カーレスの剣は、クリンゴンの歴史上最も重要な遺物の一つである。
クリンゴン帝国の歴史は、バイオレンスさに彩られた人々の歴史であった。
初期と歴史と帝国の誕生
古代Zanxthkolt王朝の初期には、ミイラ化浮彫像が発達した。（スタートレック4：故郷への長い道）
ボレスにあるカーレスの絵
9世紀頃、クロノスは暴君として知られるモローによって統治されていた。忘れ得ぬ者カーレスは、民衆の擁護者として暴君モローに対して一対一の戦いを挑み、モローを殺した。この戦いはカム・チーの戦いとよばれ、後にカーレスの剣と呼ばれる様になったバトラフを最初に使ったとされている。カム・チーの城に殺到した500人のモローの戦士たちを前に、城の守備兵たちは逃げ出したが、カーレスとルカーラは共にグレートホールでモローの戦士たちとの激戦を繰り広げ破った。この二人の勝利はクリンゴンの歴史で最も素晴らしいロマンスとして語り継がれる様になった。（DS9:クワークの再婚） カーレスは高貴な家の出ではなかったが、新しい妻と共にクロノスの皇帝としてクリンゴンを統治した。そして、モローの敗北は今でもコトバールの祭りで祝われ続けている。（TNG:クリンゴン戦士への道、DS9:嵐に立つ者たち）
パクバトラの一片。カーレスの話を伝えた古代クリンゴンの宗教的巻物
カーレスは戦士というだけではなく、哲学者でもあった。彼は後にクリンゴン文化に深く根ざすこととなった厳しい戦士の掟を確立した。そして、彼の言葉はしばしば戦いに向かおうとする戦士たちによって思い起こされた。カーレスの格言では「支配者はその治世の長さで判断されるのではなく、その支配で判断される」[1]とされている。（DS9:嵐に立つ者たち） カーレスの伝説は、パクバトラと呼ばれる宗教巻物に記され後世に伝えられた。（VOY:さまよえるクリンゴンの魂）
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しかしながら、カーレスの伝説の中にはクリンゴン帝国創世とその後の皇帝の約1100年間の伝説も含まれており、有名な皇帝としてソンペックが含まれている。ソンペック皇帝は、後に「トンヴェイの戦い」として語り継がれる、一万人の戦士を率いてトンヴェイという街を征服したことで有名である。ソンペックは街を征服した後に、街を焼き払い住民すべてを虐殺したことでも知られている。
ミュレック皇帝は戦士同士が決闘で殺しあうことを避けるために、錆びたバトラフを決闘に用いる習慣を導入したことで知られている皇帝である。（TNG:クリンゴン神カーレスの復活、DS9:裁かれるウォーフ、VOY:預言の子）
その後の約1300年間でクリンゴン帝国はゆっくりと版図を広げていった。しかし、14世紀にはガンマ宇宙域の勢力であったハークがベイジョー・ワームホールを通りクリンゴン帝国を侵略し、クロノスは占領された。その後、クリンゴン人らの激しい抵抗のためハークは程なく撤退したが、クリンゴンの貴重な文化財や遺物が持ち去られてしまった。その中には、カーレスの剣も含まれていた。（DS9:カーレスの剣）
14世紀のクリンゴン社会では宗教の変化も起こった。それまでの神々は問題が多いとの理由でクリンゴン戦士によってすべて殺された。（DS9:地球戒厳令・前編）
16世紀初頭、クリンゴン帝国は第二王朝が統治していたが、レクロ皇帝をクトゥレラン将軍が暗殺したことによって第二王朝は終焉を迎え、皇族もすべて処刑された。次の十年間は帝国は人民によって選出された評議会によって統治された。これは近代クリンゴン歴史学者の間では「暗黒時代」と呼ばれている。その後成立した第三王朝は、血縁はないものの、第二王朝の皇族の名前だけを引き継いだ。（DS9:花嫁の試練）
21世紀中頃、最後の皇帝による治世が終わり、その後帝国を支配するのはクリンゴン最高評議会総裁となった。（TNG:クリンゴン神カーレスの復活）
第二帝政時代、モウガ総裁はブリーン星を征服するために艦隊を送ったが、派遣した艦隊は二度と戻らなかった。（DS9:偽りの契り）
クロノスの首都(2151)
22世紀には、クリンゴン帝国は強力なクリンゴン帝国防衛軍を率いた、いくつもの星系を支配する強大な国家として知られていた。（スタートレック：エンタープライズ）
22nd century
Early contact with Humans
In the late 2140s and early 2150s, the Klingons were engaged in a fierce internal struggle that, while not amounting to actual civil war, threatened to become a more intense conflict. Numerous attacks had taken place throughout the empire that were blamed on various Klingon factions; it was not realized at the time that the attacks had actually been launched by the Suliban Cabal, who were taking orders from a mysterious individual who was an operative in the Temporal Cold War.
