In the 9th century, on the world of Qo'noS, the reign of the hated and cruel tyrant Molar
came to a violent end when a champion of the common people, Kahless the Unforgettable led
a heroic rebellion and slew Molar in single combat.
The Empire Kahless founded that day would go on to unite the peoples of the Qo'noS and
then expand across the galaxy.
Even centuries later, few nations could inspire such respect in its allies and terror in its
enemies as the Imperial Klingon Empire.
The modern Klingon Empire in many ways bears little resemblance to the one founded by Kahless
over a millennia ago, but the Klingon people are a race that embraces its tradition and
their links to the past are not so easily severed.
Today the role of the Emperor, which had once served as the absolute monarch of the state
is largely ceremonial, with political power residing in the Klingon High Council and its
head, the Chancellor.
The council is made up of twenty-four of the Empire’s Great Houses, powerful dynasties
each commanding vast holdings, fleets and armies.
Rivalries between the great houses are frequent with the stability of the Empire often threatened
as feuds turn violent or house leaders attempt to undermine their enemies through more insidious
means.
Even the position of Chancellor is not immune and could be challenged in a duel to the death
on the grounds of perceived cowardice or conduct deemed dishonorable.
Personal and family honor is one of the defining attributes of the Klingon people, irrevocably
imbued throughout their culture and society as commanded by Kahless himself.
The Klingon notion of honor is somewhat relative and open to debate however, creating an extremely
complex and at times paradoxical set of beliefs and traditions.
Failure to acknowledge or respect a particular observance might be considered an insult to
either an individual, his family or even Klingon society as a whole.
Depending on the severity of the grievance, it would not be unusual for Klingons to engage
in a ritual duel as a means of righting some injustice or dishonor.
The Klingon propensity for violence has given rise to a pervasive warrior ethos which over
time has slowly enveloped other aspects of Klingon society.
The warrior caste has such prominence in Klingon affairs that other species tend to regard
them as a “Warrior Race”.
While the Klingon Empire directs sufficient attention to scientific and economic fields
as demanded by the needs of modern civilization, Klingons would not be considered leaders in
any of these areas despite the occasional breakthrough or unique innovation.
Klingon medical knowledge in particular is largely stagnant and undervalued due to the
belief that an injured Klingon should either die in battle, survive through their own strength,
or conduct ritual suicide when recovery is impossible.
Even in death, a Klingon’s honor is of the utmost importance.
Those who died with glory were said to arrive in Sto-Vo-Kor, to meet with Kahless and fight
an eternal battle against great enemies.
Should a Klingon die in such a way that lacks true honor, relatives of the deceased could
also perform great deeds in the name of the fallen, earning their place in Sto-Vo-Kor
by showing they had lived a life capable of inspiring others to great feats of courage.
For those without honor, their souls were transported on the Barge of the Dead to Gre'thor
and left to be tormented by vengeful spirits and feral beasts resembling monstrous Klingons
known as Fek’lhr.
While the afterlife was an important facet of Klingon mythology, other aspects of the
religion contained apparent secularist elements.
The Klingon gods were killed in ages past by ancient Klingon warriors for being “more
trouble than they were worth”, reflecting the willingness of Klingons to challenge authority
and the senselessness of appealing to a higher power rather than relying on oneself.
Instead, a near divine reverence for Kahless has replaced any type of formal worship, with
stories of his life passed down from generation to generation, reminding Klingons of who they
were and where they came from.
Kahless’s victory over Molor was the greatest of these and was reenacted across the Empire
during the Kot’baval Festival.
When Kahless departed for Sto-Vo-Kor passing into myth and legend, a series of successive
Emperors ruled the Klingon people, expanding the Empire and subduing rebellions.
It was during the 14th century that the Empire endured its greatest calamity, when the Klingon
homeworld was invaded and plundered by a powerful alien race known as the “Hur’q”, Klingon
for “outsider”.
Many of the Klingon people's most valuable artifacts were stolen, including the Sword
of Kahless, the first Bat’leth.
The Hur’q invasion, in what might have been the Klingon Empire’s first alien contact,
likely had a profound effect on the Klingon people, encouraging a distrust of alien races
and the need to expand the Empire through conquest so they might never be subjugated
again.
It is also possible that the expulsion of the Hur’q from Qo'noS gave rise to the belief
that the Klingon’s killed what they believed to be gods.
The significant religious changes that took place during this same time lends support
to this theory.
With the advent of warp travel, the Klingons were finally capable of expanding their empire
across the stars and their expansion brought them into conflict with the Vulcans, Humans,
Romulans and even the Breen over the ensuing centuries.
While the Klingons had become a formidable power across the Alpha and Beta quadrants
of the galaxy, following the death of the last Emperor and the rise of the Great Houses,
the Empire was relatively unstable and lacked a cohesive direction.
The situation became even more grave when experiments with the DNA of augmented human
super-soldiers inadvertently created a virus that threatened to wipe out the Klingon race.
While a cure was eventually discovered, millions of Klingons were disfigured with the characteristic
forehead ridges and other aspects of their biology replaced with more human attributes.
Over time the effects would fade, but the nature of the affliction became a closely
guarded secret.
The augment virus did little to reduce Klingon aggression and the Empire pursued a militaristic
policy, especially against its new rival, the United Federation of Planets.
The struggle between the two powers lasted decades, punctuated by periods of open conflict
before settling back into an uneasy armistice.
When Praxis, the moon of the Klingon Homeworld exploded after decades of overmining and insufficient
safety precautions, the Empire lost its key energy production facility and could no longer
afford hostilities with the Federation.
Reactionaries on both sides attempted to prevent the signing of peace accords but through the
actions of Captain Kirk, ironically viewed as one of the greatest and worthiest opponents
of the Empire, a true and lasting peace was finally forged.
Following a surprise attack by the Romulans and the deaths of thousands of Klingons on
the colony of Khitomer, the Klingons pursued closer ties to the Federation, eventually
entering into a formal alliance.
The alliance was put to the test several times, nearly reaching the breaking point when the
prominent House of Duras, secretly aligned with Romulan interests, sparked a civil war
against the reigning Chancellor Gowron over the rights of succession.
While the victory of Gowron prevented the collapse of the Klingon-Federation alliance,
the emergence of the Dominion and the threat the changelings posed to the galaxy forced
the Klingons into action.
Striking first against the Cardassians who they believed to have been infiltrated and
then against the Federation thousands of lives were lost before the full scale of the Dominion’s
manipulations could be revealed.
The war saw the rise of General Martok, whose heroic exploits against the Dominion made
him immensely popular and a potential threat to Gowron’s regime.
Martok was ordered to take part in near suicidal missions in the hope that a string of defeats
would discredit him and prevent any challenge to Gowron’s authority.
When Martok refused to betray Gowron, even when his dishonorable conduct was revealed,
Starfleet’s only Klingon Officer, Commander Worf killed Gowron and named Martok the new
Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.
Martok personally lead the final attack on Cardassia, securing victory over the Dominion
and bringing new hope that the corruption of the Great Council that had so weakened
the Empire in the past might finally be over.
The Templin Institute investigates nations, organizations, and factions from alternate
worlds and realities.
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