Humans
"The greatest resource our Holy Imperium possesses is the fathomless multitudes of humanity itself. No power is mightier and no force more dreadful when turned to a single purpose. By human hands alone we have remade stars in our image. By this token the wise know that true power lies in the mastery of blood and bone, in the very meat of mankind."
—Quastor General, Brantus Hurst, Departmento Munitorium Penitential Command
The Human species (Homo sapiens), also known as Humanity, Mankind or Man, is that collection of factions comprised of Humanity, the most dominant intelligent species in the Milky Way Galaxy in the late 41st Millennium AD.
Humans are bipedal mammals who have proven to prefer highly stratified, hierarchical societies. Humanity is an aggressively violent, territorial and expansionist species that under the rule of the Emperor of Mankind has proven to possess little tolerance for other forms of intelligent life.
Humanity is divided into a multitude of factions, either working for or against the overall interests of Mankind in its attempts to retain control over the galaxy and survive unscathed in an incredibly hostile universe.
However, the vast majority of Humans live under the authoritarian rule of the interstellar empire known as the Imperium of Man.
According to Imperial savants, Human history has progressed through several different distinct periods, which chronicle the species' rise to ultimate dominance over the Milky Way Galaxy and the current situation in which Humanity faces a number of extinction-level threats from Chaos and multiple, deadly xenos species. These periods include:
Humans are a bipedal, mammalian humanoid species that originated on the planet Terra (Old Earth). There is evidence that Human evolution was strongly influenced by the efforts of the ancient alien civilisation known only as the "Old Ones," who were the first known species to attain sentience in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was the Old Ones' common practice to spread life, particularly the seeds of intelligent life, on worlds wherever it might take root. As part of this purpose, the Old Ones were the creators of the early, tree-dwelling primate ancestors of Mankind on primordial Earth tens of millions of Terran years ago who eventually rose to full sentience and the development of their own culture. Later, Humanity rose to create an industrial and then space-faring civilisation at the very end of the 2nd Millennium. Humanity first colonised the galaxy during the Dark Age of Technology. Almost nothing is known about Human civilisation in this time, as this information was lost in the utter chaos of the following Age of Strife. In the late 41st Millennium the majority of Humans in the galaxy are now part of the Imperium of Man, although other Human civilisations are known to exist. Unfortunately, Humanity is a species that is relatively easy to corrupt to the service of Chaos and in fact, it is Mankind's dominance in the galaxy that has shaped the Warp and the form the Chaos Gods currently take, as they are ultimately no more than psychic manifestations in the Immaterium of the collective psyches of the intelligent species of the galaxy. Unlike the ancient Aeldari, Humanity has only just begun the evolutionary transition into a fully psychic species. As yet, very few Humans out of the entire population of trillions present in the galaxy develop the genetic mutation that allows them to become psykers, though this number is slowly increasing as the centuries pass. However, most Human psykers lack the mental discipline or inner strength to prevent themselves from becoming daemonhosts or otherwise being manipulated by the dark entities of the Warp. Humans, known taxonomically as Homo sapiens (from the ancient language of the Roma which meant "wise man" or "knowing man"), are the only living species in the Homo genus of bipedal primates in Hominidae, the great ape family. Anatomically modern-appearing Humans originated on the world of Terra about 250,000 standard years ago, reaching full behavioural modernity only around 90,000 standard years ago. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, allowed Humans to make far greater use of tools than any other living species on Old Earth. Other higher-level thought processes of Humans, such as self-awareness, rationality, and sapience, are considered to be defining features of what constitutes a "person", though such features are shared with the other major intelligent xenos species of the galaxy like the Aeldari, the T'au, the Necrons, and the Orks (though some might question the latter). Like most higher primates originally native to Terra, Humans are social animals. However, Humans are uniquely adept at utilising systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organisation. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nation-states to interstellar empires. Social interactions between Humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of Human society. With Humans present across the galaxy and having adapted to every possible environment, they are currently the galaxy's dominant species. The current population of Humans in the Milky Way Galaxy in the 41st Millennium AD is unknown, but numbers in the many trillions, if not quadrillions. Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology, and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally, though cultural stagnation or even retrogression is possible, as the grim history of the Imperium of Man over the last 10 millennia so readily demonstrates.
