Klingon History

The Klingons have had a long and violent history stretching 1,500 years. The Klingon Empire was started by Kahless the Unforgettable 1,500 years ago. many stories are told of Kahless, many steeped deeply in legend. Although many stories of Kahless are probably false there is almost always a basis behind a legend and there is no doubt Kahless existed. It is also probable that many of the legends about him have a basis in truth as well. Kahless is almost like a God to the Klingon people and he is considered to be the greatest warrior in the history of Klingons. Legends about Kahless include how he killed the tyrant Molor with the first Bat'leth (Translates to 'Sword of honour') which was created when Kahless dropped a lock of his hair into the Kri'stak volcano and then plunged the burning lock into the Lake of Lursor and twisted it into a blade. The death of Molor united the Klingon people under the Empire. This first bat'leth was named the Sword of Kahless. Other legends about Kahless include how he fought his brother Morath for twelve days and twelve nights for dishonouring the family by telling a lie. The Sword of Kahless was also used to conquer the Fek'Ihr and imprison him in Gre'Thor (Note: the Fek'Ihr guards Gre'Thor the afterlife for the dishonourable, in ' The Sword of Kahless' it was stated that Kahless once conquered the Fek'Ihr. Presumably he made the creature stay in Gre'Thor. Of course this is just a legend, and if this happened like this it is unknown.) The first bat'leth was also used to conquer the serpent of Xol. He is also reputed to of fought of an entire army alone at Three Turn Bridge. Kahless was married to Lady Lurkana. His courtship of the lady is the greatest Klingon romance in history. They stood together and fought 500 Klingon warriors together at the Great Hall of Quam-Chee. Many of Kahless words are held in high honour to this day. Among these words are "It is a good day to die!" and "Destroying an Empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an Empire is no defeat." Klingons believe that if they die in battle Kahless will guide them into the afterlife for the honourable, Sto-Vo-Kor. Just before his death Kahless pointed towards a star in the night sky and said he would one day return their. In later years monks would establish a monastery on Borath a planet orbiting that star. After Kahless's death the Klingon Empire went from strength to strength eventually achieving an interstellar empire across stretching from their home into the Beta Quadrant right into the Alpha Quadrant. Around 1,000 years ago the Klingon Homeworld, known as Qu'noS was pillaged by Galactic plunderers known to the Klingons as the Hurq. Among the many things stolen was the Sword of Kahless itself. The Sword would eventually be found in 2372. Among the bloody conflicts during the Empires history was the battle of Tong Vey where the ancient Emperor Sompek ordered the massacre of an entire city. During the second Klingon dynasty Emperor Reclaw ruled the Empire but he was assassinated by General K'Trelan. K'Trelan cast the Empire into a time when the Empire was ruled by a democratic council which made many reforms however Klingon historians still refer to this 10 years period of democracy as 'the Dark time'. After the 10 year period a new imperial family came into power. In an effort to make it look as if the imperial line had not been broken the new Imperial family took on the names of the Reclaw dynasty. In C.2069 (Earth Calendar) the Klingon Empire stopped being ruled by an Emperor and the Klingon High Council headed by the Chancellor led the Klingon Empire. During the Second Empire Chancellor Mow'Ga sent a fleet of Klingon warships into Breen territory. The warships were never heard from again. In 2218 the Klingon Empire had First Contact with the Federation. The First Contact was a disaster resulting in conflict between the two powers until 2293. The Klingons and the Federation took part in a sort of cold war for years. The Klingons had a lot of run-ins with the original USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). The first time the Enterprise ran into the Klingons was 2267 when the Klingons and the Federation opened true hostilities. The Klingons and the Federation both sent vessels to planet Organia to safe-guard it for their ownership. Both parties believed that the citizens of Organia, the Organians, were primitive humanoid life-forms. It was unknown that the Organians were in fact incredibly advanced non-corporeal life forms who imposed the Organian Peace Treaty on both parties. The Organians predicted that eventually the Klingons and the Federation would become friends. Later that year the Enterprise and the Klingons met again. The Klingons from the