Horus Heresy (fictional event)
| Horus Heresy | ||||
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| Series | Warhammer 40,000 | |||
| Publisher | Games Workshop | |||
| Genre | Science fantasy | |||
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| Canon information | ||||
| Date | c. 004–014.M31 | |||
| Location | Entire domain of the Imperium of Mankind (approx. all space within 50 kly from Terra); other space in the Milky Way | |||
| Casus belli | Corrupted by Chaos, Warmaster Horus is convinced of the Emperor of Mankind's duplicity | |||
| Result | Pyrrhic Loyalist (pro-Emperor) victory | |||
| Territorial changes | Large swaths of the Imperium rendered impassable or inhospitable | |||
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The Horus Heresy is a cornerstone event in the far future fictional universe created by Games Workshop as the campaign setting for its Warhammer 40,000 miniatures wargame. It is a relatively short but devastating galaxy-spanning civil war that engulfs the nascent galactic empire of the Imperium of Man early in the 31st millennium of the universe timeline; the war is a major cause of the science fantasy universe's dystopian environment. Initially described in wargame supplements published in 1988, and used as the setting for a 1989 Epic-branded tabletop miniatures wargame, it has been utilised since as background for several of Game Workshop's products.
The Horus Heresy has expanded in scope and standing beyond its original wargame-background role. Since the concept's introduction there has been an increasing number of related releases in several product categories and media. It is an ongoing project that has developed into a major, definitive component of the shared universe, and it has come into its own as a successful brand and product line for Games Workshop and its affiliates. In 2012, it was repositioned as a foreground element in the Warhammer 40,000 gaming system, thanks to the introduction of the stand-alone Horus Heresy miniatures wargame expansion.
In the developing[update] Warhammer 40,000 backstory, by the 30th millennium (or M30) the Emperor of Mankind, founder and head of state of the newly constituted Imperium of Man, had become a major proponent of Order in the Milky Way galaxy, and one of the most formidable enemies of Chaos, its forces, and the various hostile aliens that inhabit the galaxy. In the past, mankind had colonized the stars and had reached an intellectual and technological golden age. However, after being exhausted by a large scale rebellion by artificial intelligences, and when warp storms cut off interstellar travel, humanity's previous civilization collapsed and left its colonies vulnerable to attacks by daemons and aliens during a millennia long era known as the Age of Strife. After consolidating his rule on Terra (Earth) and genetically engineering Legions of superhuman warriors (the Space Marines), he embarked, in late–M30, on a Great Crusade once the warp storms receded. The objective was to reunite the millions of human space colonies scattered throughout the galaxy under the Imperium's banner. The Imperium proclaimed an Imperial Truth of science and reason, and against religion and superstition – by extension, weakening the influence of Chaos on the human race and its evolution. Promoting the notions of Order and Truth from a strictly human perspective as put forth by the Emperor, the Imperium had declared the Milky Way the exclusive, rightful domain of Humankind; it maintained that ruling the galaxy is the species' "Manifest Destiny".
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