Imperium of Man The majority of Humans exist within the Imperium of Man. The Imperial Cult preaches that Humanity has a manifest destiny to conquer the entire galaxy, to the point where other intelligent alien species are seen as inferior and worthy of nothing but extinction. The Lost and the Damned The next greatest concentration of Humans in the galaxy after the peoples of the Imperium exist as the Lost and the Damned of Chaos, and reside primarily, though not exclusively, within the Warp rift called the Eye of Terror. Not a coherent civilisation as such, they exist as part of a diverse and infinite collection of warbands and hosts under the leadership of Chaos Champions. Due to the nature of time within the Warp, some of these Humans are the original Imperial subjects who sided with the Warmaster Horus during the Horus Heresy over ten thousand Terran years ago, though their number has been greatly supplemented by more recent Humans who have turned to the worship of Chaos, or slaves captured as part of the many Chaos raids out of the Eye into Imperial space. T'au Empire Less xenophobic than the Imperium, though no less convinced that it should dominate the galaxy, the T'au Empire has no qualms about letting other intelligent species join it. Whilst few in number, some Humans have done so and exist within the Empire where they are known as Gue'vesa. These Humans, for the most part, are the descendants of Astra Militarum troops who were abandoned in T'au space during the Damocles Gulf Crusade and in other conflicts between the Imperium and the T'au Empire; however, it is not unheard of for Imperial planets like the desert Mining World of Taros to want to secede from the Imperium to join the T'au Empire. Independent Civilisations Other Human civilisations in the Milky Way Galaxy are extremely rare. This is mostly due to the fact that the Imperium of Man considers itself to have an automatic right to rule all of Humanity wherever Humans live in the galaxy, and it ruthlessly suppresses any attempt to secede from it. Similarly, any lost Human colonies that are rediscovered from the Dark Age of Technology are also incorporated into the Imperium whether they want to be or not. Despite this, a few independent Human civilisations have been known to exist in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. Lost Colonies When the Age of Strife descended on the galaxy and Warp travel and astropathic communication became impossible, the majority of Human colonies were cut off from Terra and forced to survive on their own. In some cases this meant that they devolved into considerably more primitive societies as the knowledge to create and maintain much advanced technology was lost. The Great Crusade reunited many thousands of lost Human colonies with the Imperium of Man, yet every now and then changes in the flow of the Warp mean that new Human colonies are unexpectedly discovered. Whilst nobody can know for sure how many, there are almost certainly more colonies still cut off from the rest of Humanity, waiting to be discovered. Rebellious Planets The Imperium keeps a tight grip over its planets, yet every now and then a world does attempt to secede from the Imperium. This may be the result of the Planetary Governor believing he can get away with independence, or it may be the result of a revolution that deposes those in power. Many of these secessions are orchestrated by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, and the Humans that are part of these rebellions should be counted as the Lost and the Damned, though there are also occasions when a planet decides it wants to be independent of the Imperium through its own volition. Regardless of the cause, these independent realms rarely last for long as they are swiftly and brutally subjugated by the Imperium, even if it takes solar decades for the ponderous Administratum of the Imperium to get around to assigning the necessary military forces to suppress the rebellion. Pirates The only independent Human civilisation with any real sustainability outside the Imperium of Man, some Humans evade the Imperium's clutches and live outside of its reach in bands of starships existing through raids and piracy. Often allying themselves with Aeldari or other xenos, these Humans are swiftly executed as Heretics or Traitors if they are caught by the Imperial authorities.
Throughout the long history of the Imperium and before, the Human species has mutated into a variety of different stable sub-species as a result of different populations' adaptation to various environments across the galaxy over the millennia. These variant Human species are known as Abhumans. Abhumans are tolerated to a varying degree within the Imperium due to the fact that they are seen as being close enough to the baseline Human genome to still be accepted as children of the Emperor.
The two primary factions representing the Human race in the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Imperium of Man and the traitorous forces of Chaos. Imperium of Man
History
According to Imperial savants, Human history has progressed through several different distinct periods, which chronicle the species' rise to ultimate dominance over the Milky Way Galaxy and the current situation in which Humanity faces a number of extinction-level threats from Chaos and multiple, deadly xenos species. These periods include:
- Age of Terra
- Age of Technology
- Age of Strife
- Unification Wars
- Great Crusade
- Horus Heresy
- Age of the Imperium
Physiology, Anatomy and Society
Humans are a bipedal, mammalian humanoid species that originated on the planet Terra (Old Earth). There is evidence that Human evolution was strongly influenced by the efforts of the ancient alien civilisation known only as the "Old Ones," who were the first known species to attain sentience in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was the Old Ones' common practice to spread life, particularly the seeds of intelligent life, on worlds wherever it might take root. As part of this purpose, the Old Ones were the creators of the early, tree-dwelling primate ancestors of Mankind on primordial Earth tens of millions of Terran years ago who eventually rose to full sentience and the development of their own culture. Later, Humanity rose to create an industrial and then space-faring civilisation at the very end of the 2nd Millennium. Humanity first colonised the galaxy during the Dark Age of Technology. Almost nothing is known about Human civilisation in this time, as this information was lost in the utter chaos of the following Age of Strife. In the late 41st Millennium the majority of Humans in the galaxy are now part of the Imperium of Man, although other Human civilisations are known to exist. Unfortunately, Humanity is a species that is relatively easy to corrupt to the service of Chaos and in fact, it is Mankind's dominance in the galaxy that has shaped the Warp and the form the Chaos Gods currently take, as they