The Cog Mechanicum, icon of the ancient Mechanicum and the present day Adeptus Mechanicus.
The Mechanicum Parliament, also called the Martian Parliament, was the legislative body of the ancient Mechanicum government of Mars at the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy in the 30th and early 31st Millenniums. It was comprised of the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus and was led by the fabricator-general of Mars who served as the speaker of the parliament.
When the Emperor of Mankind first arrived on Mars at the great mountain of Olympus Mons before the start of the Great Crusade, He appeared before the Mechanicum Parliament to persuade the Tech-priests to join in an alliance with Him and Terra to form a new, unified Human government known as the Imperium of Man. The majority of the Tech-priests in the parliament believed the Emperor to be the Omnissiah, the physical embodiment of their faith's Machine God, and so they agreed to His proposal, signing the agreement known to history as the Treaty of Mars.
The treaty granted the Mechanicum and all its territories political autonomy within the framework of the new Imperium and the right to continue to practice their religion. In return, the Mechanicum agreed to provide the Emperor with their full industrial capacity to build the starships, vehicles and other wargear the Imperial expeditionary fleets of the Great Crusade would need to conquer the galaxy.
It is unknown if the Martian Parliament, or a similar body of Tech-priests, continues to operate in the 41st Millennium.
Sources[]
- The Horus Heresy Book One (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 17–18