IKS Gr'oth and the crew of the Enterprise both had shore leave at Deep Space Station K-7. The Klingons attempted to poison grain on K-7 meant for the disputed world known as 'Sherman's Planet'. Under the terms of the Organian Peace Treaty the Klingons could claim the planet if the Federation could not develop it. Without the grain the planet would not of been developed and the Klingons would of been able to take over Sherman's Planet. Fortunately Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the Enterprise was able to unmask the Klingon involvement. Barely six weeks later in early 2268 and the Enterprise met the Klingons again at a planet called Neural (Note: the name Neural is not in the aired version, only the script, of 'A Private Little War' but I have included it as it seemed appropriate to include a name.) The Klingons provided Sonic Disruptor rifles to the people of Neural. The primitive people of Neural used them to wage war, severely shifting the balance of power, the Federation provided phasers to the people of Neural to restore the balance of power. Later in 2268 the Klingons formed an alliance with the Romulans. The alliance gave the Klingons access to Romulan cloaking technology while the Romulans gained the Klingons far superior battle cruisers. A couple of months later the Klingons and the Enterprise met over Planet Beta XII-A, fierce fighting broke out among the crews of the two vessels. It was later found that this was a ruse by an entity which fed of violence, an attempt to feed itself. In 2271, despite their alliance, the Klingons under Kor defeated the Romulans in the battle of Klach D'kel Brakt. In 2290 three Klingon warships under the command of Kang, Kor and Koloth attempted to apprehend the criminal known as the Albino. They would not catch him until 2370. In the same year the Klingon sleeper ship IKS T'Ong was launched on a mission of exploration. It would not be heard from until 2365. 2 years later in 2292 the Empire developed a new type of bird of prey. The new bird of prey was able to fire torpedoes while partially cloaked, however it would be destroyed in the next year during the truly historic Khitomer Accords. However sensor advances quickly render it detectable. During the same year the Klingon/Romulan alliance collapsed, it is unknown what caused the collapse, except that both parties would remain blood enemies to this day. The battle of Klach D'kel Brakt may of had something to do with it. In 2293 Praxis, moon of Qu'noS (pronounced 'kronos'), the Klingon Homeworld, exploded causing environmental damage to Qu'noS and pushing the Empire into disarray. Chancellor Gorkon realised that the Empire needed an ally to help them. Gorkon launched a huge peace initiative with the Federation to secure the safety of the Empire. Initial talks are promising until Chancellor Gorkon is assassinated. The Klingons convict Captain James T Kirk and Doctor Leonard H McCoy of the USS Enterprise-A of the murder. They are sentenced to life imprisonment at the Rura Penthe dilithium mines. The peace initiative is rescheduled and takes place at Camp Khitomer. Kirk and McCoy were later found innocent of the murder when the crime is found to be the work of Starfleet Admiral Cartwright and other forces afraid of the change to the Status Quo. During the 24th Century the Romulans attempted many times to break up this alliance and destabilise the Klingon government. For the most part these attempts are unsuccessful. On May 23rd 2340 Worf, Son of Mogh was born on Qu'noS. Unknown to the Klingons at the time, Worf will become one of the most influential figures in Klingon politics during the next century. In 2344 the USS Enterprise C defended the Klingon outpost at Narendra III from 4 attacking Romulan vessels. The battle showed the Klingons that the Federation was honourable and the Federation and the Klingons entered into an alliance, with the Khitomer Accords only being a peace treaty. In 2346 Mogh, Son of Worf (Note: The Klingon Colonel named Worf in ST6 is supposed to be Worf's grandfather. This makes Mogh, son of Worf.) suspects Ja'rod, a member of a powerful Klingon house of plotting with the Romulans against the Empire. He follows Ja'rod to the historic Khitomer colony. While there the Romulans attack Khitomer killing everyone there except Worf, Son of Mogh and Kahlest his nursemaid. Mogh's other son Kurn is left in the care of Lorgh, a family friend. Kurn is not even told he is the Son of Mogh until he reached his age of ascension. Worf is taken care of by Sergey Rozhenko, a Chief Petty Officer on the USS Intrepid (Note: That's the Excelsior Class USS Intrepid not the Constitution Class or the Intrepid Class!) Sergey later raises Worf on Gault as an adopted child. Unknown to Klingon