Imperium of Man

The Imperium of Man is a fictional galactic empire that contains the majority of humanity, set in the Warhammer 40K universe created by Games Workshop.

History of the Imperium
The Imperium was founded by the Emperor (Master of mankind, ruler of humanity and God of the human race) at the end of the "Age of Strife", a period of anarchy, lawlessness and senseless destruction that lasted for dozens of centuries and during which all but the faintest traces of the vast, advanced galactic civilization built by men in previous eras disappeared.

However, when the warpstorms of the Age of Strife subsided, the Emperor set forth to unite mankind under his rule, turning his hordes of techno-barbaric warriors into the first superhuman Space Marines.

After having secured the scientific posts and spacedocks of Luna, along with the factories and weaponshops based on Mars, the Emperor built a warfleet with which he undertook the Great Crusade, which lasted for two centuries and ended with the formal establishment of Imperial Rule over all but the most scattered and distant human colonized worlds.

During this period, the Emperor employed his most potent soldiers, the Space Marines, and their born leaders, the Primarchs. These, coupled with the combined might of the Imperial Army/Navy (later the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy as separate organisations), made Mankind the preeminent force to contend with in the galaxy, as its teeming numbers fulfilled what many saw as Man's destiny to rule the galaxy.

The Imperium in the 41st millennium
The Imperium is nominally ruled by the most beneficent God-Emperor of Mankind. However, his eternal vigil in creating the Ray of Hope, or Astronomican requires most of his time and energy, and the duties of actually ruling the Imperium are carried out by the Senatorum Imperialis, the twelve High Lords of Terra. The identity of all of these High Lords is not known, but members include a representative of the Inquisition, the Master of the Administratum, the Fabricator-General of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Lord Commander Militant, supreme commander of the Imperial Guard.

They are in control of the entire Imperium, and are responsible for maintaining the functioning of the Imperium through the Adeptus Terra and the Imperial Commanders.

The Adeptus Terra
The Adeptus Terra is the enormous priesthood and bureaucracy of Earth, whose scriptoria, continent-sized archives and pilgrimage sites occupy nearly all of the holy hiveworld of Terra that is not taken up by the Sanctum Imperialis, the Emperor's own resting place. The Adeptus Terra is so immense, and operates so slowly, that whole departments of it still service agencies no longer extant and worlds dead for thousands of years.

The Administratum
One of the more useful divisions of the Adeptus Terra is the Adeptus Administratum. This organisation's main purpose is the assessment of planetary tithes: the goods, war materials and Guard regiments each Imperial world is regularly required to provide for the Imperium. However, it has also acquired many other interplanetary organisational duties.

The Ecclesiarchy
The Adeptus Ministorum, also known as the Ministorum or Ecclesiarchy, is the Church of the God-Emperor. Although the Ministorum allows variations of Imperial faith to flourish, "The only cult we do not abhor is that of the Emperor", and the division between heresy and pious zeal can be hair-thin and malleable to those with power. Most versions of the Imperial faith encourage productivity ("Work is Prayer"), adherence to duty, obedience to authority, thankfulness to the Emperor and other such important virtues.

The Departmento Munitorum
The Departmento Munitorum is the Tech-Priest of the Imperial warmachine, organising the logistics of planetary tithes, troop movements and troop deployment. The Departmento is far more decentralised than the other divisions of the Adeptus Terra, establishing a presence on any world with a significant tithe-grade. Distress calls from an invaded world are processed by the Munitorum, and will be passed up the ladder of system-subsector-sector-Segmentum-Imperium HQ until a division with enough reach can raise the armies needed from neighbouring systems and respond. Thus, the harder a foe strikes at the Imperium the greater the retribution will be.

The Adeptus Mechanicus
The Adeptus Mechanicus, the Tech-Priests of Mars, are the engineers and technicians of the Imperium, and create most of the Imperium's more advanced weaponry, build and maintain the Titan Legions and so on.

The Inquisition

 * See main article: Inquisition

Independent of the rest of the Adeptus Terra are the Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition. They are the ultimate judicial and police authority in the Imperium, second only to the Emperor himself.