Klaang provides the Klingon High Council with proof that the Suliban Cabal was behind attacks against the Empire in 2151
Although the Klingons had had occasional contact with the Vulcans prior to 2151, they had not met Humans until a courier named Klaang crashed on Earth while pursued by two Suliban soldiers. After dispatching his two pursuers, Klaang was shot by a local farmer named Moore. Although Vulcan ambassador Soval advised that Starfleet authorities withhold medical treatment and allow Klaang to die, Captain Jonathan Archer intervened and insisted on returning Klaang to Qo'noS aboard his ship, the Enterprise NX-01.
Archer, however, did not understand the complexity or importance of Klingon tradition, and did not realize that returning Klaang to Qo'noS was a grave dishonor and insult. However, Klaang carried with him proof that the attacks were in fact launched by the Suliban, which averted a civil war. For this service, Archer and his ship were allowed to leave peacefully. However, the incident did not leave Klingons kindly disposed towards Humans. (ENT: Broken Bow)
By 2153, the Klingon society, including its judicial system, was dominated by the Warrior caste and honor only had a superficial meaning during trials
In early 2153, the Empire again encountered the Enterprise when the Human ship rescued a refugee ship from Raatooras that was attempting to flee Klingon territory. Captain Archer chose to render assistance to the refugees, but failed to realize the ramifications of his actions, particularly the embarrassment he would cause the Klingons. When the Klingons demanded that the refugees be handed over for trial, Archer refused to comply. Captain Duras of the IKSBortas intercepted the Enterprise and attacked it, unsuccessfully. Archer was later captured and brought to trial on Narendra III, a Klingon colony, for being an "enemy of the state." In an incendiary tribunal, Archer's "interference" with Klingon affairs earned him a life sentence to Rura Penthe. However, Archer managed to quickly escape from the prison, further embarrassing the Klingons. (ENT: Judgment)
The Klingons launched several further attempts to recapture Archer, including hiring bounty hunters (ENT: Bounty) and sending Duras himself to track the Enterprise and recapture Archer. However, Duras was unsuccessful in three different attacks against the Enterprise, and he was finally killed when the Enterprise destroyed his ship during the third attack on the edges of the Delphic Expanse. (ENT: The Expanse)
Augment Crisis
On its way to apprehend the rogue Human Augments in 2154, Enterprise disables a D5 class battle cruiser
The Klingon Empire nearly went to war with Earth during the Augment Crisis in May 2154, when a group of Humans hijacked a Bird-of-Prey and ejected its crew into space. Planning to devastate humanity, the Augments tried to escalate the incident by annihilating the Klingon Qu'Vat colony with a biogenic weapon. Fortunately, war was averted when Enterprise destroyed the rogue Humans responsible and saved the colony. (ENT: Borderland、The Augments)
A short time later, the Klingons found genetic material of the Human Augments within the wreckage of the hijacked Bird-of-Prey. Fearing that Starfleet may be attempting to create genetically-superior Humans to take over the Empire, they tried to adapt this genetic engineering to improve themselves. An unanticipated side effect was that the Augment DNA caused the Klingon cranial ridges to dissolve. The test subjects did gain increased strength and intelligence, but then their neural pathways started to degrade and they died in agony. One of the subjects was suffering from the Levodian flu, which was modified by the Augment genes to become a deadly, airborne plague that spread rampantly within the Empire posing its gravest threat since the Hur'q invasion. In the first stage of this plague, a Klingon's physiology mutated to become more Human, for which the degeneration of the cranial ridges was a symptom.