authorities 100 Klingon warriors did not die at Khitomer but were instead captured by the Romulans, these warriors were not allowed to die and were dishonoured by remaining alive. The warriors existence remains unknown to both the Klingons and Federation governments. (Note: I have included it for completions sake only) The Narendra III incident and the Federation response resulted in a new era of peace between the Federation and the Klingons. In 2357 Worf, Son of Mogh, enters Starfleet Academy. He is the first Klingon to enter Starfleet. As a young child Worf was told by a vision of Kahless that he would do something no other Klingon had ever done before. Worf assumes that this is it. He eventually graduates in 2361 and becomes security chief on the USS Enterprise D and later becomes strategic operations officer on Space Station Deep Space 9. In 2362 the Klingons performed a raid against Federation space despite the various treaties and accords. This shows the fragility of the Federation-Klingon alliance. In 2364 the Federation Starship USS Enterprise D thwarts Klingon militants opposing the Klingon High Council from taking the Enterprise-D for their purposes. The next year (2365) Commander Riker of the Enterprise D became the first Federation officer to serve on a Klingon ship when he served shortly as First Officer of the IKS Pagh, this is part of a new officer exchange program. Later that year the Klingon Sleeper Ship T'Ong was discovered in Federation space. The T'Ong's crew attempted to attack Federation outposts but the crew of Enterprise D was able to stop them. The crew were reinitiated back into Klingon society by Special Emissary K'Ehleyr. During the operation Enterprise D crewman Lieutenant Worf mated with K'Ehleyr. In 2366 Commander Kurn of the Klingon Defence Force served temporarily aboard the Enterprise D as First Officer. He revealed himself to be the Son of Mogh. Captain Picard of the Enterprise agreed to take them both to Qu'noS to answer challenge crimes against their Father, Mogh. Mogh was accused of giving the Romulans the shield frequencies to the Khitomer outpost, allowing them to destroy it. After uncovering evidence it was revealed that a Romulan Warbird had been recovered by the Klingons lately. The Warbird had data in its logs showing a security code that allowed them to disable the shields. The Klingon High Council had said these were Mogh's as it was not believed it would be challenged. The security codes had in fact been Ja'rod's. Ja'rod's son Duras was politically powerful and if it had been revealed the codes were Ja'rod's it would have ended in civil war. With the House of Duras too powerful for the information to be revealed Worf agreed to accept discommendation. Discommendation in Klingon society means that for seven generations your family will be seen as non-existent in the eyes of other Klingons. During the Borg invasion of the Federation in 2367 the Klingons provided two warships to help at Wolf 359. A couple of months later the Enterprise met the Klingon Warship IKS Bortas carrying Chancellor K'mpec of the Klingon High Council. Also aboard the Bortas is Special Emissary K'Ehleyr. K'mpec reveals that he is being poisoned by one of his political enemies. It could either be Gowron, a political outsider, or Duras. It is noted that this is considered an extremely dishonourable move as the victim has not seen the killers face. K'mpec chooses Captain Jean-Luc Picard as the Arbiter of Succession for the two new possible Chancellors. K'mpec takes the hugely unusual choice of appointing an off-worlder as any Klingon would be already biased to one of the factions. Having appointed Picard K'mpec dies and ends the longest reign of any Klingon leader in the history of the Empire. K'Ehleyr discovers suppressed evidence that Ja'rod was responsible for the Khitomer massacre and not Mogh and that Duras suppressed the evidence. Duras kills K'Ehleyr in an attempt to stop the evidence getting out. As a result Worf claims the right of vengeance and kills Duras. This leaves Gowron as the only contender for Chancellorship and Gowron is appointed Chancellor of the Klingon Empire. Later that year Romulans provided what looked like Federation Phaser Rifles to Kriosian rebels. Close inspection showed them to be Romulan. The Romulans also brain washed Enterprise D Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge to assassinate Governor Vagh. It was later proved that all this was a plot by the Romulans to de-stabilise the Federation-Klingon alliance. At the very end of 2367 the Empire was plunged into civil war. Toral, illegitimate son of Duras, along with his Aunts, Lursa and B'Etor, otherwise known as the Duras sisters made a bid for control of the council. As neither of the