Great Crusade Chronology

Presented below is the Great Crusade Chronology, an exhaustive listing of all known campaigns that occurred during the nearly two standard-centuries-long Great Crusade that began in 798.M30 and ended with the outbreak of the galaxy-wide Five Ruins in the early years of the 31st Millennium.

At its height, the great expansion of the newborn Imperium of Man consisted of 4,287 primary Expedition Fleets engaged upon the business of enforcing Imperial Compliance and extending the Imperial aegis across the galaxy, as well as 60,000+ secondary deployment groups involved in regulating Compliance or Imperial occupations.

By no means is this list complete, as much of the information presented in various canon sources is often ambiguous and even at times contradictory. Therefore, this is merely a rough guide to the chronological order of the events of the Great Crusade as they occurred.

Chronology
Presented below is a chronological listing of the events of the Great Crusade. The following information was compiled by manifold and diverse hands at the order of Emperor and the Acting Council of Terra.

The reader should be aware that the dates listed in this chronological compilation are only approximations as Imperial records from this time are too fragmentary to be wholly reliable. As more information is uncovered in newly discovered Imperial records, it will be added to the chronology.

Late 700s-800s.M30

 * ca. 750.M30 The Primarch Project - The Primarch Project, which was initially begun at some point in the 29th Millennium, far beneath the surface of Terra in the Emperor's gene-labs, marked the Emperor of Mankind's attempt to begin the creation of the next generation of Imperial super-soldiers to replace the Thunder Warriors. These were the Primarchs, twenty extraordinary transhuman men who would be His generals -- great warriors, intellectuals and political leaders who would conquer thousands of worlds in His name. Through the machinations of Chaos, the Primarchs were stolen while still in their gestation tubes and scattered across the galaxy. But all was not lost, as the Emperor still possessed their gene-sequences, which He utilised as the genetic templates for the creation of His Legiones Astartes.
 * ca. 780.M30 The First Founding - Utilising the genetic material from the stolen Primarchs, the Emperor creates the first gene-seed and implants it into his already elite Terran soldiers. These warriors provide the genesis of His Legiones Astartes. The 20 original Space Marine Legions are created during the First Founding. Grabiya's Theorem provides the solution to solve the diminishing stability of the Space Marines' gene-seed stores through over-use, due to the rapid expansion of the nascent Imperium of Man by the Legiones Astartes in this era. This theorem demonstrated that a Primarch's genetic code could be used to stabilise and expand existing Astartes gene-seed stocks with what was hoped to be "minimal deviation" and mutation from the baseline genetic code. Sorian's Inductus Excelsus demonstrated that the need of the rapidly growing Imperium for more warriors was vast. Accelerated gene-culturing techniques were implemented, reducing the processing time to create a Space Marine from a mortal man to a single solar year. However, the gene-seed produced by these accelerated processes possessed unseen fundamental flaws.
 * ca. 790.M30 First Pacification of Luna - This early Imperial campaign was the first operation mounted by elements of the early Space Marine Legions beyond the skies of Terra while the Terran Unification Wars were still raging across the surface of Mankind's birth world. The combined force of the I, VIII and XII Legions (later named the Iron Revenants, Godslayers and Fire Keepers, respectively) lifted from the surface of Terra in a scattering of rocket flame. The Selenar methodology is sequestered into the Imperial Dungeon beneath the Imperial Palace.
 * 798.M30 Departure of the Great Crusade - Following the successful conclusion of the Terran Unification Wars on Old Earth, the Emperor launched His interstellar quest to reunite the disparate worlds of Mankind and reforge them into one vast, galaxy-spanning empire known as the Imperium of Man. He intended this unity to usher in a new golden age for all humanity.
 * 798.M30 Battle of Neptune - The XV Legion's first action of the Great Crusade was the purging of the mutant hordes that inhabited Neptune.