are ultimately no more than psychic manifestations in the Immaterium of the collective psyches of the intelligent species of the galaxy. Unlike the ancient Aeldari, Humanity has only just begun the evolutionary transition into a fully psychic species. As yet, very few Humans out of the entire population of trillions present in the galaxy develop the genetic mutation that allows them to become psykers, though this number is slowly increasing as the centuries pass. However, most Human psykers lack the mental discipline or inner strength to prevent themselves from becoming daemonhosts or otherwise being manipulated by the dark entities of the Warp. Humans, known taxonomically as Homo sapiens (from the ancient language of the Roma which meant "wise man" or "knowing man"), are the only living species in the Homo genus of bipedal primates in Hominidae, the great ape family. Anatomically modern-appearing Humans originated on the world of Terra about 250,000 standard years ago, reaching full behavioural modernity only around 90,000 standard years ago. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem-solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, allowed Humans to make far greater use of tools than any other living species on Old Earth. Other higher-level thought processes of Humans, such as self-awareness, rationality, and sapience, are considered to be defining features of what constitutes a "person", though such features are shared with the other major intelligent xenos species of the galaxy like the Aeldari, the T'au, the Necrons, and the Orks (though some might question the latter). Like most higher primates originally native to Terra, Humans are social animals. However, Humans are uniquely adept at utilising systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organisation. Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nation-states to interstellar empires. Social interactions between Humans have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of Human society. With Humans present across the galaxy and having adapted to every possible environment, they are currently the galaxy's dominant species. The current population of Humans in the Milky Way Galaxy in the 41st Millennium AD is unknown, but numbers in the many trillions, if not quadrillions. Humans are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology, and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally, though cultural stagnation or even retrogression is possible, as the grim history of the Imperium of Man over the last 10 millennia so readily demonstrates.
Human Civilizations
Imperium of Man The majority of Humans exist within the Imperium of Man. The Imperial Cult preaches that Humanity has a manifest destiny to conquer the entire galaxy, to the point where other intelligent alien species are seen as inferior and worthy of nothing but extinction. The Lost and the Damned The next greatest concentration of Humans in the galaxy after the peoples of the Imperium exist as the Lost and the Damned of Chaos, and reside primarily, though not exclusively, within the Warp rift called the Eye of Terror. Not a coherent civilisation as such, they exist as part of a diverse and infinite collection of warbands and hosts under the leadership of Chaos Champions. Due to the nature of time within the Warp, some of these Humans are the original Imperial subjects who sided with the Warmaster Horus during the Horus Heresy over ten thousand Terran years ago, though their number has been greatly supplemented by more recent Humans who have turned to the worship of Chaos, or slaves captured as part of the many Chaos raids out of the Eye into Imperial space. T'au Empire Less xenophobic than the Imperium, though no less convinced that it should dominate the galaxy, the T'au Empire has no qualms about letting other intelligent species join it. Whilst few in number, some Humans have done so and exist within the Empire where they are known as Gue'vesa. These Humans, for the most part, are the descendants of Astra Militarum troops who were abandoned in T'au space during the Damocles Gulf Crusade and in other conflicts between the Imperium and the T'au Empire; however, it is not unheard of for Imperial planets like the desert Mining World of Taros to want to secede from the Imperium to join the T'au Empire. Independent Civilisations Other Human civilisations in the Milky Way Galaxy are extremely rare. This is mostly due to the fact that the Imperium of Man considers itself to have an automatic right to rule all of Humanity wherever Humans live in the galaxy, and it ruthlessly suppresses any attempt to secede from it. Similarly, any lost Human colonies that are rediscovered from the Dark Age of Technology are also incorporated into the Imperium whether they want to be or not. Despite this, a few independent Human civilisations have been known to exist in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. Lost Colonies When the Age of Strife descended on the galaxy and Warp travel and astropathic communication became impossible, the majority of Human colonies were cut off from Terra and forced to survive on their own. In some cases this meant that they devolved into considerably more primitive societies as the knowledge to create and maintain much advanced technology was lost. The Great Crusade reunited many thousands of lost Human colonies with the Imperium of Man, yet every now and then changes in the flow of the Warp mean that new Human colonies are unexpectedly discovered. Whilst nobody can know for sure how many, there are almost certainly more colonies still cut off from the rest of Humanity, waiting to be discovered. Rebellious Planets The Imperium keeps a tight grip over its planets, yet every now and then a world does attempt to secede from the Imperium. This may be the result of the Planetary Governor believing he can get away with independence, or it may be the result of a revolution that deposes those in power. Many of these secessions are orchestrated by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, and the Humans that are part of these rebellions should be counted as the Lost and the Damned, though there are also occasions when a planet decides it wants to be independent of the Imperium through its own volition. Regardless of the cause, these independent realms rarely last for long as they are swiftly and brutally subjugated by the Imperium, even if it takes solar decades for the ponderous Administratum of the Imperium to get around to assigning the necessary military forces to suppress the rebellion. Pirates The only independent Human civilisation with any real sustainability outside the Imperium of Man, some Humans evade the Imperium's clutches and live outside of its reach in bands of starships existing through raids and piracy. Often allying themselves with Aeldari or other xenos, these Humans are swiftly executed as Heretics or Traitors if they are caught by the Imperial authorities.
