The soldier-fanatics from Salusa Secundus who catapulted to power over die Landsraad m the Battle of Comn (88 B G ) The commander of the Sardaukar and his family became die Imperial House Cornno, named after die planet Cornn near which the decisive battle took place The grim ecological and social conditions of Salusa Secundus forged the military prowess of die Sardaukar who were master swordsmen and deadly unarmed combatants, comparable respectively to Gmaz tenth level fencers and Bene Gessent adepts The ruthless natural selection of Salusa Secundus bred the Sardaukar who came to dominate first their planet arid later the inhabited worlds of die Impenum PRE-IMPERIAL HISTORY Salusa Secundus suffers from both a rigorous climate and marginal natural resources The temperature range-between - 45" and 60 C--and the infertility of die soil favor a jungle ecology, whose gigantic plant growdi make efficient use of what nutrients are available, returning little to the soil as waste Hence, after the immense difficulty of clearing the ground SARDAUKAR 441 SARDAUKAR the soil was poor and soon depleted Only the hardiest crops survived the scorching summers The ganja, a partially domesticated form of buffalo, supplied meat and skins The chief ore was iron,, in limited quantities At the tune of the Battle of Corrm, the population of the planet probably did not exceed five million Despite the small population, the tribes of Salusa Secundus waged perpetual war over iron lodes and the scanty pasture land Smelters and foundries were special prizes because they provided the weapons needed for war A tnbe that controlled enough pasture for its herds and a reliable source of iron was self-sufficient Such a tnbe was the Sardau, who by ruthless martial ability had carved out a large domain The Sardau provide a paradigm by which the later success of the Sardaukar can be understood and appreciated The rituals of the Sardau-trial by combat, endurance tests, and raids on neighboring tribes-mirrored the eternal war of the larger planetary society, constantly favoring the strong Trial by combat began at six, when children were given a knife and daily instruction in its use Sparring matches, m which the drawing of blood was encouraged, developed reflexes, technique, and timing, and also eliminated those susceptible to infection Those