| “ | We are the Sardaukar. The Emperor's Blades. Those who stand against us fall. | „ |
| ~ The Sardaukar Basher |
The Sardaukar are supporting antagonists in the Dune franchise. Elite shock troops in service of the Padishah Emperor (who is Shaddam IV at the story's beginning), they have been trained since childhood in brutal conditions on Salusa Secundus, with those who survived the training becoming the fanatically loyal enforcers of the Emperor's will.
Plot
The Sardaukar /ˈsɑrdəkɑr/ are a fictional fanatical army from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, primarily featured in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune, as well as Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001).
Dune
Dune, or Dune: Part One (stylized as ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ), is an epic Space Opera Science Fiction film and an adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal 1965 novel Dune, produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. It is directed by Denis Villeneuve and co-written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, and covers roughly the first two-thirds of the novel.
The story takes place in the far future of humanity, in the Galactic Padishah Empire. By Imperial decree, Duke Leto of House Atreides is given stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, the Spice Melange. The Spice is a drug that extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes foldspace travel possible.
Although Leto knows the opportunity is an intricate trap set by his enemies, House Harkonnen (who were in charge of harvesting the Spice on Arrakis before and had to withdraw), he takes his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica, young son and heir Paul, and most of his trusted advisers to Arrakis. Leto takes control of the Spice mining operation, which is made perilous by the presence of gigantic sandworms. A surprise attack by the Harkonnens and Imperial Sardaukar then overwhelms House Atreides, and Paul and Jessica flee in the desert in search of the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis. While on the run, Paul has visions of a possible destiny for himself, and a bloody one at that, which might change the galaxy forever...
Background
The Imperial Sardaukar are soldier-fanatics loyal to the Padishah Emperors of House Corrino, who ruled the Known Universe (the Imperium) for over 10,000 years until the events of the first novel in the series, Dune. The key to House Corrino's hold on the Imperial throne, the Sardaukar troops are the foremost soldiers in the universe and are feared by all. They are secretly trained on the devastated Salusa Secundus, the Imperial Prison Planet, as the harsh conditions there ensure that only the strongest and most "ferocious" men survive. It is noted of Salusa that "the mortality rate among new prisoners is higher than sixty percent." Sardaukar training emphasizes ruthlessness, near-suicidal disregard for personal safety, and the use of cruelty as a standard weapon in order to weaken opponents with terror. In Dune, a Sardaukar Colonel sneers at Dr. Yueh's mere mention of the word "pity". Of the elite fighters it is noted that "The commonest Sardaukar trooper lives a life, in many respects, as exalted as that of any member of a Great House." Their uniforms are described as gray with silver and gold trim.
Origins
In his 2021 film adaptation, Denis Villeneuve adapts the Sardaukar military force from Frank Herbert's Dune, and does a good job of depicting their creed and values. Arguably the toughest and the most professional military in the Dune universe, the Sardaukar are a force to be reckoned with. Herbert's Dune draws parallels between the Fremen and the Sardaukar forces and asserts early on that the former can rival the latter if equipped properly.
While Duke Leto Atreides I considers harnessing the potential of the Fremen against the Sardaukar and believes the Spice wealth on Arrakis can fund his ambition, he simply doesn't have the time. He and his household walk into the trap on Arrakis, and the Sardaukar aid the Harkonnens in their coup. The Sardaukar forces are also the end of the Ginaz Swordmaster, and the lethal warrior Duncan Idaho. Here is what makes them formidable in the Dune universe.
Who Are The Sardaukar?
Villeneuve's Dune provides a glimpse of the Sardaukar on the Imperial Army Planet, Salusa Secundus. It gets the basics right: they are bloodthirsty, angry troops without an ounce of humanity in their gaze. They are assembled in rows on a large military base, undeterred by the harsh environmental conditions. Thousands of armored troops kneel on a stony tarmac, and vicars carry out a bizarre blood ceremony. They hold bowls of blood and daub the troops' foreheads, one by one. This blood is collected from the sacrificed men who hang upside down nearby. The combination of gusty winds, rainfall, and the blood ritual creates a chilling visual representation of the Sardaukar.
The rationale here is simple. The Sardaukar, the Padishah Emperor's elite forces, are subject to environmental stresses to instill in them military discipline and prepare them for the rigors of combat. The troops' raison d'être, or reason for being, is plain: they exist to serve the Emperor. A Bashar (officer of the Sardaukar) who interacts with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's henchman, Piter de Vries, during the inspection, describes the military force in Villeneuve's Dune as:
- We are the Sardaukar. The Emperor's blades. Those who stand against us fall.
