Sardaukar Analysis in Dune

Renowned fighters, Sardaukar are the Padishah Emperor’s soldier-fanatics and ultimate military force. Their background and training is shrouded in secrecy, and their fighting style is emphasized by a ruthlessness and single-minded devotion to the Emperor’s cause.

Sardaukar Quotes in Dune

The Dune quotes below are all either spoken by Sardaukar or refer to Sardaukar. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

There existed no need on Caladan to build a physical paradise or a paradise of the mind—we could see the actuality all around us. And the price we paid was the price men have always paid for achieving a paradise in this life—we went soft, we lost our edge.

Related Characters: Paul Atreides / Muad’Dib (speaker), Princess Irulan

Page Number and Citation: 411

Explanation and Analysis:

Sardaukar Term Timeline in Dune

The timeline below shows where the term Sardaukar appears in Dune. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...traitor in the Duke’s household. The Baron also has the support of the Emperor’s fearsome Sardaukar troops, who will be disguised as Harkonnen soldiers in an attack on the Atreides holdings... (full context)

...Emperor Shaddam IV supporting House Harkonnen’s attacks on House Atreides by disguising his feared Imperial Sardaukar soldiers in Harkonnen colors. Duke Leto stipulates that they need to acquire fighting Fremen battalions... (full context)

...paralyzed and unconscious Duke Leto’s mouth. Meanwhile, Harkonnen forces are attacking the Atreides household. A Sardaukar soldier disguised as a Harkonnen troop finds Yueh and searches for Duke Leto’s signet ring.... (full context)

...the rest of Duke Leto’s army. The Baron’s Mentat, Piter, approaches him to relay that Sardaukar soldiers have arrived with the captured Duke. The Baron reflects on the reward of Arrakis... (full context)

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...receive news of the Harkonnen victory in Arrakeen over the radio. They also learn that Sardaukar soldiers in Atreides uniform have sacked the Guild bank. Paul realizes that the Padishah Emperor... (full context)

...the Fremen have stolen an artillery weapon to study. Even more shockingly, they have beaten Sardaukar in battle with little difficulty, even capturing three of the fearsome Sardaukar soldiers alive. (full context)

...fighting skills when he sees a small group of them overpower an ornithopter flown by Sardaukar soldiers. They kill the Sardaukar easily and steal the ship. Later, Hawat is amazed to... (full context)

Using the Fremen’s talents to prove that the Padishah Emperor’s Sardaukar soldiers are secretly fighting for House Harkonnen, Paul wants to blackmail Emperor Shaddam IV into... (full context)

...by the sincerity and magnitude of Paul’s offer. However, their conversation is cut short as Sardaukar forces attack the group in the old Imperial base. (full context)

Duncan Idaho is killed protecting Paul during the fight with the Sardaukar soldiers, but Liet-Kynes, Paul and Jessica escape through a secret exit. Kynes splits from his... (full context)

...Iakin Nefud, Harkonnen guard captain, reports to the Baron that Paul and Jessica escaped a Sardaukar troop by flying an ornithopter into a sandstorm. With winds above 800 kilometers, the captain... (full context)

...orders Nefud to make it seem like an accidental death. The guard captain reveals the Sardaukar managed to capture Kynes and he is now in Harkonnen custody. (full context)

...to make the biggest profit possible. The Baron has spent an inordinate fortune on financing Sardaukar troop transport as well as his own soldiers’ transport. (full context)

...the Arrakeen Fremen, Baron Harkonnen dismisses his concerns as foolish. But Rabban notes that the Sardaukar think the Fremen are a threat and have vowed to go back to Arrakis and... (full context)

...Halleck joins the Fremen, it will be for a life of being hunted by the Sardaukar, who even now look for Fremen to eliminate from Arrakis. Finally, Halleck accepts Tuek’s offer... (full context)

...emperor was 72 years of age but looked no older than 35. He wore his Sardaukar uniform and a decorative military helmet in public as an explicit reminder of where his... (full context)

...Baron that they are not happy about the way that he ordered the Padishah Emperor’s Sardaukar soldiers off Arrakis after their victory over House Atreides. Furthermore, the Emperor wants to know... (full context)

...with only small pockets of them left in the desert. He also argues that the Sardaukar troops could not have remained on Arrakis any longer to help eliminate the Fremen because... (full context)

...is so concerned at his maneuverings and lies that the Emperor may consider having his Sardaukar forces deal with House Harkonnen. The Baron actually hopes this will occur so that he... (full context)

...plants—they are chromoplastic creations that are simple but beautiful in execution. Paul also realizes that Sardaukar are hunting Fremen tribes across the desert; Harah states that the Padishah Emperor’s soldiers will... (full context)

...the Padishah Emperor’s prison planet, Salusa Secundus. Hawat thinks that the Emperor trains his fearsome Sardaukar fighters on the prison planet. (full context)

...Leto’s soldiers had trained to an elite level of skill that could rival the legendary Sardaukar fighters. This threat resulted in the Emperor’s collaboration with Baron Harkonnen to wipe out House... (full context)

...his earlier population estimates. Hawat thinks that the Fremen may be better warriors than the Sardaukar. (full context)

...smugglers accompany Paul and the Fremen into a cave. Some of the smugglers are undercover Sardaukar soldiers and stage an attack. The Fremen easily overpower them, killing most of the Padishah... (full context)

Playing a game of strategy, Paul arranges for the Sardaukar captives to escape so that they can report back to Emperor Shaddam IV on Paul’s... (full context)

...is a fleet of Guild ships above Arrakis that holds a truthsayer, five legions of Sardaukar, Baron Harkonnen, Thufir Hawat, and the Padishah Emperor himself. Furthermore there are representative raiders from... (full context)

...Emperor Shaddam IV has landed on Arrakis along with Baron Harkonnen and five legions of Sardaukar. They have set up camp behind the Shield Wall, with Paul and Stilgar watching to... (full context)

...the spaceships’ noses to cripple them for flight. The Fremen will fight to overpower the Sardaukar, while the rest of the Arrakeen populace will confront the Harkonnen forces. Gurney Halleck can... (full context)

...and projectile weapons in place, ready for battle. The messenger also relays that the “pet” Sardaukar the Fremen previously captured masquerading as Arrakeen smugglers have been released to return to the... (full context)

...spaceships with heavy fire as planned. As Paul and his soldiers prepare to meet the Sardaukar in battle, they receive a garbled message from the sietch where the Fremen women and... (full context)

...Padishah Emperor has the captive Alia Atreides brought in. After hearing of the battle between Sardaukar and Fremen in which she was captured, the Emperor makes clear his anger at Baron... (full context)

...riding to attack Imperial forces on a wall of giant desert sandworms. He and the Sardaukar “stand awed for the first time in their history by an onslaught their minds found... (full context)

...a damaged ship with Princess Irulan, Reverend Mother Mohiam, two Guildsmen, and a guard of Sardaukar soldiers. The Emperor and the Reverend Mother have seen the battle outside and know that... (full context)

Paul sends a captured Sardaukar soldier as a messenger to the Pashidah Emperor to arrange a meeting in which Paul... (full context)

Dune

Frank Herbert

Sardaukar Term Analysis

Sardaukar Quotes in Dune

Sardaukar Term Timeline in Dune