Old Empire (Dune) - Pre-Butlerian Jihad

Pre-Butlerian Jihad

According to the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the original "Old Empire" is a Great Empire of Man which precedes the Butlerian Jihad and the Corrino-led Padishah Empire. The Old Empire stands for many thousands of years, ruled by emperors, of whom the last comes from the Boro family.

As established in the Legends series, this Old Empire is a feudal regime. This differs from earlier indications by Frank Herbert that it is the lack of computers following the Butlerian Jihad which led to humanity entering a "second middle age."

The people of the Old Empire in time come to depend on artificial intelligence, which eventually leads to their overthrow by the Twenty Titans. The Titans rule for some 100 years (called the Time of Titans) before they are overthrown themselves by the sentient computer network Omnius. Omnius and his thinking machines remain in control of the universe for a millennium before humankind defeats them in the Battle of Corrin, ending the Butlerian Jihad.