Centauri

The Centauri are a species in the fictional Babylon 5 universe. They were the first alien species to make contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime. Their government is the Centauri Republic.

History

Before 2258

The Centauri Republic is old, though it was not a spacefaring civilization at the time of the first Shadow War and consequently played no part in that struggle. Instead its period of expansion spanned the centuries before the second Shadow War and the birth of the Interstellar Alliance. At its greatest extent, hundreds of worlds were subject to the Centauri Republic, hence its epithet, 'Lion of the Galaxy'. But by 2258 that empire had almost completely fallen apart, seemingly more through the apathy of the Republic than military inferiority, since among the other races only the Minbari appear to have more powerful ships or armies. The exception to this story of decline was the inclusion of the Narn homeworld in the early 22nd Century. For the next hundred years the agrarian and technologically backward Narns are exploited mercilessly and their world stripped of resources. This occupation would have deep and lasting consequences for both races long after the Centauri pull out a hundred years later (see Narn Regime).

Related Topics:
Race - Minbari - 22nd Century - Narn Regime

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Relations with the other spacefaring nations generally varies from suspicion to outright hostility. The Minbari have nothing to fear from the Centauri, and diplomatic and trading links between the two powers are good if not actually friendly. Drazi space on the other hand is hemmed in by the Centauri, and so they watch the return of the Centauri militarism with deep anxiety. The fact that the Centauri did nothing to prevent the Dilgar War was another source of antipathy among the smaller nations that made up the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, indeed, many maintained the Centauri had used Dilgar mercenaries themselves. The only power that has regularly maintained warm relations with the Centauri seems to be the Earth Alliance, and it was the Centauri Republic gave the humans Jump Gate technology early on in their dealings and it was this that allowed the rapid expansion of humans into space.

Related Topics:
Drazi - Militarism - League of Non-Aligned Worlds - Earth Alliance - Jump Gate

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2258-2278

From 2258 onwards, the Centauri once again mapped out a path of conquest, taking over not just Narn space but also worlds formally belong to the Drazi, Pak'ma'ra, and other members of the League. A non-aggression treaty between Earth and the Centauri Republic ensured that unlike the situation with the earlier Dilgar War, the Earth Alliance would not come to the League's aid, making resisting the expansion of the Centauri Republic much more difficult.

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The guarantor of the revival of Centauri power was the aid of the Shadows, but by 2261 the Shadows had departed the galaxy along with the other First Ones, and the Centauri had to play a much more defensive game. While not initially hostile to the new Interstellar Alliance, Drakh influence on Centauri Prime led to a souring of relations between the Centauri and the other worlds during 2262. Destruction of civilian shipping by the Drakh was blamed on the Centauri, and a force of Narn and Drazi ships made for Centauri Prime, while Drakh agents had managed to get the Regent to deactivate the planetary defences and send the space fleet away. Centauri Prime was bombarded and laid waste, and the Centauri severed all relations with the Interstellar Alliance. Only former allies of the Shadows remained on Centauri Prime, and for the next twenty years the Centauri found themselves in much the same situation as they had visited upon the Narns: their planet was wrecked by violence and ruin. By 2278 little was left of the grandeur of the Centauri save their pride and their patriotism, though a glimmer of hope remained that the Interstellar Alliance might intervene when John Sheridan saw the ruined world himself.

Related Topics:
First Ones - Drakh

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After 2278

After John Sheridan and Delenn had saved their son David and fled from Centauri Prime, Emperor Mollari died soon afterwards. Mollari and G'Kar died at each other's hand. Vir Cotto killed Londo's keeper, and escaped from Centauri Prime himself. Vir went to Minbar, and met with the surviving leaders of the Centauri houses. In keeping with Lady Morella's prophecy, Vir's claim to the throne was accepted, and he became Emperor Cotto. The Alliance, realizing that they were the victims of a massive Drakh manipulation, joined forces with the Centauri military to hunt down the Drakh. Vir returned to Centauri Prime a short time later. Shortly after Vir's return to Centauri Prime, Shiv'Kala, who was the last remaining Drakh on Centauri Prime revealed himself to Vir. With the help of Michael Garibaldi, Vir was able to kill Shiv'Kala. This act freed David from the control of a Drakh keeper, and eliminated the last lingering thread of Drakh influence from the Centauri homeworld.

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With help from the Alliance, Vir spent the next years rebuilding his homeworld. In 2281, John Sheridan realized that his life was almost over. He extended an invitation to Emperor Cotto to join him and his friends for one last dinner. During the dinner, Vir remembered Londo when Sheridan proposed a toast to all their friends who had died. The next day, Sheridan left, and was carried by Lorien beyond the galaxy to live with the first ones. Vir traveled to Babylon 5 to witness the decommissioning and destruction of the station. Vir returned to Centauri Prime, and brought Zack Allen along as his advisor.

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Babylon 5

At the time the Babylon 5 series begins, the Republic is at a low ebb in terms of power and influence: their former vassals, the Narns, are now creating their own empire and even threaten the borders of Centauri space (Midnight on the Firing Line). Another new power, the Earth Alliance, has inexplicably not just survived a war with the Minbari but apparently come out of it victorious. At best, the Centauri seem fated to further gradual decline, and perhaps sharing some of the vigour of the Earth Alliance (The Gathering). It is the desire to return to the days when the Centauri Republic was at its height that makes Londo Mollari the perfect pawn for the mysterious Mr. Morden and his Shadow masters (Signs and Portents).

Related Topics:
Midnight on the Firing Line - The Gathering - Mr. Morden - Shadow - Signs and Portents

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Parallels with Earth History

The Centauri Republic reflects many imperial cultures of Earth, but the strongest parallels are with the Roman Empire. Like Rome, the Centauri Republic sees itself as being destined to rule and to conquer, and each generation measures itself against this ideal. Also like ancient Rome, the Centauri are governed by an Emperor and members of the aristocracy (The Coming of Shadows), while at the bottom of Centauri society are the slaves (Born to the Purple) as well as many alien labourers drafted in from the various conquered worlds (Sic Transit Vir). Straczynski regularly uses motifs that echo modern perceptions of Roman culture: feasting, polytheism (The Parliament of Dreams), social conservatism including traditions such as arranged marriages (War Prayer), and the importance of clans, known as Houses.

Related Topics:
Roman Empire - The Coming of Shadows - Born to the Purple - Sic Transit Vir - The Parliament of Dreams - War Prayer

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On the other hand, similarities with the British Empire are obvious as well. The rapid decline as former vassals acquire ambitions of their own recall the rapid independence of the parts of Africa and Asia once under British rule, while the diplomatic warmth accorded to the Earth Alliance, a young but strong power, has something of the flavour of the special relationship between Britain and the United States in the years following the First World War. Londo Mollari's complaint, expressed in the movie The Gathering, that Centauri Prime has been reduced to "A tourist attraction... See the Centauri Republic, nine to five, Earth time" could just as easily describe modern-day London, known more for Big Ben and the Changing of the Guard than being a seat of politcal and military power.

Related Topics:
British Empire - Independence - Special relationship - First World War - The Gathering - Big Ben - Changing of the Guard

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