manner of concealed weaponry such as needle guns flip darts and daggers to be prepared to fight at a moment's notice in battle however they would naturally be equipped with far more specialized gear for defense this often meant donning body armor with arm braces and combat girdles personal shields were quite ubiquitous for such elite troops these offered protection which scaled with the kinetic energy of incoming damage thus sadhakar could wade through heavy fire and only be engaged in close combat where they excelled for offense troops might use a large array of lasegun class weaponry including powerful laze rifles and lace cannons at mid-range they could switch to projectile-based sidearms like the maola pistol in close quarters they wielded swords and knives to deadly effect especially against shielded opponents at the end of the day however a soldier's kit could take any form to meet the combat needs of the mission at hand in terms of their organization the sardocar followed a strict military hierarchy this begins with the lowest initiate and rises up through veterancy with officer ranks existing at all levels of the squad platoon company battalion brigade division and legion this largest group the imperial standard legion featured some 30 000 men and generally acted independently in its own sector of responsibility from an outsider's perspective though much of this organization remained opaque owing to the uniform appearance of the sardica yet from an insider's perspective they are in fact clearly differentiated by a vast set of instantly recognized markings medals and orders for instance are highly prized objects of social distinction we shall name just a few examples service medals commemorate decades of active duty while proficiency badges mark out one's mastery of various skills the order of the protector meanwhile was bestowed to men who displayed both outstanding courage in battle as well as exemplary command it could be granted to entire units in which case they became honoured with the title of emperor's guards this would persist so long as at least one of the original recipients remained alive huge numbers of other distinctions existed but the highest one of all was the title guardian of the empire only ever awarded 80 times and won twice by one individual it was pinned personally by the emperor and granted to sadhaka of unsurpassed heroism whose deeds significantly contributed to the glory of the throne as for their training many of the martial practices we previously mentioned were maintained as tradition by the sadaka over the years however one major change significantly altered their method of training new recruits this came as a consequence of the fact that house carino and many of the original inhabitants of celusa secundus had actually abandoned their home world in favor of more habitable environments such as the new imperial capital of caitanya but like the mongols of old it was recognized that generations born into such comfort would grow soft luckily a new opportunity presented itself imperial conquests led to huge numbers of civilian and military prisoners many of these were transferred back to celusa secundus which was now transformed into a prison planet here sardikar guard units provided them with basic equipment and training before withdrawing in this way new generations were forced to run through the survival gauntlet of this harsh planet many perished but those who survived emerged hardened by the experience and set off on a similar path to the ancient sadhu tribes however the sardikar kept a close watch on the planet infusing it with their cultural and religious traditions while interceding to prevent any higher levels of development in this way they manufactured a deadly environment of near anarchy that naturally trained battle-ready forces recruits would be drawn from their ranks by special selection practices those few who were chosen to ascend were released from their bonds of imprisonment and welcomed as brethren by the emperor who spoiled them with lavish treatment this enshrined a heavenly hope of escape in the minds of all those still trapped on seleusa pushing them to ever greater feats of survival however in order to hone their raw skills new recruits would be given significant military training and sent on continuous tours of duty to maintain their fighting edge in this way the sadika were able to replenish and even grow their ranks over the years without deteriorating their legendary ferocity as a point of comparison for their skills it was said that their strength of arms was comparable to that of gina's tenth levels while their cunning could match that of the benny jesuit adept such a combination was incredibly potent let us now review how it was put to use over the years a detailed account of their service history will prove impossible as it stretched over thousands of years with many of their operations being shrouded in myth and imperial secrecy that being said we can provide some general commentary and examples our historical narrative had last left off with the battle of corin this resulted in a treaty which crowned the first emperor atop the members of the landsrad however not all members signed and even some that did acted as if they were not bound by it this was not something the newly formed imperium of man could tolerate thus the attack dogs of the emperor were unleashed the sardikar followed in the footsteps of many past regimes and decided that the best course of action was to make a brutal example of the rebels to this end they selected house johnson as their target it was a rich agricultural world which had long stood as a bastion of defiance jensen's leaders knew that a day of reckoning was coming and had spent years entrenching their defenses this was carefully calibrated to match the previous shock tactics displayed by sadaka