The Imperial Commanders
In addition to the Adeptus Terra and the militaries, the High Lords also command the Segmentum Commanders, who each oversee one of the five galactic regions known as the Segmentae Majoris: Segmentum Solar, Segmentum Pacificus, Segmentum Obscurus, Segmentum Tempestus and Ultima Segmentum. Each Segmentum Commander oversees his sector Commanders, who in turn oversee subsector Commanders, who oversee Imperial Commanders, also known as planetary governors. The higher ranks in this system are usually combined with a basic planetary governorship as well as interplanetary duties. This system is the means by which the Imperium, which is largely a confederacy, maintains control of the separate planets that make it up.

An Imperial Commander is the ruler of a world, although the methods of rule are largely up to them. Some Commanders are elected democratically and rule benevolently, others are brutal and oppressive tyrants. A rare few preside over feral or medieval worlds where the Imperium has not seen fit to introduce technology. These Commanders usually remain distant on orbital installations, only occasionally visiting the planet to control mutation and heresy, as well as collect the modest tithes these planets receive.

The duties of a Commander include paying the planetary tithe to the Administratum, controlling mutation, insurrections and heresy on his world and maintaining a planetary defence force capable of defending the planet in the event of invasion. The Planetary Defence Forces (abbreviated to PDF) should be able to stop attacks from most foes, or at least hold out until reinforcements arrive, which could be a period of months or even years.

A relatively small number of Imperial worlds are not ruled by a Commander, overseen by an alternate organisation such as the Adeptus Terra, Imperial Guard or Space Marines. These include the Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, whose inhabitants toil without pause to manufacture the weapons of the Emperor's armies (including Mars, Gryphonne IV and Fortis Binary), the Cardinal worlds of the Ecclesiarchy, which are given entirely over to education and worship of the God-Emperor (Ignatius Cardinal), fortress worlds of the Imperial Guard (Cadia), and the Space Marine homeworlds (Fenris, Rynn's World).

Forces of the Imperium
In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Imperium represents mankind's only hope for survival in the grim, merciless future of the forty first millennium. The Imperium is surrounded by alien species, and is also under continual attack by the forces of Chaos, and at least one extragalactic species (the Tyranids).

The Imperium's defence forces consist of the:
 * Imperial Guard
 * Imperial Navy
 * Space Marines

The forces of the Inquisition have absolute authority to combat enemies both within and outside the Imperium. Most inquisitors belong to one of three orders:
 * The Ordo Malleus, or Daemonhunters, including the Grey Knights
 * The Ordo Hereticus, or Witchhunters, including the Sisters of Battle
 * The Ordo Xenos, or Alien Hunters, including the Deathwatch Space Marines.

Together, these help defend the Imperium from various enemies, which include:
 * The forces of Chaos
 * The Eldar and Dark Eldar
 * The Tyranid Hive Fleets
 * The various Ork 'Waaagh!'s
 * The Tau Empire
 * The Necrons

The Immortal God Emperor of Mankind
The origins, and original name, of the Emperor are not known. Some have theorized that he was born approximately 8000 BCE (-8M) in central Anatolia. He grew up within an isolated and meagre territory, and it was rumoured that he has the power to stop his own aging and numerous other psychic abilities. After many years passing, the Emperor became more wise and focused. He intuitively knew of the corruption of Mankind's behaviour and set out to correct it. Always, he remained in the background, facilitating some of mankind’s most important events in history and generally guiding and protecting humanity through its evolution.

The first mention of him in Imperial records is when he conquered Earth after the Age of Strife (sometime in the 29th Millennium). The Emperor's use of genetically engineered warriors enabled him to reunite the people of Earth, and to set his sights on the stars. With the assistance of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars the Emperor created the first Space Marines and fleets of interstellar ships to carry his glorious armies to the farthest reaches of the Galaxy. The Emperor also created the Primarchs from whom the Space Marines' gene-seed was developed, however the Chaos gods had scattered them across the Galaxy. During the Great Crusade all but two of the Primarchs were found and reunited with their Legion of Space Marines. However the Emperor's most trusted servant Horus turned on the Emperor and along with nearly half the Space Marine Legions started a massive civil war. This period of turmoil became known as the Horus Heresy.