Duras sisters could rule the council (being female) they chose Toral to rule the council while they would be the true power behind the Empire. Once again Picard assumed the role of Arbiter of Succession and he eventually ruled that as Toral was yet undistinguished in the service of the Empire his claim to the Chancellorship was null. As a result the House of Duras declared war on Gowron and plunged the Empire into civil war. Before the Enterprise D had even left orbit of Qu'noS two Klingon Bird Of Preys decloaked and attacked the IKS Bortas. Only with the help of Worf as weapons officer on the Bortas and his brother Kurn was the Bortas able to fight of the Bird Of Preys. As a Starfleet Officer Worf was unable to help in the war effort and he resigned his commission to fight on the side of Gowron. In exchange for the loyalties of Worf and his brother Kurn, who was able to gain the support of four Klingon squadrons for Gowron, Gowron promised to restore the House of Mogh to its former glory. However despite the help of Kurn Gowron's forces were beaten back at almost every turn. As Klingon fought Klingon the war looked won as the forces of Duras moved further against the forces of Gowron. Captain Jean-Luc Picard was worried by this turn of events, and became convinced that the forces of Duras were getting external help. They were most convinced that the external help came from the Romulan Star Empire. The Duras family had conspired with Romulans in the past and the Romulans certainly had a motive. If the Duras family ruled the Empire the Klingons and Romulans would become allies again and the balance of power would shift hugely against the Federation. Picard convinced a board of Admirals to allow him to set up a way to detect the Romulans. His chief engineer Geordi LaForge devised the tacyon detection grid. A fleet would move out to the Romulan-Klingon border where the Romulans would most likely cross to deliver supplies. The fleet would move out into a certain formation and each vessel would send a stream of tacyons to each nearby vessel. If a cloaked ship passed one of these then the vessel would be detected. This would stop the Romulans taking cloaked vessels with supplies through. Picard told Gowron to hit the Duras family forces with everything he had. The Duras family called for reinforcements from the Romulans but the Romulans found the tacyon detection grid. The Romulans transmitted tacyons at the weakest part of grid and the grid was unable to detect them allowing them to pass through. Picard ordered the fleet to move further along but the USS Sutherland captained by Lieutenant Commander Sutherland did not move and fired two photon torpedoes at two sub-space stabilities which may or may not of been cloaked Warbirds. The sub-space anomalies were revealed to be Romulan vessels and the Romulans pulled out leaving the forces of the House of Duras to face the forces of Gowron. Gowron's forces were victorious leaving the Empire to be ruled by its rightful ruler. Toral was soon found again and Gowron restored the House of Mogh. He offered Worf Toral as vengeance for his Father's and Grandfather's deeds. Worf refused as he found it immoral. It seems Worf was too human to kill a child.  Despite the Federation's help in the civil war Gowron began to rewrite Klingon history to state that it was his cunning and warrior spirit which won the civil war and to our knowledge it remains this way to the day. (Note: 'Unification Pt.1' makes it clear that Gowron rewrote Klingon history to state this. It is unknown if Chancellor Martok has rewritten it to include the Federation's involvement. Seeing how close Martok is to some Starfleet Officers it would not be surprising.) In 2369 the Duras sisters were heard of in the Bajor sector  selling bilitrium explosives in an attempt to raise capital for another bid to take over the Empire. Later that year Lieutenant Worf discovered evidence that not all of the Klingons at Khitomer died. He discovered a Romulan prison camp in the Carraya system where 100 Klingons were held. Worf eventually left the camp and promised never to reveal this information to anyone. (Note: As I have just told you. You must die.) A few months later Worf suffered a crisis of faith and went to the monastery on Borath where Kahless would one day return. While there he was met by a vision of Kahless, it was eventually revealed that it was in fact a clone of Kahless created by the monks there to take over control of the Empire. The clone actually believed he was Kahless. Gowron, correctly, saw this as a threat to his rule as even though this wasn't the real Kahless, many Klingons would be ready to follow him. Worf suggested to Gowron that Kahless could be made ceremonial Emperor of the Empire but the