Highlights
- The Ixians, masters of technology, had a major impact on
Dune
Universe events, offering powerful alliances and inventions. - House Harkonnen, once formidable, fell in
Dune
‘s timeline after challenges from Atreides, though their legacy lived on. - The Bene Gesserit, secretive and manipulative, held immense power in the
Dune
Universe, influencing Great Houses for millennia.
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two exhilarates audiences and critics alike, and fans might be looking to learn more about the universe of Dune beyond the films, and into the books. Since Denis Villeneuve’s two major projects only span the length of the first epic book in the series, there is plenty left unexplored, including some of the more powerful factions that appear at various points in the timeline.
The ending in particular of Dune: Part Two makes it seem as if the other Great Houses that haven’t received much mention are about to become more significant. But there are a few factions that aren’t Great Houses in the Dune Universe that have just as much power as Lisan al Gaib himself.
This article contains spoilers for the Dune series!
9 The Ixians
Technological Faction Kept In Check
- Notable Members: Malky, Hwi Noree
The Ixians are a technologically focused race in the Dune Universe who survived the worst effects of the Butlerian Jihad to become hugely advanced in technology. Their workshops were responsible for many hugely impactful technologies throughout the Dune books, particularly the no-field which allowed individuals to hide from guild navigators and others with prescient abilities.
As spice began to grow sparse in the galaxy at one point, Ix also invented a mechanical substitute for guild navigators, allowing ships to continue crossing space without the need for as much spice. The Ixians were often able to make advantageous alliances due to their technological advancements, but they were hardly ever a major threat on their own.
8 House Harkonnen
Once Rich But Effectively Wiped Out
- Notable Members: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Glossu Rabban, Feyd-Rautha
Before the events seen after Dune: Part Two, House Harkonnen was one of the most powerful forces in the Universe of Dune. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was even seriously considering the idea of putting his nephew, Feyd-Rautha, on the throne of the Imperium. The riches amassed by the Harkonnen family during their tenure on Arrakis allowed them to consider supplanting the Emperor himself.
With the power of Giedi Prime, their savage and uncompromising nature and military might, House Harkonnen were one of the great threats to the Universe until Paul Atreides all but eliminated them. Technically, they lived on, since Paul, Jessica, and Alia of the Atreides line were all part-Harkonnen.
7 Bene Tleilax
Genetically Altered Humans, Creators Of The Ghola
- Notable Members: Scytale, Bijaz
The Bene Tleilax were a hugely influential faction throughout the Dune book series, as they created and guarded closely the ability to create ghola creatures, essentially cloned versions of people who had died. The Tleilaxu were reviled by almost every other major house and faction, but were deemed necessary because, like the Ixians with their technology, the genetic knowledge held by the Tleilaxu was too valuable to destroy.
As such, the Tleilaxu were able to send Paul Atreides a ghola of Duncan Idaho, named as a gift, which was meant to be part of a plot to destroy him. This ghola was the first to regain the memories of its past life, enabling the Tleilaxu to begin effectively reincarnating themselves as well as others, increasing their power even more as they continued to strive toward eventually subjugating all around them to their religion.
6 House Corrino
Former Emperors Of The Known Universe
- Notable Members: Emperor Shaddam the Fourth, Princess Irulan Corrino, Farad’n Corrino
The leading Great House in the Dune Universe until the rise of Muad’Dib was House Corrino. Members included Emperor Shaddam 4 and Princess Irulan, both seen in Dune: Part Two. However, they lose much of their power from the moment that the Fremen prove themselves to be better fighters than the legendary Sardaukar fighting force.
From there, it is only a matter of time before Paul, having accepted his role as the Mahdi, manages to depose them of their ruling place. The House Corrino does survive, and Prince Farad’n, the grandson of Emperor Shaddam 4, manages to secure a marriage with Paul Atreides’ daughter Ghanima, giving House Corrino a technical future, but like House Harkonnen, it was all under the Atreides banner now.
