The Third Imperium

Year: 1105 Imperial

During the course of Traveller most sophonts use the Imperial Year system which is currently 1105 (Solomani equivalent of 5,627 A.D.). Also, most sophonts in the Spinward Marches use the Regina Calendar based on the World of Regina in the Regina Subsector.

The Third Imperium

Current Ruler:

Emperor of the Third Imperium: Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi (Father was Paulo III)

• Claimed Emperor 1071 by The Moot (It is the Imperial government of the Third Imperium's only deliberative body)
• Married to Iolanthe Guuilbataahullibaa in 1079.

Background:

The Third Imperium is a major power in Charted Space. It is over a thousand years old and has weathered some difficult times to reach that great age. The Imperium claims direct lineage from both the First (Vilani) and the Second (Solomani) Imperium, giving it legitimacy going back several thousand years. 

The secret of the Imperium’s longevity is its ability to absorb changes and even the occasional hard knock. Worlds have occasionally been captured by outside powers, wars both internal and external have caused great destruction in some areas, and crises have threatened to split the Imperium apart. Yet it endures. To understand how and why, it is necessary to comprehend both the nature of the Imperium and the long history of human empires in Charted Space. 

The Third Imperium does not actually govern many worlds, at least not directly. Instead, it rules ‘the space between the stars’ and has holdings on some worlds of which a small number are owned outright. However, even Capital is technically a member world of the Imperium rather than a possession of it.

Most of the territory claimed directly by the Imperium takes the form of enclaves on member worlds or else is located on planetoids or rock ball worlds that nobody else lives on. In the latter case the whole body (planetoid, moon, or planet) is usually considered to be Imperial territory, and, as many of these bodies are the sites of Imperial bases, access by civilians tends to be restricted. 

The Imperium is essentially a framework that permits member worlds to do more or less as they please within certain limits. So long as it upholds certain laws and pays its quota of taxes to the Imperium, a world and its population are entitled to create whatever social system, laws, and style of government that they wish. 

A few activities are not acceptable, such as harboring Imperial felons or allowing slavery, but within the limits of the Imperial Charter worlds are free to pursue whatever course they see fit. They may even (under some circumstances and subject to certain limits) go to war with one another. 

Individual member worlds provide for their own local defense, while the Imperium regulates commerce and maintains a powerful fleet to collectively defend the Imperium as a whole. This is a huge advantage for member worlds, as the Imperial Navy can afford vastly greater numbers of more powerful vessels than any given world, and in theory, much of this fleet is available to deal with any given threat. 

The Imperial military and other services are paid for from the tax quotas of the world and also from interstellar commerce. The Imperium ‘owns space’ beyond the immediate environs of a given world, and commercial traffic must pass through that space. Revenue from commercial taxes, license fees, and the like go into the Imperial coffers. 

The result is a fairly loose framework that can tighten up at need. For example, to deal with internal troubles, external threats or an economic crisis resources can be shifted from more stable areas until the situation is dealt with. 

Overall, the Imperial system can best be described as a federation based on mutual protection and economic well–being. The Imperium does not govern its member worlds directly. What it does is protect them while they govern themselves.