In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Age of Strife is the name for the chaotic period of human history between the 25th and 30th millennia. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Warhammer 40,000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K, WH40K, W40K or just 40K) is a science fantasy game produced by Games Workshop. ...

According to the "official" histories of the Imperium, the precise details and dates of the Age of Strife are not known, due to data having been lost over vast amounts of time, to the chaos of that period, and partly to censorship by various Imperial authorities. The Imperium of Man is a fictional galactic empire that contains the vast majority of humanity in the forty-first millennium, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe created by Games Workshop. ...

Dark Age of Technology

The Dark Age of Technology is the name given to the period of human history that began in the 15th millennium and ended in the 25th millennium, during which huge advances occurred in science and technology. The Dark Age of Technology saw the development of the specialised mutants known as Navigators and the earliest use of the Warp for space travel by human beings, with the greatest extent of space exploration and colonisation taking place during this period. Other notable developments include the Standard Template Construct (STC) system and the Iron Men. The idea of a mutant is a common trope in comic books and science fiction. ... The Immaterium (also referred to as the Empyrean, Aether or Warp) is an alternate dimension in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ... In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, a Standard Template Construct (STC) system allowed the very efficient creation of technological designs. ... For other uses, see robot (disambiguation). ...

The Age of Technology ended in inter-human war and anarchy, in an era known as the Age of Strife, as massive warp storms cut off interstellar travel. The STC systems lapsed into disuse or decayed. The Adeptus Mechanicus have made finding a functional system their ultimate goal and are willing to go to any lengths to find even the smallest printout from an STC. The Immaterium (also referred to as the Empyrean, Aether or Warp) is an alternate dimension in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ... In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Adeptus Mechanicus is an institution of the Imperium dedicated to the preservation and restoration of science and technology. ...

Causes and Beginning

During the so-called "Dark Age of Technology" humanity had reached its technological peak. The "Standard Template Construct", or STC, had been perfected by human scientists and allowed unprecedented expansion of humanity throughout the galaxy. In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, a Standard Template Construct (STC) system allowed the very efficient creation of technological designs. ...

One of the reasons humanity was so successful at conquering a large part of the galaxy was the development of the artificial constructs now only known as the "Iron Men". These powerful and fully autonomous battle robots won many wars for humanity, but for some reason turned against their masters at the end of the Dark Age of Technology. The war was eventually won by humanity, but at a great cost. The damage was catastrophic and had shattered much of humanity's power. Unfortunately, this was only the beginning.

As humanity became widely dispersed during the Age of Technology, the ancient Eldar Empire began its decline; the great success of the advanced Eldar race had led to decadence and hedonism on a great scale. Within the psychic universe of the warp, the spiritual corruption of the Eldar civilization was reflected in the forming of a new Chaos god, in turn causing massive disturbances in the warp; parts of the galaxy became isolated by these warp storms, making warp travel and communication impossible, cutting off many human worlds, including those of the Solar system. Eldar 4th edition codex In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Eldar are a race of elf-like humanoids. ... The Fall of the Eldar is an event in the science fiction universe which provides the background story for the miniature wargame Warhammer 40,000. ... This article does not cite any sources. ...

Towards the end of the Age of Technology psykers first appeared within humanity. While persecuted in many human worlds as witches, in enlightened and progressive societies these psykers were at first protected and accepted. The intolerance of psykers would seem prescience, as many human worlds fell to the dominance of daemons and other warp creatures using possessed psykers as gateways. Only worlds which had rigorously suppressed psykers survived. Psykers are individuals with psychic abilities in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. ...

The Age of Strife followed the Age of Technology, as human civilisation collapsed in widespread insanity, daemonic possession, anarchy and inter-human war. Terrible weapons of the golden age of technology were unleashed, devastating many human colonies and turning verdant worlds such as Baal Secundus into irradiated desert planets. Many isolated and vulnerable human-colonized worlds also became prey to hostile alien races, such as the Orks. The cover of the current Codex: Orks sourcebook The Orks are a race from the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ...

In a relatively short span of time, the galaxy-spanning human civilization was brought to its knees, and was forced to endure nearly five millennia of anarchy, terror, war and slavery. Other than tales of great suffering, little information has survived this dark time.

Earth and Mars

Earth and the rest of the Solar System was surrounded by terrible warp storms, isolating the human home world for several thousand years. Control of the Solar System shifted constantly between Earth and Mars during the first half of the Age of Strife. By the 28th Millennium almost all traces of civilization on Earth were long gone; instead, techno-barbarians battled one another over the scraps of the ancient culture. Little information remains from this dark time, but it is known that tyrants such as Kalagann of Ursh (northern Asia/Russia), Cardinal Tang, and ("the half-mad half-genius") Narthan Dume of the Panpacific Empire ruled during this age. Other known nations include the Yndonesic Bloc, the Urals (a centre of industry), the Jermani, Gyptus, Merica, Afrique, the Terrawatt Clan and Alba. Another race mentioned are the 'Nordyc' people. Motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika(Old Javanese) Unity in Diversity National ideology: Pancasila[1] Anthem Indonesia Raya Capital (and largest city) Jakarta Official languages Indonesian Demonym Indonesian Government Presidential Republic  -  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono  -  Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla Independence from the Netherlands   -  Declared 17 August 1945   -  Recognized 27 December 1949... “Deutschland” redirects here. ... Anthem Bilady, Bilady, Bilady Capital (and largest city) Cairo Official languages Arabic1 Government Semi-presidential republic  -  President Hosni Mubarak  -  Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Establishment  -  First Dynasty c. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For an explanation of terms such as Great Britain, British, United Kingdom, England, Scotland and Wales, see British Isles (terminology). ...