In the conflict with Horus the Emperor believed that Horus could be saved, that his evils could be undone. However the Emperor underestimated Horus’ insanity and devotion and was subsequently critically injured in a conflict that he would have been able to win without struggle. When Rogal Dorn discovered the Emperor's broken body the Emperor was immediately incarcerated in the Golden Throne ,which supported him and kept him alive. The Emperor has remained in the Golden Throne since his 'ascension' to this day, neither fully living nor dead.

The Golden Throne is a complex life support device located in an immense complex called the Imperial Palace over what was once the British Isles. The structure is countless miles in height and footprint and is a fortress to protect the Emperor, indeed the entire planet and the solar system is a fortress to protect the Emperor. The throne itself lies in the Sanctum Imperialis, over the place that was Nottingham, and is guarded by the implacable Adeptus Custodes. There the Emperor's physical form is preserved and his life functions are carried out by carefully maintained machinery. This machinery has an unconventional power source: the souls of human psykers. Hundreds of psykers are sacrificed in this way every day, that the Emperor may continue to live.

The Golden Throne is also connected to a massive warp beacon known as the Astronomican that generates the system of signals making faster than light Warp travel in the Imperium possible. The Emperor himself generates this signal, also known as the Ray of Hope or the Golden Path, but much of the raw power behind it is supplied by a choir of psykers ten thousand strong. These psykers also give their lives to their task within weeks.

The Emperor is worshipped as an omni-present deity by all of the denizens of the Imperium, often referred to as “The God-Emperor”. Belief and worship in him is taught and upheld by the Imperium, and disobedience to this is punished by death without question. Imperial citizens believe that the Emperor guides and watches over them, protecting them from the greater horrors and evils of the Immaterium. That may seem like untrue dogma, but he can use his psychic powers to protect people.

While there are rumors that the Emperor is long-dead and the Golden Throne is nothing but an empty shell of machinery to fool the countless billions, these are instantly dismissed as heresy by the common people and even the mere hint of such a line of thinking is sure to attract the wrath of the Inquisition.

Background to the Imperium in other Science Fiction
The Imperium itself, keeping with the dystopian themes of Warhammer 40K is a highly oppressive techno-theocracy, (akin to that in the Empire of the Fading Suns, it also resembles Asimov's Galactic Empire in the Foundation Series with millions of star systems only loosely connected with the governing center, where technology is becoming a myth rather than a science), with extreme persecution of those questioning the morality or validity of the endless conflicts and divine rule of the Emperor. The Imperium has an Inquisition, carries out crusades and uses a debased form of Latin extensively, and so may be an indirect criticism of historical episodes in the Catholic Church. The Imperium's foremost enemy, Chaos, is said to 'corrupt' weak beings in a manner very analogous to 'sin'.

Whilst the Imperial Guard are human soldiers, considered expendable and used in great numbers with heavy artillery support, (deliberately akin to the First World War), the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000) are super-humans with modifications to their physical and mental make up for combat, much like the Armoured Mobile Infantry of Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Their unswerving and blind loyalty to their militaristic God Emperor is an indirect criticism of soldiers motivated by religious zeal, much like the Fremen in Dune. Similarities to Dune also exist with the use of Navigators very similar to those of the Spacing Guild in Frank Herbert's work as well as extensive references to the role of powerful nobility and merchant houses in galactic politics.

The Imperium is also highly xenophobic and can barely comprehend serious dialogue with any alien species - even clearly civilised ones like the Eldar (delicate and cultured, in fact, making most other species appear primitive by comparison) and Tau (diplomatic utilitarians who believe in the supremacy of what they call the Greater Good) - highlighting the common human potential for hatred and savagery. Although this is in part justified through the near constant attacks humanity suffers from. The insectoid Tyranids devour the biomass of the galaxy, the insidious extra-dimensional forces of Chaos threaten to twist the fabric of known existence, the mindless Orks overrun worlds in their never ending sanguinary rampage, and perhaps most of all, the ancient soulless evil of the C'tan and their Necron servants awakening from their long slumber to sterilize the universe of all life; and it is perhaps not surprising that humanity has adopted such a hostile view. Even the civilized races of the Eldar and Tau fight wars of aggression, the Eldar for reasons inscrutable to the 'primitive younger species' (often they attempt to manipulate the greater flow of events through well-calculated surgical strikes), and the Tau feel that if one will not willingly work towards the Greater Good (and the Imperium is anything but cooperative with "alien filth"), then one must be forced into compliance with it.