A Klingon suffering from the Klingon augment virus in 2154
With the help of a Klingon scientist named Antaak, Dr. Phlox of the Enterprise was able to formulate a cure that halted the genetic effects of the virus in the first stage, retaining the changes in appearance along with some minor neural re-ordering, but with no development of stage two characteristics, such as enhanced strength, speed, or endurance. This left millions of Klingons, mostly in the warrior caste, without their ridges. As these alterations were even passed on to their children, Phlox and Antaak theorized, that surgical cranial reconstruction might become quite popular for Klingons, who want to restore their outer appearance. Nevertheless, this whole incident embarrassed the Klingons even further and the Empire no doubt began to feel much more contempt for Humans, who were responsible for creating the genetic material in the first place. (ENT: Affliction、Divergence)
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23rd century
Klingon-Federation Cold War
- See also: Federation-Klingon Cold War
By 2223, relations had degraded to a point where the Klingon Empire and the Federation were constantly on the verge of war. (スタートレック6：未知の世界; ENT: In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II)
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The Federation was quickly expanding, and its territory began to approach that of the Empire. Disputes over ownership of various star systems arose, particularly over worlds such as Donatu V, Sherman's Planet, the Archanis sector, and Organia. Although numerous skirmishes were fought between the Federation Starfleet and Klingon forces during this time, both sides refrained from committing to open warfare.
Kor, commander of the Klingon forces occupying Organia in 2267
However, in 2267 negotiations between the two sides broke down, and the Federation officially declared war against the Empire. The Klingons launched an immediate offensive, seizing several planets including the strategically important Organia. Unexpectedly, the Klingon-Federation War was brought to a sudden conclusion just days after it had begun when the Organians, a race of massively powerful noncorporeal beings, intervened and forced both sides to end hostilities. The Treaty of Organia was then imposed, establishing a neutral zone separating the two powers and instituting a procedure, to be overseen by the Organians, through which planets along the border could be claimed and settled by both sides. (TOS: Errand of Mercy、The Trouble with Tribbles)
A number of skirmishes and hostile encounters between the two sides occurred over the next decade, including encounters at Capella IV, Neural, Elas and Beta XII-A. In most of these confrontations, the Klingons tried to gain strategic advantage and secure mining rights for valuable minerals, such as dilithium. (TOS: Friday's Child、A Private Little War、Elaan of Troyius、Day of the Dove)
A brief but ultimately unsuccessful thawing in relations occurred in 2267 between the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire, with the founding of a jointly-managed colony on Nimbus III. Dubbed the "planet of galactic peace," the colony quickly became an embarrassing failure for all three governments, although regular meetings between representatives did take place at the colony for at least the next twenty years. (スタートレック5：新たなる未知へ)
A product of the short-lived Romulan-Klingon Alliance: A D7 class battle cruiser, which states an originally Klingon design, equipped with Romulan cloaking technology
In 2268, the Klingons entered into a brief and ill-advised alliance with their long-time blood enemies, the Romulans. This alliance included a technological exchange, in which the Klingons received cloaking technology in trade for D7-class battle cruisers. (TOS: The Enterprise Incident) The alliance came to a quick and violent end with the Battle of Klach D'Kel Brakt in 2272. (DS9: Blood Oath)
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Tensions between the Klingons and the Federation again came to a head in the 2280s with the revelation of the secret Project Genesis, a scientific program developing an advanced method of quickly terraforming worlds – but a method which also had great potential for causing destruction. The Klingons sent a Bird-of-Prey to covertly obtain the secrets of the Genesis Planet, while at the same time negotiating openly with the Federation. The Klingons planned to accuse the Federation of duplicity in developing Genesis as a weapon of awesome power and using the negotiations as a cover. (スタートレック3：ミスター・スポックを探せ) However, when the crew of the USSEnterprise, commanded by James T. Kirk, managed to capture the Bird-of-Prey, the Klingon ambassador proclaimed a vendetta against Kirk, vowing, "there shall be no peace so long as Kirk lives!" (スタートレック4：故郷への長い道)
Peace with the Federation
Although negotiations had proceeded intermittently since the imposition of the Organian Peace Treaty, no major progress was made in establishing any firm relationship between the two powers. The most notable meeting, however, were a series of negotiations at the Korvat colony in 2289, where Federation mediator Curzon Dax met with Kang. No lasting agreement was reached at this meeting, but Dax did manage to gain grudging respect from the Klingons and establish a lasting rapport. (DS9: Blood Oath)
In 2293, Gorkon, Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, raises a toast to "the Undiscovered Country - the future..."