5 CHOAM
Economic Control Over The Universe With A Monopoly
- Notable Members: Many Nobles Of The Landsraad
CHOAM is a huge corporation that spans the cosmos in the Dune Universe. CHOAM stands for Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, and they come into contact with almost every item that is transported anywhere, on any planet. This level of power is significant, but CHOAM is still at the mercy of the Spacing Guild for transportation.
CHOAM has the economic power to control many of the Great Houses, who are reliant on the income provided by CHOAM to continue living the sort of lifestyle one expects of such high-ranking families. Just like in the real world, the Dune Universe is governed by money, and CHOAM has much of that, therefore they have a great deal of power.
4 The Spacing Guild
A Necessity For Interstellar Space Travel
- Notable Members: The Navigators, The Administrators
Space travel in the Dune Universe comes down to the spice. Without it, the Spacing Guild navigators are not able to plot courses through folded space. This is all a complicated way of saying that the Spacing Guild, which has a monopoly on space travel through their training of these navigators, has enormous power in the Dune Universe, which is the way that Paul Atreides scares off the Great Houses at the end of Dune: Part Two.
CHOAM and all the Great Houses are reliant upon them. The Spacing Guild is mainly concerned with the continued flow of trade and travel and is therefore generally apolitical, but if they chose to take a stance or sided with a particular Great House, they would give enormous power beyond anything that almost anyone could match.
3 The Fremen
Harnessing Desert Power & Worship Of Lisan al Gaib
- Notable Members: Stilgar, Chani, Leto 2 Atreides
The Fremen of Arrakis are shown throughout the latest Dune movies to be the deadliest troops in the Universe. They easily brush aside the elite Sardaukar forces of the Emperor and therefore are practically unstoppable on the battlefield. They didn’t openly take to the battlefield though, at least not before finding their Mahdi in Paul Atreides.
With religious fervor driven by the appearance of their prophet, the Fremen fight like nothing in the known universe. They start a holy war that seeps across the cosmos and showcases the true strength of their people. The hardy, desert-grown race is devastating but easily led due to the workings of one group that proves itself the most powerful in the universe over and over.
2 Bene Gesserit
A Secret Order Who Controls Everything
- Notable Members: Gaius Helen Mohiam, Lady Jessica, Princess Irulan
The Bene Gesserit are an organization made up of women but with their own fighting forces that include men at different times throughout the Dune books, which serve their own motives and mysterious, long-reaching projects. They seek to manipulate and control all the Great Houses and other organizations, they outlast Paul Atreides and his family in the Dune books, and prove many times over that they cannot be stomped out.
The key to the Bene Gesserit is that they don’t seek to rule, they are willing to serve, even for thousands of years under the tyrant son of Paul Atreides, because they know their eventual goals are worth it. The biggest mistake they ever made was in finally achieving their goal, bringing forth the Kwisatz-Haderach, in the uncontrollable form of Paul Atreides. Even then, it was his training in Bene Gesserit disciplines that gave him the keys to his power. The Voice is truly the most important factor in controlling the universe of Dune, and the Bene Gesserit only holds this power, except for Paul Atreides.
1 House Atreides
Winners Of The Heart, Worshiped Thanks To Muad’Dib
- Notable Members: Paul Atreides, Alia Atreides, Leto 2 Atreides
The House Atreides was beloved by many, other Great Houses looking to them for leadership, before the events of Dune. This led to a jealous Emperor sending them to Arrakis to die, and in turn being bitten back by a vengeful Paul Atreides, who gathered the Fremen and used his powers as the Kwisatz Haderach to depose the Emperor and take control.
From there, House Atreides continues to rule over the entire universe of Dune with an iron fist for the next three millennia. Even when Paul’s son finally dies and power seeps away, the Atreides bloodline spreads out to many important figures in the universe, leading to their blood leading the Bene Gesserit and gaining further unusual powers millennia later.
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