Comparisons to the Nazis
The Imperium draws some obvious parallels with the Nazi regime, but it is rather shallow-minded to compare the two directly; as already stated, the Imperium represents 'the evil that men do' as a whole, not just one specific political/racial ideal. The most obvious parallels are:


 * The theme of maintaining genetic purity within the human race
 * The strong Roman-inspired iconography; eagles, classical architecture, decorative banners, etc.
 * The idea of genetics dictating role or importance within society (the Space Marines are all genetically descended from the Emperor, by way of the Primarchs. This makes them superior to other beings*).
 * The unswerving loyalty to their leader, and the God-like status their Emperor is given by them.
 * The Terminator Cross (Crux Terminatus), a distinction given to the greatest veterans and heroes of the Space Marines, is similar in shape to the German Iron Cross (though the Iron Cross pre-dates Nazi Germany).
 * The portrayal of Space Marines as "Superhuman", a kind of Ubermensch.
 * The concept of the whole live as a conflict. The Motto of the Game is "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only WAR."


 * - To a point of view. Certain Space Marine chapters view themselves as less than human because they are genetically modified. They see such sacrifice of their purity necessary to fight the evils of the Imperium. However, other Chapters are disdainful of humans for reasons such as weakness (Iron Hands Chapter, who use extensive cybernetics) amongst others.

Crux Terminatus: 

Iron Cross: 


 * The Imperial Guard especially contains very obvious references to the Nazis. One of the elite Imperial Guard units are called 'Stormtroopers', and this unit's logo is a lightning flash, which is obviously similar to the SS logo and the uniforms worn by Imperial officers is very similar to the garb worn by Nazi officers (especially those of the Armageddon Steel Legion). Another nod towards Germany can be found in the grim regiment of the Death Korps of Krieg.

It is unfair to say that the Imperium is meant to ape the Nazis completely; there are also references to the Soviet Red Army (the role of Commissars as political officers in military units, the Valhallan Ice Warriors, etc) and, some may argue, to Imperial Japan (the Emperor being worshiped as God, as the Japanese Emperor Hirohito was, not to mention that both the Space Marines and -although to a much lesser extent- Imperial Guards were fanatically willing to die for the Emperor, as the Japanese were for Hirohito).

But, as the Warhammer 40,000 universe is representative of a bleak and unenviable future (where the cost of a life is nothing in the grand scheme of things), where conflict and death are rife, it seems obvious that the game designers would draw inspiration from the very worst chapters of human history. As the game's literature explains: "in times such as these we can not afford the luxury of morality". Indeed, the very tagline of the entire Warhammer 40,000 game setting is "In The Grim Darkness Of The Far Future There Is Only War."

Themes of the Imperium
The Imperium of Man in Warhammer 40k is the last bastion of mankind's strength, but it also represents, figuratively, everything wrong about the behavior of mankind, and the danger of becoming a monster in order to fight monsters, as well as in general all the "evil that men do" rolled into one package. From its oppressive Inquisition, violent warrior cults, extremely draconian laws and punishment system, and the nearly omnipotent power of the Ecclesiarchy, the Imperium is a merging of both dystopian, cyberpunk, and post-apocalyptic literary genres. On countless Forge-worlds entire planetary populations live and die short, miserable lives in the presence of noxious fumes and extreme danger in order to make sure that the weapons of the Imperium are produced in great enough numbers to continue to fight its enemies. The Imperial Guard, Space Marines, and Inquisition spend as much, if not more, time fighting planetary rebellions than they do fighting the various enemies of the Imperium. The Adeptus Mechanicus is allowed to kidnap and relocate entire planetary populations in order to meet its needs for personnel. The Space Marines maintain worlds that have warlike and barbaric conditions in order to have only the hardiest and toughest recruits to draw their Space Marines from. The Ecclesiarch is allowed to imprison and torture any citizens that display insufficient piety during worship services.