The situation abruptly changed with the explosion of the Klingon moon of Praxis in 2293. The disaster caused major problems for the Klingon economy and military, as well as a major ecological crisis on Qo'noS itself. The Chancellor of the Klingon High Council, Gorkon, took the controversial move of proposing a full peace treaty and establishing a process for dismantling the military fortifications and outposts along their mutual border – the military emplacements and warships that the Klingons could no longer afford.
However, peace would not come easily. While en route to a meeting with the Federation president on Earth, Gorkon was assassinated by Starfleet conspirators from the USSEnterprise-A, who were working in cooperation with Klingon counterparts who also opposed any peace treaty between the two enemies. Gorkon's daughter, Azetbur, was appointed as the new chancellor in her father's place, and despite enormous pressure from her advisers to abandon the peace initiative, she chose to press forward and see her father's vision fulfilled. The ensuing Khitomer Conference resulted in the signing of the Khitomer Accords, a treaty which became the foundation for peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. (スタートレック6：未知の世界)
24th century
Ongoing détente
The sacrifice of the USSEnterprise-C in 2344 proved instrumental in maintaining and expanding the détente between the Klingon Empire and the Federation
The relationship between the two great powers, however, remained rocky for the next several decades. By the early 2340s, the two powers once again stood on the brink of war. However, a single courageous act by the crew of a Federation starship would finally change relations for the better. In 2344, the starship USSEnterprise-C responded to a distress signal from the colony on Narendra III, which was under attack by the Romulans. Despite overwhelming odds, the Enterprise-C rushed to the rescue, and the crew's conspicuous heroism in attempting to protect potential enemies left a lasting impression on the Klingons. (TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise)
The mediator Riva gained fame for negotiating several treaties between the Federation and Klingon Empire; before Riva, there was no Klingon word for "peace-maker". (TNG: Loud As A Whisper) By 2353, the Treaty of Alliance was signed, finally establishing a firm friendship between the two former enemies – just as the Organians had predicted almost eighty years before. (TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise; DS9: The Way of the Warrior) The Klingons even joined the Federation in some fashion, some time after 2327 but before 2365. (TNG: Samaritan Snare)
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Civil war
- Main article: Klingon Civil War
K'mpec, Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in 2367
Despite the establishment of a full peace treaty with the Federation, the Empire would not remain at peace for very long. During the reign of Chancellor K'mpec (the longest-lived chancellor in Klingon history), two rival factions developed in the Klingon High Council. One, led by Gowron, favored continuing the peaceful relationship with the Federation, while the other, led by Duras, advocated setting an independent and aggressive policy. Duras was also secretly allied with Romulan interests who were seeking to split the Federation-Klingon alliance. By early 2367, the two factions were on the verge of starting a new civil war. (TNG: Reunion)
Although Duras was killed by Worf and his relationship with the Romulans exposed, Duras's sisters, Lursa and B'Etor continued the struggle in their brother's place. They presented Toral, the illegitimate son of Duras, to challenge Gowron for leadership of the Council. Because the majority of the Council had been corrupted by the House of Duras, they sided with the Duras sisters and walked out of the Council when Arbiter of Succession Jean-Luc Picard rejected Toral's claim, making official the division of the Empire. (TNG: Redemption)
The First City on Qo'noS burns during the Klingon Civil War in early 2368.
