The government of the Third Imperium is not a democracy. It is a Feudal Technocracy. While individual worlds may practice almost any form of government they wish, the overall power of the Imperium is centered on the figure of the Emperor.
Below the Emperor lies the nobility, charged with the administration of the empire. All nobility forms part of the feudal system of Imperial government. Nobles, upon receiving their patent or upon confirming their inheritance when coming of age, swear continuing loyalty to the Imperium, to the emperor, and to the emperor's heirs and successors. In return they receive special privileges under Imperial Law and accrue special responsibility for the preservation of the Imperium.
There are three types of nobles: honor, rank and high nobles. Only rank and high nobles have real administrative functions within the Imperium.
Honor nobles receive patents for "heroism in the military, success in civil or commercial enterprise, or innovation and discovery in the services". Rank up to marquis may be awarded. Patents for honor nobles are not hereditary. Honor Nobles of the rank of Baron or Marquis are members of the Moot.
Rank nobles can be divided into two subtypes.
The first subtype comprises the "local nobility", who make up the majority of Imperial nobles. They serve as Imperial representatives in systems that have a government somehow not conducive to administration by high nobility. These representatives occupy specific governmental offices, and have little power outside their local sphere of influence. Local nobles all are accorded Imperial Rank equivalent to barons and knights in precedence. They are hereditary members of the peerage, which means those of Baronial rank in precedence have a life seat in the Moot. These nobles make up the majority of the Imperial nobility.
The second subtype of rank noble is the "administrator". Often, these nobles administer worlds or territories with no formal Imperial representation. Administrators are citizens who hold Imperial office. Except in extraordinary situations, a person must be a peer in order to hold high office in the Imperial bureaucracy (although not all peers hold office). The title is tied to a position, so these patents are not hereditary (although the use of the noble title is still allowed upon retirement). Their sphere of influence includes operational territories or influence among others within a specialized field. Most are High Nobles or are from the same families as members of the peerage. For example the Grand Admirals, who form the Admiralty are accounted as Rank Nobles equivalent to Counts. The Lord High Admiral, who is a distant cousin of the Emperor is equated to a Duke, a rank he also holds in his own right. Administrators who head the Imperial Ministries are likewise styles as Dukes, although many also hold hereditary titles as Counts or Barons.
High nobles hold hereditary office, and are responsible for direct administration of Imperial territories. They are personal representatives of the emperor, with the responsibility of holding together an interstellar community. High nobles belong to the smallest segment of the peerage, consisting of people belonging to old and powerful families entrenched in the Imperial system for generations. These nobles directly administer Imperial territories and are personal representatives of the Emperor. Patents are awarded for "political support in office, victory in the military, or contributions or economic assistance from the commercial sector" beyond any reasonable expectation. Patents are hereditary (upon confirmation by the Moot) and almost always include a fief or feudal estate granted by a letter of enfeoffment. They often include additional benefits such as ownership of stock in Imperial Megacorps and the authority to levy tithe's on local corporations in the form of stocks.
Traditionally appointments to the nobility are published on the Holiday List (appearing on the first day of the new year) and in the Birthday List (appearing on the Emperor's Birthday.)
High nobles frequently hold noble ranks of lesser precedence, which may include other local titles. Their sphere of influence is essentially the area administered by their local peerage. They have almost direct control of entire economies, and spend large amounts of time and resources developing their territories. Generally, decisions affecting one area of the Imperium are settled by the nobility in that area.
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Ranks
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Imperial Peerage
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Local Peerage
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Member of Moot
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Honor Noble
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Invested By
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Notes
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Knight
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No
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Yes
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No
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Yes
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Emperor / Archduke
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Belong to orders of knighthood and are awarded privileges
according to the order.
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Baronet
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Yes
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No
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No
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Yes
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Archduke
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They rank below barons in seniority and precedence, and
do not generally receive fiefs of land.
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Baron
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Emperor / Confirmed by Moot
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An individual accorded a barony may receive a fief of
land on a single world, generally not more than 100 square km.
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Marquis
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Yes
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No
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Yes
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Yes
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Emperor / Confirmed by Moot
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An individual accorded a marquisette may receive a fief
of land on a single world, generally not more than 1,000 square km.