Bashar adds about the impending military coup in an indirect, unpleasant manner:
- The Emperor commands it. It is done.
With that, the troops all rise at once and thrust their swords into the air.
Despite having the numbers, the Baron needs three battalions to carry out a military takeover of Arrakis. The Atreides legions, as Piter de Vries mentions, are "the finest in the Imperium" and trained under the command of Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho. The Sardaukar are the only ones superior to them and their degree of proficiency.
Herbert's Dune: Leto And Paul On the Imperial Corps of Sardaukar
In Herbert's magnum opus, Dune, Duke Leto says the Sardaukar are bred to kill, and trained to engage in assaults or some such. Their name comes up when the father and son get to talking about the Harkonnens stockpiling Melange. Duke Leto describes them as "...soldier fanatics nonetheless."
Homeworld
Along with their mystical fanaticism, Herbert talks about the important characteristics of the Sardaukar corps. The tough environmental conditions of Salusa Secundus are imposed on the training cadres, and they develop the esprit of shared suffering through this training. Duke Leto believes that the Sardaukar aren't strictly inimitable and that the brutal, unforgiving conditions on Arrakis could birth a rival military force. They have the human resource, the Fremen, which they can harness by appeasement and negotiation:
- We have there the potential of a corps as strong and deadly as the Sardaukar. It'll require patience to exploit them secretly and wealth to equip them properly. [...] You see now why we walk into Arrakis, knowing the trap is there.
The Emperor's Loyalists
Duke Leto hardly has the time to execute his vision, and his reign on Arrakis lasts only a few months. As seen in Dune, the Sardaukar fight alongside the Harkonnens to massacre the Atreides in the Siege of Arrakeen. How the Sardaukar troops conduct themselves in the night attack scene draws a sharp contrast with the Atreides troops. The Emperor's elite soldiers lack the gallantry and the passion seen in the Atreides, specifically in the Troubadour-Warrior, Gurney Halleck. The Sardaukar are bred to kill. They lack empathy and compassion, their training overpowering their human and moral sensibilities.
In the aftermath of the Arrakeen massacre, Paul and Lady Jessica find themselves in the company of Duncan Idaho, Doctor Kynes, in an Imperial Ecological Testing Station. Paul remarks in Herbert's Dune:
- The Sardaukar on Arrakis are a measure of how much our beloved Emperor feared my father.
As for Duncan's end, he clashes with the Sardaukar at the lab and kills a few at first. A Sardaukar drives his sword through his chest and he falls. As the Sardaukar use a laser cutter to cut through the door to get to Paul and Jessica, Duncan stands up and raises his longsword one last time. In the end, he dispatches nineteen of the Emperor's Sardaukar, proving his gallantry and sword mastery in Dune.
History
In the year 10,191 A.G., Shaddam entered into a deal with the House of Harkonnen to eliminate the House of Atreides, whose popularity was becoming a threat to not only the Emperor but other powerful interests in the Empire, such as the Bene Gesserit and the Spacing Guild. To that end, the Emperor made Duke Leto Atreides give up his fiefdom over the planet Caladan and move to Arrakis, which was the sole location where the spice melange could be found. The Emperor then loaned Sardaukar troops to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen for their attack on Atreides. For that operation, the Sardaukar dressed in Harkonnen uniforms, but it became obvious to the Atreides that it was Sardaukar instead of Harkonnen troops attacking them.
What the Emperor and Harkonnen did not plan on was the survival of Leto's son Paul and his consort Jessica. The pair were banished to the desert, where they were taken in by the Fremen natives of Arrakis. Paul rose to a position of leadership in the Fremen and led them on a guerrilla war against the Harkonnen that all but stopped spice production in Arrakis.
During a raid against the Fremen, they killed Paul and Chani's firstborn son.
With the Guild breathing down his neck, Shaddam sent 5 legions of Sardaukar to Arrakis. It did no good, as the Sardaukar were crushed by the Fremen natives, and the Emperor was captured by Paul and his Fremen allies.
Hierarchy and ranks
- Old Ranking System
- Burseg
- Caid
- Bashar
- Colonel
- Bator
- Levenbrech
- Captain
- Private
- After the destruction of the Imperial Corrino Dynasty (reformation)
- Bashar
- Colonel
- Bator
- Levenbrech
- Captain
- Private
Gallery
Images
Videos
External Link
 Villains
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House Harkonnen House Corrino Bene Gesserit House Atreides Honored Matres Others | ||