The civil war, when it finally broke out, was as bold and bloody as any other conflict in Klingon history. The warriors of the Empire threw themselves into the fight with typical zeal – for example, Kurn was heard to shout, "Our time for glory is here!" In the first three engagements, the forces allied with the Duras family decisively defeated Gowron's allies. However, it was not generally realized at the time that the Duras forces were secretly receiving material aid from the Romulan Empire. The Romulans hoped that a victorious Duras family would end the Federation-Klingon alliance and create a new Romulan-Klingon alliance to shift the balance of power in the quadrant.
However, interests in Starfleet recognized the probability that the Romulans were interfering in the conflict. Jean-Luc Picard and the USSEnterprise-D led a fleet of starships to the Romulan-Klingon border, establishing a blockade and preventing the Romulans from sending the Duras forces further assistance. When the Romulan connection was finally revealed, support quickly fell away from the Duras family, and Gowron successfully reunited the Empire under his leadership. (TNG: Redemption II)
The "Return" of the Emperor
The clone of Kahless in 2369
By 2369, the clerics of Boreth acquired the necessary technology to "recreate" a clone of Kahless the Unforgettable using DNA from the Knife of Kirom and imprinting Kahless' memories, as written down in the sacred texts (most likely the paq'batlh), in the clone's synaptic pathways. The cleric's plan was to counter the corruption and dishonor in the Empire by restoring a strong leadership and re-instating the position of Emperor of the Klingon Empire. "Kahless'" ascension to this post should follow his faked return from Sto-vo-kor, however, worrying about his chancellorship, Gowron was able to expose the plan of the clerics. Lieutenant Commander Worf thereby suggested that the clone of Kahless be made Emperor, only becoming the moral leader of the Klingon people, though, and Gowron remaining chancellor of the Klingon High Council. (TNG: Rightful Heir)
Renewed hostilities
The Klingon flagship, Negh'Var attacks Deep Space 9 in early 2372
The Federation-Klingon alliance would be sorely tested in the 2370s, after the Federation made first contact with the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant. The leaders of the Dominion, the Founders, had the express goal of conquering all of the powers of the Alpha Quadrant in order to prevent them from threatening the Great Link. (DS9: The Search, Part II) In late 2371, the Dominion captured General Martok, a trusted adviser to Gowron, and replaced him with a shapeshifter impersonator. (DS9: Apocalypse Rising、In Purgatory's Shadow)
The Changeling posing as Martok convinced Gowron that the recent civilian uprising in the Cardassian Union had been engineered and supported by the Dominion, and that the uprising heralded an imminent invasion by the Dominion into the Alpha Quadrant. To prevent this invasion from occurring, Gowron launched a massive assault against the Cardassian Empire in early 2372. Emperor Kahless condemned the invasion but was eventually overruled by Gowron, whose goal was to conquer all Cardassian territory to ensure that it could not be taken by the Dominion.
