Emperor Cartagia
| Cartagia | |
|---|---|
| Babylon 5 character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | The Hour of the Wolf |
| Last appearance | The Long Night |
| Portrayed by | Wortham Krimmer |
| Information | |
| Species | Centauri |
| Home planet | Centauri Prime |
| Affiliated with | Emperor of the Centauri Republic |
Emperor Cartagia is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played by Wortham Krimmer. He is mentioned by name early in the series, but his first on-screen appearance is in the fourth season episode The Hour of the Wolf.
When installed as emperor in 2259 by a group of Centauri politicians led by Lord Refa and Londo Mollari, he acted as, essentially, a powerless figurehead; however, he gradually amassed near-absolute power. The scale of his self-aggrandizement and madness were exposed in early 2261, near the end of the Shadow War, when he willingly brought Centauri Prime to the brink of annihilation by the Vorlons in an effort to secure his place among the gods.
Cartagia was the nephew of Emperor Turhan; when Turhan died while on a visit to Babylon 5, he left no direct heirs (as his son had also died recently in an "accident"). It was expected that his Prime Minister, Malachi, would be the next Emperor but he was assassinated by forces loyal to Lord Refa. Several Centauri houses then vied for the throne but were unable to secure a binding claim, enabling Cartagia, with the backing of Refa's agents, to accede. Serving largely as a figurehead for Refa and his agents, Cartagia was in favor of the military expansion of the Centauri, including the conquest of the Narn, and this quickly translated into the Narn-Centauri conflict of 2259.
After defeating the Narn in a series of quick strikes aided by the Shadows and illegal mass drivers, Cartagia's government undertook military campaigns against other races bordering Centauri space.
In early 2261, Cartagia had Babylon 5 Ambassador Mollari recalled to Centauri Prime and appointed him as Minister of Internal Security. At first, Cartagia merely seemed flamboyant and self-indulgent, with his shocking lower-class hairstyle and numerous hangers-on. It did not take long for Mollari to realize that Cartagia was dangerously insane, especially after he learned from Morden that Cartagia had allowed the Shadows, reeling from the events on Z'ha'dum, to establish a base on the Centauri homeworld. Mollari expressed his concerns to a member of the royal court, who explained that though the Centarum had tried to oppose Cartagia, all of his opposition had since disappeared, with the rumor being that Cartagia had hidden their heads in a secret room, where he spoke with them on a regular basis. Mollari later discovered this rumor to be true; it was also around this time that Londo learned that the Vorlons were destroying any planet with even the slightest taint of Shadow influence. When Londo informed Cartagia of this, he explained that the Shadows had agreed to reward his assistance by turning him into a deity. Cartagia then explained that the Vorlons would help his plans for deification by turning Centauri Prime into a massive inauguration pyre. Londo knew that, in order to protect his planet and its people, he would have to kill Cartagia.
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