true power could lay in the hands of Gowron and the High Council. Gowron agreed and Kahless was instated as Emperor of the Klingon Empire. In 2370 Kor, Kang and Koloth finally brought the Albino to justice. Unfortunately both Kang and Koloth were killed in the operation but they died in a manner befitting of a Klingon warrior. In 2371 the Duras sisters reappeared yet again. This time they had enlisted the help of one Doctor Tolian Soran to make a trilithium explosive capable of destroying stars. The Duras sisters were both killed in orbit above Veridian III attacking the Enterprise D in an effort to stop them stopping the operation. In the same attack the sisters were successful in destroying the Enterprise. Later that year three Klingon operatives were discovered on Federation Space Station Deep Space 9 trying to interfere in the new Federation-Romulan treaty which granted the Federation use of one Romulan cloaking device. After the joint Obsidian Order/Tal Shiar Dominion invasion of 2371 the Klingons found themselves and the Federation to be the only major threats to the Dominion left. At the start of 2372 the Cardassian Empires government was overturned. The Detapa Council grabbed power from Central Command. The Klingons and the Cardassians had always had an unspoken agreement between each other and the Klingons were worried by this. The Klingons invaded the Cardassian Union (as it was renamed). The Klingons had many explanations for this, firstly they believed the Detapa Council could in fact be Changeling infiltrators, secondly they believed that to survive the Empire had to expand and lastly the Klingons in their arrogance believed they were the best candidates to fight of the Dominion and that by expanding their space they would do that better. Despite disapproval from both Emperor Kahless and High Council member Kurn as well as others Gowron insists on the invasion. They pushed back the Cardassian forces who didn't stand a chance. The Cardassians were outnumbered and the Klingons had better technology. It would not be long before the Klingons reached Cardassia Prime. The Federation condemned the invasion. As a result Gowron withdrew from the Khitomer Accords, ordered all Federation citizens expelled from the Empire and all Klingon Ambassadors to the United Federation of Planets withdrawn. Lieutenant Commander Worf, on board Deep Space 9 to deal with the Klingon presence, is greeted by Gowron who asks him to join him in battle. Worf refuses sighting Gowron's actions as dishonourable. Gowron seeing Worf's actions as treasonable dissolves the House of Mogh. Their lands are seized, Kurn is kicked of the High Council and his titles stripped. Starfleet personnel on the USS Defiant headed for Cardassia Prime to rescue the Detapa Council who were being evacuated on the Cardassian Galor Class vessel the Prakesh. When the Defiant found the Prakesh it was crippled from attacking Klingon vessels. The Defiant battled the Klingons with its shields offline as it teleported the council of board the Defiant. As soon as the last council members were aboard the Prakesh was destroyed and the Defiant headed for Deep Space 9. At Deep Space 9 the crew discovered a huge Klingon fleet ready to battle the station. The Defiant was crippled and in no state to battle the Klingons and the personnel had to rely on Deep Space 9's weapons. Fortunately a year earlier Ben Sisko had ordered a complete overhaul on DS9's defensive systems in preparation for a Dominion attack. DS9 was more than a match for the Klingons and they eventually agreed to stop firing. The Klingons also promised to halt their invasion of Cardassia but laid down bases in the new space. The Cardassian Union was crippled. Despite the halting of the invasion the Cardassians and the Klingons continued to fight on a much smaller scale than before.  Shortly after this an expedition from Deep Space 9 set out for the Gamma Quadrant. The expedition included Worf, Jadzia Dax and Kor. They found the Sword of Kahless but left it drifting through space as it would divide the Empire. Two months later Gul Dukat, commander of the Cardassian cargo vessel Groumall attacked and captured one Klingon Bird of Prey. Using the Klingon vessel Dukat began a one man ship war against the Klingons. Following the incident the Klingons placed cloaked mines around the Bajor system in an effort to cut of Bajor and DS9 from the Federation in case war broke out. Yet again the Klingons and the Federation clashed again when the Empire accused Worf of destroying a Klingon Transport. Worf was later found innocent. At the end of 2372 Chancellor Gowron demanded that the Federation leave Archanis IV and the surrounding Archanis Sector. The Empire had relinquished claim to the sector a Century