Mars underwent a very different transformation. After brief anarchy, the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus emerged victorious over the mutants and unified their homeworld. The tech-priests then visited Earth but were appalled at the destruction there and saw nothing worth saving. Instead, the Martians studied the warp and after many lifetimes learned to detect 'lulls' in the warp storms. At the same time the immense fighting machines known as Titans were created. In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Adeptus Mechanicus is an institution of the Imperium dedicated to the preservation and restoration of science and technology. ... The Immaterium (also referred to as the Empyrean or Warp) is an alternate dimension in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ... In the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe, a Titan is a colossal armoured fighting vehicle which moves as a walker. ...

For over a thousand years the Cult Mechanicus watched and waited. Whenever a break in the warp storms occurred, an expedition was sent, complete with a full Titan Legion and thousands of servitors and tech-priests. Some of these expeditions were lost in the warp or died on faraway worlds. Others succeeded in establishing 'Forge Worlds' - replicas of Mars. Broken messages were transmitted to Mars, but it was not until the time of the Great Crusade that the Forge Worlds and Mars would be reunited. The following is a list of planets in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ...

The End of the Age, and the Rise of the Emperor

Eventually, an immensely powerful human leader and psyker known as the Emperor divined that the final birth of Slaanesh was nearing, as well as the effect this birth would have. He made preparations for this galaxy-changing event; he gathered military forces, began his conquest of Earth, and started the processes necessary to create his genetically tailored super-warriors, the Primarchs and then, from the Primarchs' genes, created the Space Marines. Psykers are individuals with psychic abilities in the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe. ... The Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind is the leader of the Imperium in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the largest human organization within that universe. ... In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Primarchs were engineered superhumans created by the Emperor to command his future Legions of Space Marines. ... For other uses, see Gene (disambiguation). ... The current Space Marine sourcebook (codex) cover The Space Marines are one of the major forces available in the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000. ...

Upon the birth of Slaanesh sometime in the early 31st millennium, the crippling warp storms were swept away (which allowed for easier galactic travel), the Eldar race was nearly annihilated, and the Emperor began to carry out his plans to reunify humankind under his rule. With the Emperor's ascension, the Age of Strife was finally over and a new age had begun. This brief age of conquest, heroism and unity would be known as the Great Crusade, and it would in turn end with the tragedy of the Horus Heresy. The Imperium of Man is a fictional galactic empire that contains the vast majority of humanity in the forty-first millennium, set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe created by Games Workshop. ... This article is about an event in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ...

Legacy

The Age of Strife had a tremendous impact on human civilization. Humanity barely survived the period, and most of the knowledge of the previous golden era was lost, much of it irrevocably; in particular, the loss of the STC system is seen as a serious setback for the advancement of the Imperium. The Adeptus Mechanicus regards the STC as holy and constantly searches for remnants of STC systems. Although much lost information has been recovered by the efforts of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the focus on re-attaining knowledge from the ancient STC rather than inventing new technology, as well as the centralization of knowledge in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus, means that the Imperium has remained at nearly the same technological state for the past ten thousand years. In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Adeptus Mechanicus is an institution of the Imperium dedicated to the preservation and restoration of science and technology. ...

Humanity as a whole became more superstitious and distrustful, something which the Imperial government goes to great lengths to encourage. In particular, the Imperium distrusts mutants, aliens and psykers; this distrust runs so deep that the Imperium has a complex secret police force, known collectively as the Inquisition, devoted to finding and destroying all aliens, daemons, mutants, unsanctioned psykers and "heretics" (anyone deemed to be straying from official Imperial doctrine) existing within the Imperium. Despite the general distrust of psykers, many critical functions of the Imperium, notably the functioning of the Astronomican, are performed by them, so they are often rounded up by Imperial agents and forced into service. The Adeptus Ministorum ("the Ecclesiarchy"), the official religious hierarchy of the Imperium, enforces a strict dogma including absolute devotion to the Immortal Emperor (who is treated as a god). The Inquisition (The Holy Orders of the Emperors Inquisition) is a secret organisation in the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. ... In the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes, the Daemons are malevolent spirits born out of the destructive power called Chaos. ... In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Astronomican is a psychic beacon that can be seen from almost anywhere in the Warp and is vital for FTL travel since the Navigators utilize it as a reference point to reach their intended destination. ... In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Adeptus Ministorum, or Ecclesiarchy is a part of the government of the Imperium tasked with overseeing the worship of the God-Emperor. ...

In short, the authoritarian Imperium of Man is the way it is in large part due to the great suffering endured during the Age of Strife.

References

• Warhammer 40,000 Codex Imperialis, 1993 Games Workshop
• Priestley, Rick (1994). Warhammer 40,000: Eldar, 2nd Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-872372-74-0. 
• Priestley, Rick; and Johnson, Jervis (1996). Angels of Death: the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-872372-96-1. 
• Priestley, Lindsey; Fox, Talima, and Thornton, Jake (eds) (1998). Warhammer 40,000, 3rd Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-000-5. 
• Priestley, Rick (1998). Warhammer 40,000, 3rd Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-000-5. 
• Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete, McNeill, Graham, Kelly, Phil, and Hoare, Andy (eds) (2000). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Necrons, 3rd Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-190-7.