According to Klingon mythology, the gods created Kortar, the first Klingon male to live in
the paradise of Qui’tu.
Feeling lonely, the gods formed him a female companion, but he grew jealous of this second
being, and they fought, ending with Kortar defeated.
To his surprise, the female did not kill him and instead proposed an alliance as they were
stronger together.
Accepting her proposal, the two united as one and destroyed the gods who created them.
A prominent legend repeated at weddings, the Klingon people actually originated from an
advanced, humanoid, progeniture species living 4.5 billion years in the past, which travelled
across the galaxy seeding worlds with their genetic material, resulting in the eventual
evolution of Klingons, Humans, Romulans, Cardassians, and thousands of others.
Evolving into a large, physically powerful species with exceptional courage and a mind
for battle, leadership of their people was often won in combat, and so by the 9th century,
their homeworld of Qo’noS was ruled by the hated tyrant Molor, considered the greatest
warrior among them.
Inspiring fear in his enemies, the city of Qam chee was left almost entirely undefended
when the garrison fled before 500 warriors sent by their cruel ruler.
However 1 man, the low born warrior Kahless and 1 woman, the brave lady Lukara, refused
to run and took on the entire army alone.
Despite overwhelming odds, they defeated Molor’s forces and began the greatest love story in
klingon history.
Leading a rebellion against their oppressor, Kahless used the first ever batleth to kill
Molor in battle at the river skral, a moment commemorated in a famous klingon drinking
song.
Establishing the Klingon Empire, Kahless went on to defeat the armies of the Fek’lhri,
establish a strict code of Honor, and develop a robust warrior culture that dominated Klingon
society for next 1500 years.
At the end of his reign, legends say Kahless left to take his place in the afterlife of
Stovakor, but pointed to a specific spot in the sky before he departed, claiming it was
where he would one day return.
Pointing to the planet Boreth, it became home to a Klingon monastery devoted to his memory
and final prophecy.
Though most were happy to see an end to Molor’s reign, he was nevertheless remembered as a
great warrior with some even forming the Followers of Molor, remaining loyal to his memory.
Nevertheless his time was over, and so under Emperor Khaless the Unforgettable and the
Imperial dynasties that followed, Qo’nos developed into a feudal society, with power
residing in the noble class, whose families comprised the Great Houses of the Klingon
Empire.
From among this aristocracy, a select few served on the High Council led by a chancellor,
aiding the Emperor in governing his empire.
Although women were greatly valued in Klingon society, viewed as an equals on the battlefield,
only men were traditionally chosen for the High Council, though some exceptions were
made.
Enamoured with their identity as a warrior culture, the need for battle was a constant
source of division for their people, leading great houses to war against each other.
And so Emperors directed their fury outward, allowing the Empire to expand drastically,
conquering and subjugating any who resisted.
Over most of the next 1500 years, the Klingon Empire was ruled by a series of authoritarian
leaders including men like Emperor Sompek, remembered for his conquest of Tong Vey, ordering
the entire population massacred and the city burned, Emperor Mur'Eq who introduced blunted
bat'leths into practice training, so his warriors killed their enemies rather than each other,
and Chancellor Mow'ga in power during the second empire when he sent a fleet of ship
into Breen space which were never heard from again.
In the 14th century, the Empire was attacked and looted by the Hurq species hailing from
the gamma quadrant, stealing many priceless treasures like the original Batleth of Kahless.
Recovering as best they could, it was possible the Klingons reverse engineered Hurq technology
to create their warp drives, however it was believed they did not fully achieve high speed
warp travel until after the mid 20th century.
For a brief time, the Empire suffered a drastic change in government when General K’Trelan
assassinated Emperor Reclaw and put the Imperial Family to death.
The next decade saw the Empire ruled by a council elected by the people, which introduced
several notable reforms.
However "The Dark Time", as it was later called was soon replaced by a return to authoritarian
dictatorship and the rise of the Third Dynasty, which took the names and titles and the last
imperial family to create the illusion of an unbroken royal line.
As the centuries on went the role of their all powerful Emperor diminished, and by the
21st century the position was abandoned all together, leaving the Empire in the hands
of the High Council and Chancellor.
Many believed the decline of their honor bound society began with the end of Imperial rule,
but whatever the cause, as time passed and the Empire expanded, the old traditions set
forth by Khaless were ignored, seeing Klingon leaders more concerned with using politics
and war to satiate their greed, sacrificing the good of the Empire for individual ambitions.
Expanding greatly throughout the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the Empire was considered
both a Beta and Alpha Quadrant power, conquering those near their borders while establishing
relationships, both positive and negative with more distant and substantial powers.
Establishing cordial relations with the Vulcan species by the 21st century, the Klingon Empire
first encountered humans when a courier crashed on earth in 2151 and was shot by a local farmer.
With the Earth’s allies the Vulcans negotiating a deal to prevent war, Captain Archer of the
Enterprise delivered the courier to the Empire where he delivered a message encoded in his
DNA that averting a civil war among the great houses.
Throughout the years that followed, Captain Archer had several more encounters with the
Klingons both positive and negative, but with an ever present hostility between their people.
Matters only worsened after the formation of the United Federation of Planets, making
them a competing, emerging superpower to the Klingon Empire.
Between 2223 and 2256, the two rivals became locked in a tense cold war, sometimes clashing
in skirmishes or minor conflict like the Battle of Donatu V.
By the end of this cold war period, a major conflict with the Federation became unlikely,
because the Twenty four great houses of the Klingon Empire were once again divided and
fighting among themselves.
However in 2256, the noble warrior T’Kuvma successfully gathered all the Houses together
in order to provoke a fight with the Federation, thereby uniting their people to conquer a
common foe.
Though it cost him his life, T’Kuvma accomplished his mission in the Battle of the Binary Stars,
starting a war between the Empire and Federation.
Yet their unity did not last long after his death, and the Great Houses again fractured,
with each faction competing to do the most damage possible to their enemies.
After a year of fighting, the Federation lost a third of their fleet and were On the verge
of losing the war, so Starfleet authorized a secret mission to plant a hydro bomb in
a volcano on Qo’nos to destroy the planet.
Yet when the crew of the USS Discovery learned what was happening they made a deal with the
Klingon L’Rell, a wise disciple of T’Kuvma, giving her the detonator which she used as
leverage against the High Council to be chosen Chancellor and make peace with the federation.