It is notable that, despite the extremity of the enemies it faces, the Imperium of Man goes farther than necessary in adapting its society to combat all the threats to it. In fact, the severity and corruption of the Imperium on all levels very likely do much work to make those threats far worse than they actually would be otherwise. In a skillful display of literary irony, Games Workshop created a setting in which the main reason that Chaos is so attractive is that life within the Imperium is so oppressive and bleak for the majority of its citizens that being ruled over by daemons and monsters often seems like a positive alternative. Lately the contrast has been made even more apparent by the appearance of the Tau into the Warhammer 40k setting, another interstellar society that manages to combat all its threats and thrive, without any of the draconian oppressiveness and extreme brutality of the Imperium's regime. The inclusion of such a race into the game, of course, drew sharp criticism from both long-standing fans of the setting, as well as from some of the game developers themselves. Many felt that the inclusion of a so-called "happy" race went against the very core theme of Warhammer 40k, as the Tau are neither grim, nor dark, nor nearly as warlike as any of the other factions in the setting. However, some have explained that the Tau are just as oppressive and brutal, but in their own way.

The corrupted and caricatured (and even at times cartoonish) cruelty of the Imperium's society has even been commented on by characters within the Warhammer 40k setting itself. An entire series of novels about the Soul Drinkers, a Space Marine chapter bent on overthrowing the Imperium's current regime and creating a new Imperium where freedom and personal rights and safety are respected, deal with the subject matter of attempts at internal reform. Within the Inquisitor game set in the same setting, and entire faction within the Inquisition has realized the utter decay of the Imperium and seeks to reform it into something more democratic, more benevolent, and less evil. However, both of these factions are very much portrayed as underdogs, and as being almost totally insignificant against the vast bulk of oppression and ruthless barbarity that the Imperium represents.

The history of the Imperium itself shows how excessive its corruption has become. During the Horus Heresy, the Emperor rebuked the Word Bearers Space Marine Legion when they began worshipping him as a God, telling them that he only wanted warriors, not devotees. After the Horus Heresy, and before the founding of the Ecclesiarchy, the Imperium was able to survive and function well against all its threats as a secular, and relatively unoppressive, society. Within the pages of Codex: Witch Hunters, a detailed history of the Imperium is given, starting with the relatively ideal realm that the Emperor himself created, to the slow slide into dictatorship after his death, to the founding of the Ecclesiarchy 3000 years after his death, and the resulting change of the Imperium from a relatively secular institution to a theocracy in which men's rights, freedoms, and even personal happiness became seen as sins, and only suffering and death for the Emperor were now recognized as virtues. Even within the Ecclesiarchy itself, attempts at reform (though only successful in the short term) have been made. Most notable of these was the Age of Apostasy, in which a radical preacher named Sebastian Thor led a revolutionary movement that eventually reached Terra itself and then proceeded to lay siege to the Imperial palace. Several Space Marine Chapters, including the Ultramarines, Dark Angels, and Space Wolves, sided with Sebastian Thor during this revolt. The civil war was finally ended when Goge Vandire, Ecclesiarch and Lord of the Administratum, was turned on and killed by his own bodyguard, the Sisters of Battle. After these events, Sebastian Thor was proclaimed Ecclesiarch, and he attempted to institute a series of reforms to improve the condition of the Imperium's way of life. However, these reforms did not survive long after his eventual death, and the Imperium quickly sank back to it's former societal lows, with the Ecclesiarchy again becoming an institution dedicated entirely to the abuse of power against it's own followers.

Alternate Themes
The Imperium is so large that almost every conceivable culture, way of life, and political system, is found within it somewhere. The stereotypical, 'average' world of the Imperium, and all of the larger Forge-worlds, are usually seen as being the dark, oppressive regime described above, but just as many worlds exist which are relatively liberal. The Inquisition is so small compared to the teeming masses that most worlds don't see a single Inquisitor for generations at a time. Official Imperial policy, whatever that policy may be, becomes more and more difficult to enforce the further one goes from Terra, apart from the broadest of restrictions, such as their policy towards mutation. The sheer size of the Imperium means that an 'average' world does not exist. However, it is the more unpleasant ones which are usually portrayed. Generally, the feel, tone, and style of the culture of any particular world in question is determined entirely by the personality of the local Planetary Governor or System Lord.