earlier and when the Federation refused to leave the Empire invaded. The Empire pooled all its resources into capturing the sector and they pushed through the sector, taking more and more space until they reached Archanis IV. Despite having successfully completed their objective the Klingons continued to capture space. At this time Deep Space 9 Security Officer Odo, a changeling, was being judged in the great link for having killed a Founder the previous year. Odo came out of the link with the impression that Gowron was a changeling. The following year a Federation team consisting of Captain Sisko, Odo, Sisko's Chief Engineer, O'Brien and Worf were sent to the Klingon Empire's military base Ty'Gokor onboard Gul Dukat's hijacked Bird-Of-Prey. All of them were surgically altered to appear Klingon (Note: With the exception of Worf, who is a Klingon) During the operation Odo realised that the changeling was not in fact Gowron but was Klingon General Martok. Once the Martok changeling was revealed Gowron announced a cease-fire. The cease-fire didn't last long when Federation and Klingon forces conducted a small skirmish on Ajilon Prime. However the battle was eventually tied up nicely. All remained quiet on the Klingon front for the next few months. The Klingons continued to hold onto their Cardassian space and the cease-fire continued. However half-way through the year Gul Dukat announced that he had been conducting secret talks with the Dominion. Dukat was made head of the Cardassian government and the Cardassian Union joined the Dominion. Dukat promised to regain all ex-Cardassian space and property, including the Klingon space. Before you could say "Today is a good day to die." a battle ravaged Klingon fleet headed back to Klingon space. On station Deep Space 9 Chancellor Gowron announced he was resigning the Khitomer Accords and so the Federation-Klingon alliance was resurrected. The Klingons sat and prepared for war. The Call to Arms came when Starfleet Captain Benjamin Sisko mined up the entrance to the Bajoran Wormhole stopping the Dominion bringing reinforcements through to Cardassian territory. With the Dominion having signed non-aggression pacts with such powers as the Romulan Star Empire, the Tholian Assembly and Bajor the Federation and the Klingons were all that stood between the Dominion and the Alpha Quadrant. The Klingons and the Federation fought hard but were unable to stop the Dominion's advance through the Alpha Quadrant. Even when the Alliance took back Deep Space 9 the Dominion continued to advance. It was not until the Romulan Star Empire joined the war effort that the Dominion finally started to lose space. The Dominion was pushed back into Cardassian territory and the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance finally took a Cardassian system in the battle of Chin'Toka. However the two warring parties soon stood at a stalemate. The Federation could not take Dominion territory, it was too well guarded and the same went for Federation territory. That is until the Breen joined the fighting. The Breen managed to take back Chin'Toka when they used their previously unknown energy dampening weapon on the fleet at Chin'Toka. The power hungry Federation and Romulan ships, in particular, were unable to defend against the huge power of the weapon. The Klingon ships were not as effected but they could not fight the war themselves. In addition Chancellor Gowron began to squander vessels in suicide attempts. Worf appalled at Gowron's  waste of Klingon lives attacked and killed Gowron. Despite legally having claim to the Chancellorship Worf passed the honour onto his good friend General Martok. Martok accepted and the new Chancellor brought better tactics to the Empire. The Federation and Romulan Empire soon found a way to defend against the Breen Energy Dampening weapon and they began to push the Dominion back. However the alliance was still taking heavy losses. In one last desperate attempt to end the war the alliance invaded Cardassian space, and headed straight for Cardassia Prime. The ships fought hard, the Klingons took on the Breen in the final hours of the battle. When the Cardassians switched sides the alliance finally managed to battle it's way to triumph. On Cardassia Damar's resistance cell, consisting of him, Garak and Colonel Kira stormed the Dominion HQ. They captured the Founder. Odo beamed down to the planet and linked with her. The Founder was given Odo's impression of Solids and became peaceful. She surrendered her troops and agreed to stand trial as a war criminal. In the aftermath of the war Worf was made Starfleet ambassador to Qu'noS. With the new Ambassador and new Chancellor the Federation and the Klingons should grow closer together than ever before.