Other Human Species
Throughout the long history of the Imperium and before, the Human species has mutated into a variety of different stable sub-species as a result of different populations' adaptation to various environments across the galaxy over the millennia. These variant Human species are known as Abhumans. Abhumans are tolerated to a varying degree within the Imperium due to the fact that they are seen as being close enough to the baseline Human genome to still be accepted as children of the Emperor.
Armies
The two primary factions representing the Human race in the Warhammer 40,000 universe are the Imperium of Man and the traitorous forces of Chaos. Imperium of Man
- Astra Militarum - The backbone of Imperial military might in the 41st Millennium, the Astra Militarum, or "Imperial Guard," are not a single, cohesive fighting force but are rather a vast military comprised of a wide spectrum of different equipment, tactics and doctrines depending on the particular star system from where an Astra Militarum regiment originates. Because they are formed in this way, recruited and equipped by the resources available in their particular home star system and home sector, the Imperial Guard are the largest single fighting force in the galaxy and they number in the billions of soldiers, all willing to die in the name of the Emperor of Mankind.
- Space Marines - The Space Marines are genetically-modified transhuman warriors designed specifically to lead the Human reconquest of the galaxy during the Great Crusade that created the Imperium of Man over ten thousand Terran years ago during the late 30th and early 31st Millenniums. Since the Horus Heresy, the Space Marines have adopted more of a defensive role, fighting alongside the regiments of the Imperial Guard and aiding them when they need help in the most difficult situations. Space Marines also fight as individual 1,000-warrior-strong Chapters, seeking their own conflicts and resolving them in turn.
- Sisters of Battle (Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas) - The Sisters of Battle are the least common Human army on the battlefield because they were created specifically to fight Imperial Heretics and rebels and just as only Human males can be Space Marines, only Human females may serve among the Sisters of Battle. They serve as the military forces of the Adeptus Ministorum, better known as the Ecclesiarchy, the ecclesiastical bureaucracy which administers the star-spanning Imperial Cult of the God-Emperor. The Sisters also serve as the Chamber Militant of the Imperial Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus, tasked with combating the enemies of the Emperor who exist within the Imperium.
- Chaos Space Marines (Traitor Legions) - The most hated enemies of the Imperium, the Heretic Astartes were once normal Space Marines, fighting together with the other Loyalist Space Marine Legions in the Emperor's name to build the Imperium of Man in the course of the Great Crusade, but they betrayed the Emperor and turned to the service of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos during the Horus Heresy. Unlike the Loyalist Space Marines, the Chaos Space Marines work more closely with their strong network of allies such as Warp daemons, Human Chaos Cultists and Traitor Imperial Guardsmen, relying on them more often than the Loyalist Space Marines rely on the Astra Militarum. The Chaos Space Marines are still organised into the original First Founding Space Marine Legion structure, unlike the Loyalist Space Marines who were divided into 1,000-man-strong Chapters after the Horus Heresy during the Second Founding of the Space Marines. The Second Founding was spurred onwards by the adoption of the Codex Astartes, which was written by the Ultramarines Legion's Primarch and the first Lord Commander of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman.
- The Lost and the Damned - The Lost and the Damned of Chaos reside primarily, though not exclusively, within the great Warp rift in the Segmentum Obscurus called the Eye of Terror. The Lost and the Damned exist as part of a diverse and infinite collection of Chaos warbands and military hosts under the leadership of Chaos Champions who are usually, but not always Chaos Space Marines belonging to one of the Traitor Legions. Due to the anomalous nature of time in the Warp, some of these Humans are the original Imperial citizens who sided with the Warmaster Horus during the Horus Heresy over ten thousand standard years ago, though their number has been greatly supplemented by more recent Humans who have turned to the worship of Chaos, or slaves captured as part of the many raids conducted by the forces of Chaos into Imperial space.
Sources
- Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pg. 9
- The Horus Heresy - Book One: Betrayal (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 15
- Warhammer 40,000: Chapter Approved - The Book of the Astronomican
- Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (5th Edition)
- For The Emperor (Novel) by Sandy Mitchell
Genetic Descendants
Geographic Distribution
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