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Count
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Yes
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No
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Yes
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No
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Emperor / Confirmed by Moot
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An individual accorded a county may receive a fief of
land on a single world, generally not more than 10,000 square km.
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Duke
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Yes
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No
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Yes
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No
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Emperor / Confirmed by Moot
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An individual accorded a duchy may receive a fief of land
on a single world, generally not more than 100,000 square km.
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Archduke
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Yes
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No
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Yes
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No
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Emperor / Confirmed by Moot
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They act as intermediaries between the Emperor and the
other levels of nobility (except for the Domain of Sylea , where the Emperor
is also the archduke).
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Prince/Princess
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Yes
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No
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No
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No
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Hereditary
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Members of the Royal Family. The Grand Prince(ess) is next in line to the Iridium Throne. |
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Emperor
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Yes
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No
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No
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No
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Hereditary / Confirmed by Moot
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The Emperor is the ultimate object of thousands of oaths of loyalty and fealty. |
Nobles are regulated through standard codes of behavior known as protocols. Protocols aside, nobles have few obligations in terms of provision for one another, notwithstanding the payment of taxes, attendance of summits, and settlement of disputes that fall within each other's jurisdictions. Members of the nobility are largely autonomous and have few restrictions on their activities, especially if they are in a backwater.
The Protocols ensure that members of the Peerage are cordial in their dealings with one another. At least before the citizenry. They include the proper difference to be show to peers of higher ranks, the methods by which a member of the peerage may be accused of a crime, and how they will be tried and by whom. The Protocols also include rules to be followed for the issuance of a challenge and the fighting of duels between members of the Peerage.
Knights are not properly members of the Peerage and so the Protocols do not apply to them. Members of the peerage generally consider knights to be "separate but equal" members of the nobility, and it is considered a breach of protocol for a member of the peerage to treat a knight with disrespect. The Codes of orders of Knighthood and the Protocols allow knights to challenge members of the peerage under certain circumstances (almost all of which are matters of personal honor or charges of treason).
Peers are allowed to arbitrate disputes between Nobles in fealty to them. Indeed much of the court time of peers of Count and Ducal ranks is taken up by this duty. These disputes are often of a contractual nature, but are sometimes matters of fealty or even Imperial Law. Crimes committed by members of the Nobility are referred to Tribunal Courts, which consist of members of the Peerage of higher precedence than the accused. Of course, the Archdukes are generally only called to account for their actions by the Emperor. Most Domains only convene such a court irregularly. Capital, due to the high number of resident Nobles, is more likely to see such a court, though even there it is an infrequent occurrence.
The nobility contains a subset called the peerage, consisting of all nobles except knights and baronets. Collectively, the peerage constitutes the Moot, the Imperium's only deliberative body. Technically, the Moot is supreme in the Imperium, but its power is extremely limited. In practice, its deliberations are advisory to the emperor, and he is wise to heed them. The Moot has one main power: to dissolve the Imperium. When this power is brought to bear, it compels compromise between opposing factions. The Moot also has the power to confirm emperors and other nobles to their posts.
In theory, the Moot includes all Imperial nobles of baronial or higher status, but most nobles do not find it convenient to travel to Capital ( Core / Core 2118), and so many of those seated hold proxy votes. Large blocks of these votes can be wielded by a single influential noble. Many of the seats in the Moot are held by retired Honor and Rank Nobles, whose experience and wisdom is often harnessed by the younger hereditary Nobles for the good of the Imperium.
When an Emperor dies, abdicates, or otherwise becomes unfit for office, the Moot becomes important as the validating body for the new Emperor. It has the power to examine the qualifications and credentials of the heir apparent and, in unusual situations, reject them.
The Moot holds its sessions in the Moot Spire , the tallest building on Capital at 1.75 km in height. By tradition, the Spire is the only building on Capital higher than the Imperial Palace , 4.25 km away. Elevators with gravitic compensators can speed visitors from the bottom to the top in 18 seconds. At the top of the Spire is the High Moot, where select committees hold the most private deliberations.
The Imperial bureaucracy lies under the nobility in terms of official power. It is made up of a number of "ministries". Each ministry has offices in each subsector of the Imperium. This lessens the likelihood of sector-wide power bases forming, and provides more opportunities for patronage.