When the Federation Council protested Gowron's actions, Gowron took it as a betrayal of the alliance and withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, ending the Federation-Klingon alliance. Although no declaration of official hostilities was made, a state of near-war developed between the two powers; the Klingons even launched a preemptive attack against the Federation outpost Deep Space 9 in order to capture the remaining free members of the Cardassian Detapa Council. However, Deep Space 9 captain Benjamin Sisko pointed out to Gowron that a war between the Federation, the Klingons, and the Cardassians was exactly what the Dominion wanted – a divided Alpha Quadrant that would be ripe for conquest in the future. Faced with this reasoning, Gowron called an end to the invasion and halted the attack against DS9. (DS9: The Way of the Warrior)
However, peace would not return. The Federation had refused to fight alongside their allies and had actually sided against them in battle, and the Klingons could not forgive or forget this transgression easily. A tense stand-off developed over the next year, with the Klingons attempting to make political inroads against both the Cardassians and the Federation to justify their offensives. (DS9: Sons of Mogh、Rules of Engagement)
Finally, in late 2372 and at the Martok Changeling's suggestion, Gowron demanded that the Federation relinquish claims to a number of territories along their mutual border, or face war. When the Federation Council refused the demands, the Empire launched a massive invasion of the Federation. The Federation-Klingon War was brutal, but short – only a few weeks after it began, Gowron called an end to the conflict after a Starfleet covert ops team revealed that Martok was actually a shapeshifter, and the entire war had been engineered to divide the two former allies. (DS9: Apocalypse Rising)
The Dominion War
Facing the imminent threat of a Dominion attack, Klingon Chancellor Gowron re-signs the Khitomer Accords in 2373
When the Dominion annexed the Cardassian Union in mid-2373, the Klingons were quickly defeated by the Jem'Hadar and driven from all of their Cardassian conquests. Faced with the prospect of a larger war against a much more powerful enemy, Gowron agreed to re-sign the Khitomer Accords and renew the alliance with the Federation. In addition, a detachment of Klingon soldiers was assigned to Deep Space 9, commanded by the real Martok, who had been rescued from a Dominion internment camp. (DS9: By Inferno's Light)
Klingon forces relieve the Federation fleet during Operation Return in 2374
The Empire and the Federation would ultimately fight side by side in the ensuing Dominion War that broke out in late 2373; many of the most important engagements of the war were conducted in concert, including the Second Battle of Deep Space 9, the attack on Torros III, and Operation Return. (DS9: Call to Arms、Sacrifice of Angels)
The anti-Dominion alliance gained new, unlikely allies in mid-2374 when the Romulan Empire declared war against the Dominion. Although the Romulans and the Klingons both harbored deep hatred for the other, the two former enemies managed to put aside their differences in order to successfully fight the Dominion. (DS9: Tears of the Prophets)
However, ultimate victory would eventually come at a very high price. When the Breen Confederacy entered the war in late 2375, the use of the previously-unknown energy dampening weapon effectively nullified the power of Starfleet and the Romulan forces, leaving the Klingons to fight on their own, outnumbered twenty to one. Rather than fight a holding action, however, Gowron ordered that Martok launch a full-scale offensive against the enemy, claiming that they had the advantage of surprise. (DS9: When It Rains...)
Ostensibly, Gowron hoped to achieve quick victory against the Dominion and claim all of the glory for the Empire in winning the war without the assistance of the Federation or the Romulans. But Gowron's real plan was much more subversive and political. Gowron feared the growing popularity of Martok, who had commanded the Klingon forces on the front lines and was rapidly gaining heroic status among the soldiers of the Empire. Gowron hoped to reclaim some of that popularity for himself by personally commanding the Klingon war effort from Deep Space 9, and by discrediting Martok in sending him on numerous hopeless missions.
When no other Klingons would protest, Worf challenged Gowron to single combat, claiming that Gowron was a coward for jeopardizing the very existence of the Empire (and indeed the safety of the entire Alpha Quadrant) in order to satisfy his need for political security. Worf killed Gowron in the fight, thus claiming the right to rule the Empire himself. However, Worf declined the position and nominated Martok instead. (DS9: Tacking Into the Wind)
With the signing of the Treaty of Bajor, the Dominion War is finally ended in 2375
Ultimately, the Empire shared in victory with the Federation and the Romulans after the final defeat of the Dominion at the Battle of Cardassia in late 2375. (DS9: What You Leave Behind)
Section 31 estimated that the Klingons would not recover from their losses from the Dominion War until about 2385. (DS9: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges)
Alternate timelines
In an alternate timeline, the Klingons took control of Deep Space 9 after the death of the emissary Benjamin Sisko in 2372 (because the Bajorans interpreted this as sign against the Federation and tried to ally with the Cardassian Union). This timeline was avoided due to the intervention of Jake Sisko in 2422. (DS9: The Visitor)
In Q's anti-time future, the Klingons had conquered the Romulan Star Empire by the late 24th century. (TNG: All Good Things...)
In Daniels's alternate timeline, the Klingons (re)joined the Federation by the 26th century. (ENT: Azati Prime)
Related topics
- Interstellar history
- Cardassian history
- Dominion history
- Federation history
- Human history
- Romulan history
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