ll known the discovery of the Salusa Secunttus by the unfortunate Meganam; the Sardaukar's victory over their would-be employers and then-subsequent entry into space, the three years of constant defeat for the Landsraad forces culminating m the Battle of Comn m 88 B G , the signing of the treaty, named for that battle, granting Imperial powers to House Comno The Treaty served as the highest law m the new Impenum for 355 years For most of that period it worked well, and much of the credit must be given the first Comno Emperor, Sheuset I (88 B G -70 B G ) He presided over the Treaty negotiations, and his foresight for the needs of future Emperors made the document as successful as it was CHOAM Founded in 7 B G , CHOAM (Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercan-tfles) was a reaction to the newly revealed existence of the Spacing Guild and to the opportunities for increased and more efficient commerce the Guild's services would provide It gave Emperor, Landsraad, Guild and the Bene Gessent a means of controlling and profiting from the new trade CHOAM also provided a badly needed second unifying force to the Impenum as a whole The balance between the Imperial House and the Great House of the Landsraad had rested, since the Battle of Cornn, only on military strength CHOAM bound the various groups and individuals to one another financially as well as militarily, thus providing increased stability The upsurge of prosperity which followed for most of the worlds in the Impenum served to pacify as well as unify Fractious planetary governments or ambitious but frustrated individuals were placated by the rapid ly expanding economy the founding of CHOAM had launched THE GREAT SYNOD During the prosperous centimes, the social structure of the Impenum-particularly the faufreluches the code which preserved the ngid social classes- had passed from custom into common law More and more, the most powerful Houses (who had the most to gain from the status quo) sought to put those traditions into written law The movement gained momentum over several years, but it was not until the agmg emperor, Menemtahe II, threw in his own support that a decision was reached and delegates chosen for the Great Synod Each Great House sent a representative (not the family head but generally a trusted relation) to the Synod A substantially smaller group of delegates represented the Houses Minor Menemtdhe II presided over the Synod personally, showing the royal house's interest m the project Jenarum Sen, head of the Guild, also attended The first three years the Synod studied in detail legal codes already in existence the Treaty of Comn, the laws of several hundred worlds, the terms of the Guild Peace Next, the delegates' draft proposals for the Convention were recorded, and at the end of a year, more than 7,000 agenda items had been listed, with precious few duplicates The debate was underway Seven years later a final draft of the Great Convention was ready Its ratifi