After Paul successfully defeated Shaddam IV, he faced resistance from the Great Houses of the Landsraad; this led him to start a Jihad throughout the universe. Because he got recognized as both a religious and political figure, the Fremen quickly went off-world to spread the religion of the Muad’Dib in a brutal jihad that claimed the lives of billions.
Fremen Jihad Definition
The Fremen Jihad is a war the Fremen started after Paul became the padishah emperor. After ascending the throne, Paul began the jihad that led to many religions from the universe getting destroyed.
By the end of the jihad, billions had died, and opposition to Paul’s rule either got killed or subdued. The Fremen spread the Muad’Dib’s religion using the Fedaykin as commanders and priests.
The Relevance of the Fremen Jihad in the Dune Universe
After Paul led the Fremen to victory in the Battle of Arrakeen, he assumed the throne as the emperor of the known universe. However, there was resistance from the Great Houses. Meanwhile, the Fremen launched a massive jihad against everyone that opposed the religion of Paul. The Jihad launched by the Fremen saw the destruction of all military resistance to Paul’s power and eradicated many faiths.
The Fremen Jihad killed more than 61 billion people throughout the universe and the dissolution of resistance armies. Though the Fremen were small in numbers, they destroyed and outpowered every single opposition they met, and so, 40 religions got eradicated from the Padishah Empire.
At the forefront of the Jihad were the Fedaykin, death commandos, who had sworn loyalty to the Muad’Dib’s religion. The Fedaykin got trained by Paul. They served as commanders and priests for the Fremen, leading the war and religious fronts.
After 12 years of the Jihad, Paul became the most powerful emperor to have ever lived as he had succeeded in taming all the resistance against his rule. Paul had turned the Landsraad to become a weak organization and had gotten control over CHOAM to become the sole controller of the spacing guild.
End of the Fremen Jihad
At the end of the Fremen Jihad, the Fremen had succeeded in destroying all resistance to Paul’s rule by either eradication or subjugation. The Bene Gesserit had become an order without a leader, the spacing guild had become a pawn in Paul’s hand, CHOAM had become a personal possession of Paul, and the Landsraad had become a ghost of itself.
The conquered forces became workers who built Paul’s palace, and 500 worlds got destroyed by the conflict. Although the Jihad led to Paul’s rise to power, it also saw a radical change in his sense of morality as Paul acknowledged that the war caused an excessive loss of lives. The war also led to the revolt against Paul by select members of the Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild, and Bene Tleilax.
Glossary Terms Associated with the Fremen Jihad
Here is a list of words associated with the Fremen Jihad:
- Malathon: Malathon is a system controlled by the House of McNaught. However, it got conquered by the Fremen During the Fremen Jihad.
- Qizarate: The Qizarate are the religious civil servants of the Muad’Dib’s religion, and they are retired Fedaykin.
- Mahdi: This is the Fremen name of the savior described in the Fremen messianic legend.
FAQs
What was the Fremen Jihad about?
The Fremen Jihad was a war that got started by Paul Atreides. After becoming the emperor, Paul; faced resistance to his rule; this led him to begin a jihad. The Fremen began conquering worlds and spreading the religion of the Muad’Dib; this saw many deaths. At the forefront of Paul’s jihad was the Fedaykin, death commandos trained by Paul. The Fedaykin acted as commanders for the Fremen army and priests for the Muad’Dib’s religion. By the end of the Jihad, Paul became the greatest emperor in the universe, and 61 billion people had died from the war. The Fremen Jihad took twelve years.
Did the Fremen jihad make Paul a powerful emperor?
Yes, after the Fremen jihad, Paul had gotten control over the Bene Gesserit and Spacing Guild; this made him the sole controller of Melange distribution. With Paul being powerful, members from the Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild, and Tleilaxu began plotting against him. Though the plot successfully blinded Paul and took away his prescience, the House of Atreides remained in power up till the death of Leto II, the God-emperor.
How many religions got exterminated by the Fremen Jihad?
At the end of the Fremen Jihad, more than 40 religions got exterminated by the Fremen. The jihad erased all primary religions and forced everyone to follow the Muad’Dib’s faith. The Fremen jihad wreaked havoc on the universe, but it propelled genetic crossbreeding among humans as the gene pool had begun to stagnate.
Are the Fremen fanatical?
Starting a jihad that exterminated faiths that did not conform to theirs, the Fremen were a fanatical race driven by blind faith in a messiah. From seeing other faiths and cultures as inferior, the Fremen were xenophobic.