Long have historians perceived the military power of the Padishah Emperor and his armies as absolute and far more advanced than anything that stood in their way. Rigorous training, combined with their fearsome weapons, made the Sardaukar all but unstoppable and many planets have fallen to the Emperor’s armies. This success has been attributed to an unique trait within the Emperor’s military apparatus: their combat style was instantly recognisable (The Kwisatz Haderach saw the Sardaukar battalion during the invasion of Arrakis for what they were, even though they were disguised as Harkonnen) and their weapons devastating. In Geoffrey’s Parker The Military Revolution, he argues that the Sardaukar’s training combined with superior weapons and technology allowed the Padhishah Emperor to expand its territory and become the ruling force in the Known Universe. This military approach to the question “How did the Empire come to rule the Known Universe?”, a relative new approach to a question made famous by Eric Jones, has never truly been challenged. At most, it has been adjusted, with different historians emphasizing planetary fortresses, starships or geography. But I would, with the aid of the rest of /r/askhistorians, try to challenge this notion of a perceived superiority of the Empire over other cultures.

I would like to use the Fremen of the desert planet Arrakis as prime argument against the Military Revolution Theory. Long categorised as “backwards”, “savages” and “underdeveloped” they managed to fend off a combined force of Harkonnian troops and Sardaukar. Although their weapons (the famous Crysknife and their use of the Great Worms) weren’t as advanced as the Empire’s or Harkonnen’s troops, they were quick to adapt to the introduction of the Weirding Module and later during the following Jihad spaceships. Their technologically before the invasion didn’t have to be at the same level as the Empire, because the Fremen fought different enemies: the weather, worms and each other. United against a common enemy, they were quick to pick up weapons provided by House Atreides and proved to be more than capable with them. Technologically not as far developed? Yes. Technologically backward? Definitely not.

Sure, some might point out that the Kwisatz Haderach guided the Fremen, but in my opinion this would not make up for the technological difference that others are so fondly of describing.

What say you, /r/askhistorians, is it time to discard this Empire-centric way of thinking? Have you found more evidence of technologically less advanced subcultures in the empire that successfully resisted the Sardaukar or the Jihad? Except the Tleilaxu, Bene Gesserit and The Guild of course. I call for an Arrakian Military Revolution to disprove the “superiority of the Empire”.