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The Klingon Empire is the main antagonistic faction of the Star Trek franchise. It is a feudalistic empire dominantly comprised of the Klingon race, who have appeared various times as antagonists within the Star Trek franchise.
Governmental Structure
The Empire was founded around the Earth year 854 AD by Kahless the Unforgettable, who had united the various tribes of the Empire in a way not seen until the 23rd century. Descendants of Kahless as well as other Klingons of noble birth ruled the Empire as Emperor. Sometime prior to 2069 the reigning Emperor died and no one else was named to replace him. Power was shifted over to a High Council led by a Chancellor and comprised of representatives of the 24 most prominent Houses of the Klingons. The Chancellor of the High Council was left as the sole leader of the empire.
The ostensibly ruled by a single central government, there exist many competing factions within the empire, similar to Greek city-states on Earth, each attempting to challenge the High Council for dominance over the empire. As a result, a strict Rite of Succession was put in place where the chancellor could only be challenged to a fight on the grounds of cowardice or dishonorable conduct.
In 2369 a clone of Kahless was created by the clerics at Boreth, hoping to use the clone to restore a stagnating culture to the ways of honor. When Kahless was found to be a clone, Worf, son of Mogh proposed that Kahless be named a constitutional monarch similar to a British monarch, with actual political power still held by the Chancellor and High Council. With both Kahless and Chancellor Gowron accepting this proposal, Kahless became the first Klingon Empire in over 300 years.