offensives yet the invaders once again proved their mastery of war this time the bursek had prepared a strategy of unprecedented infiltration for months teams and individual agents wormed their way into the planet's population industrial and military centers then at a predetermined date they unleashed chaos over the course of just a few days the guerrilla forces disrupted communications paralyzed transportation assassinated leaders and stormed strategic locations while house jansen reeled from this blow to their backs the might of the sardika assault forces smashed through the front this expertly delivered one two punch left the road to the capital wide open it too was stormed none were left alive this brutal example ensured that the rest of the lands rod fell quickly in line to further unite them joint campaigns were now launched against external foes generally this meant deploying the sardakar as an elite corps around which the rest of coalition armies were formed in this way the young imperium was able to expand slowly dominating the galaxy and absorbing new members into the landsrad over the centuries the sardarkar would find themselves fighting from the jungles of ekkas to the marshes of bellatogias and the cave cities of ix the emperor's wish was their command however the larger the realm became the more difficult it was to manage this became evident in 385 ag with the outbreak of the leesha rebellion here several houses had actually taken a page out of the history books and were the ones to launch their own first strike against the sadhaka this had taken years of planning and even still only succeeded with near-pyrrhic losses nonetheless the rebels gained control of most of their key objectives and managed the unprecedented feat of capturing several sardakar commanders alive yet when they attempted to leverage these men as hostages the emperor replied simply let them drink blood according to legend at this the captives either tore open their own throats or died attacking their captors with bare hands this was but a taste of what was to come in short order the imperium regrouped and delivered a ferocious counter-attack sardikar shock troops formed the tip of the spear against outposts and fortified positions with the allied landsrad following close behind to overwhelm compromised positions through sheer numbers as they did so sardocar survivors from the initial attack emerged from the shadows or their besieged positions with a vengeance the tide quickly turned with the rebels soon begging for mercy however these cries fell on deaf ears and were drowned in blood yet while the soldiers of the landsrad soon found their rage abating the sardakar proved insatiable in their desire for vengeance they took no prisoners and left no cities standing this merciless purge sickened the leaders of the landsrad who saw a part of themselves in the great houses they were fighting thus they attempted to call off the dogs but when this failed the coalition members were left to call an end to the war and disband their forces on their own the sardakar were finally forced to withdraw a clear message had been sent for centuries none dared rise up what emerged was a new status quo between the various great houses and the throne on the one hand the emperor could deploy the sardar car to bully individual members of the lands rod back in line however over playing his hand might cause them to band together against him it was therefore in the interest of the crown to play them off one another but at the same time excessive infighting might also weaken the realm thus a delicate political game was played in it the sardakar were used as a nominally neutral policing force to keep internal affairs in order while also being deployed as vanguard troops to lead externally facing campaigns however the rise of the house are tradies and in particular its growing sway over the landsrad proved so threatening to the emperor that he had to act thus long precedent was broken by secretly deploying the sadhaka on the side of house hakonen here they once again showed their brutal efficiency in both shock and infiltration tactics it was a smooth clinical beheading of a surprised victim that certainly added to their reputation but did little to truly challenge their warrior spirit [Music] yet their involvement on arrakis would eventually put them on a collision course with a worthy foe this came in the form of the fremen a people who had also been hardened into great warriors by an unforgiving environment soon the two would be fighting for their lives and for the fate of the galaxy but these desert warriors and the conflicts of their homeland shall have to wait for another video for now we hope you've enjoyed this deep dive into the history of the sardica let us know what other corners of the dune universe you'd like to see us explore a huge thanks to the patrons for funding the channel and to the researchers writers and artists for making this episode possible be sure to like and subscribe for more content and check out these other related videos see you in the next one you

Channel: Invicta

Views: 357,619

Keywords: invicta, invicta history, dune lore, dune, sardaukar, sardaukar chant, sardaukar scene, sardaukar lore, sardaukar throat singing, dune spice wars, dune spice wars gameplay, dune spice wars review, welcome to arrakis, dune lore explained, dune lore emperor, dune lore sardaukar, fremen vs sardaukar, frank herbert, denis villeneuve dune, science fiction, units of history, battle of corrin dune, landsraad guard, landsraad dune spice wars

Id: jKEYSQU0VAE

Length: 23min 27sec (1407 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 03 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/TurtlesDiddler]

Had to post this here, really liked the artstyle of the video.

​

Apparently it also uses The Dune Encyclopedia as a reference