WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Dune: Prophecy.
The start of the 10,000-year feud between House Atreides and House Harkoenn is explored in the HBO prequel seriesDune: Prophecy.Dune: Prophecyis a six-part series based on the 2012 novelSisterhood of Dune, which was written by originalDuneauthor Frank Herbert’s son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The story takes place more than10,000 years before the rise of Paul Atreidies, which is chronicled inDenis Villenueve’sDune(2020) andDune: Part Two(2024).Dune: Prophecyreveals theorigins of the powerful shadow sisterhood known as the Bene Gesseritand how they manipulated the fate of humankind.
Dune: Prophecyepisode 1 “The Hidden Hand"introduces Emily Watson’s Valya Harkonnen, a fierce and calculated leader, and her biological sister, Tula Harkonnen. Together, they oversee the development of highly qualified young women who learn to become sisters of the Bene Gesserit.The beginning ofDune: Prophecyalso reveals how Valya came to powerin the very earliest days of the Bene Gesserit, which involved using the supernatural power of Voice to kill Dorotea, the biological granddaughter of the Reverend Mother Superior, Raquella. Dorotea had a moral vision for the Bene Gesserit but Valya had something else in mind.
New episodes ofDune: Prophecyrelease every Sunday at 9 PM on HBO & MAX.
The Atreides & Harkonnen Feud Started During The War Against The Thinking Machines
An Atreides accused a Harkonnen of cowardice during the Battle of Corrin
The Great Houses once fought together against the Thinking Machines, which placed House Harkonenn and House Atredies on the same team. As seen in theDunefilms, there is a great deal of bad blood and conflict in the history between House Harkonnen and House Atreides, as the former tries to destroy the latter completely by setting them up for failure and death on the spice planet Arrakis.As revealed inDune: Prophecy, this rivalry began long before the rise of Paul Atreideswith the determination of the Mother Reverend Superior, Valya Harkonnen, who aims to wed a Bene Gesserit in-training, Princess Ynez Corrino, with a young prince named Pruwet Richese.
The war against the thinking machines in theDuneuniverse is also known as the Butlerian Jihad. The Butlerian Jihad, “also known as the Great Revolt as well as commonly shortened to the Jihad, was the crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots that began in 201 BG and concluded in 108 BG” (viaDune Wiki). The machines were driven by artificial intelligence and ultimately became a hindrance to the development of humankind. Humanity’s dependence on these advanced technologies, which were much more sophisticated than modern-day AI, led to the desire to exterminate all machines once and for all.
What Happened With The Atreides & Harkonnen Feud Between Dune: Prophecy & Dune
House Atreides thrived while House Harkonnen was exiled
Valya blames Vorian Atreides for the shame brought upon House Harkoenn that took place before the events ofDune: Prophecy.Vorian had accused Valya’s great-grandfather, Bashar Abdulurd Harkonnen, of cowardice after the Battle of Corrin, which took place before the Butlerian Jihad in 88 BG.Dune: Prophecystates that an Atreides showed great valor during the Butlerian Jihad while Valya’s great-grandfather showed cowardice, which is why she hates House Atreides. The series leaves out the Battle of Corrin entirely, which is what actually caused the feud between the two houses for the next 10,000 years. Valya aims to enact revenge on House Atreides inDune: Prophecy.
Over the 10,000 years since the Butlerian Jihad and the events ofDune: Prophecy,House Atreides perfected many areas of society on their idyllic home planet of Caladan. They were noble, highly educated, and fierce warriors and were the most exemplary of the Great Houses in knowledge and stature. According to Dune Wiki, “House Atreides kept Caladan a lush, prosperous paradise with relatively low industrial levels, in stark contrast to House Harkonnen’s capital, Giedi Prime.” House Harkonnen waited 10,000 years for their chance at revenge against House Atredies.
Why Dune’s Emperor Sided With House Harkonnen Against House Atreides
Emperor Shaddam IV wanted to destroy House Atreides to maintain Imperial rule
House Harkoenn was banished for the cowardice displayed during the Buterlian Jihad. It would spend the next 10,000 being ostracized from the Empire despite the influence that several female Harkonnens had within the Bene Gesserit. It wasn’t until Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was appointed to oversee spice production on Arrakis that the house started to regain the respect and honor it had lost. Once House Atreides had been “promoted” to oversee Arrakis, House Harkonnen and House Corrino conspired to destroy the old and noble house so that they would both maintain their seats of power.
House Corrino had held the throne of theDuneuniverse for as many as 10,000 years. They were the faces of rulership and governmental order across the various planets and Great Houses. As the most elite and respected Great House in the known universe, the Corrinos were thought to be impossible to take power away from. This is why the rise of Paul Atreides becomes such a prophetic event in theDunefilms and novel since a shift in power dynamics of that magnitude hadn’t occurred for millennia. Before Paul,House Corrino maintained a firm grip on the Empire and planned to keep it that way by snuffing out House Atreides.
How Dune: Part Two Ended The Atreides & Harkonnen Feud For Good
Paul Atreides seized the throne and killed two powerful Harkonnens
Before Paul Atriedes rose to defeat Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen and claim the Emperor’s throne for himself, House Corrino had ruled the empire for 10,000 years. It was in the year 10,193 AG that Paul Atreides removed Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV from his reign and demanded that he marry his daughter, Princess Irulan Corrino (Florence Pugh), at the end ofDune: Part Two. Paul sought to seek revenge against the Corrinos after what they had done to his father, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Issac), in the firstDunefilm.The Emperor had “promoted” Duke Leto to oversee spice production on Arrakis, setting him up for the Harkonenn to take back control of their planet.
InDune: Part Two, House Corrino had been designated to extend their rule over the empire and form a new royal line with the Bene Gesserit’s help. The Bene Gesserit had deemed Feyd-Rautha Harkoennen to be their genetically favorite candidate to marry Princess Irulan Corrino. However, Paul Atreides became an underdog who also had proven himself to be the Lisan al-Gaib in the eyes of the Fremen on Arrakis. The son of Mother Reverend Lady Jessica,Paul defeated Feyd-Rautha and overthrew both House Corrino and House Harkonnen, killing his grandfather Vladimir Harkoennen as well and ending the feud that began inDune: Prophecy.
Dune: Prophecy
Cast
Set in the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, Dune: Prophecy, a sci-fi epic, follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.