 * 803.M30 Sedna Campaign - During the Sedna Campaign, eight full Space Marine Legions are deployed to undertake the destruction of the artificial xenos nemesis world on the outer edge of the Sol System, whereupon they expunge an alien faction bound to war by unknown psychic means. In the aftermath, the false world of Sedna falls into silence and is lost to Imperial auspices. The Legions involved were the I, II, III, V, XIV, XVII and XX Legions (later named the Iron Revenants, Crimson Lions, Black Stars, Halcyon Wardens, Dune Serpents, Warriors of Peace and Alabaster Order respectively).
 * ca. 805.M30 Treaty of Mars - The Emperor of Mankind came to Mars and landed atop the great volcano of Olympus Mons. At their first sight of the Master of Mankind, many Tech-priests were overcome with the feeling that they had met the living embodiment of the Omnissiah, their Machine God clad in human form. In return for peace between Terra and Mars, the Emperor granted recognition of the Tech-priests' right to practice their faith and their right to maintain autonomous control over both Mars and the other Forge Worlds they had settled across the galaxy. In return, the Mechanicum agreed to build and maintain the Imperium's starships and provide all of the war materiel necessary for the armies of the Emperor's Great Crusade. The Mechanicum also agreed to be bound by the Emperor's commandment to never develop certain forbidden technologies such as "Abominable Intelligence" (artificial general intelligence). With the signing of this agreement, known as the Treaty of Mars or the Treaty of Olympus Mons within the Mechanicum, the Cult Mechanicum became the Mechanicum of the newly-forged Imperium of Man, and the Palatine Aquila was refashioned to bear two heads, one for Terra and one for Mars, the twin foundations of Mankind's interstellar dominion.
 * ca. 805.M30 Plague of Madness - The Vth Legion begin to exhibit psychic abilities, being naturally inclined towards Telepathy and Divination. However, this gift also brought random instances of insanity to the Legion, forming a steady stream of cases that dogged the Vth until their Primarch was discovered.
 * 807.M30 Compliance of 02-34 (Rust) - One of the first collaborative efforts between the XIV and XVI legions — the invasion of the planet designated 02-34 (or the “Battle of Rust” as it would be commonly known by Imperial Military Historians) — showed the deadly effectiveness and efficiency of both legions for what they were, a brutal silent killing machine that’s claws and fangs slew the enemy before they even knew they were dead. Planet 02-34, or “Rust” to give it’s common name, was an arid scrap world, rich in pyro-chemical deposits, oxide deserts, and the corroded rusted hulks of vast long dead cities. An empire of xenos, revealed to be orks, had claimed the world as its own, the banners and scrap kingdoms of the “Krooked Claw '' denoting the beasts. In fact the Waagh was ruled over by an especially cunning ork going by the moniker Wardog Kulo, and it’s dominion spread over at least 60 other terrestrial worlds, human inhabited or otherwise. Rust in itself boasted a population of millions of orks, along with a declining population of enslaved humans constantly repopulated by other nearby worlds. Scouted out by advancing elements of the Sightless Fourteenth and Hunting Shadows, both legions would not stand for any xenos race treating their species as such. Nor would they stand for the orks existence in the first place. Thusly both legions worked together against the empire and through a campaign of effective scare tactics, mechanical sabotage, and the assassination of dominant orks, they effectively and quickly tore the empire apart using Rust as a staging point, before calling in other legions to finish the job. The battle of Rust was later celebrated as an effective and prominent victory of the early crusade, both for its relatively bloodless win, and the threat of xenos being eradicated.
 * 813.M30 Mezoa joins the Imperium - Mezoa was founded first as an outpost of the Lucien Mechanicum in 540.M30 before the Great Crusade. It then rapidly gained status as an independent Forge World in its own right in 813.M30. This war-world was dedicated solely to the production of heavy arms and armour. The Mezoan forges were built under the direction not only of the Archimandrites of the Cult Mechanicus, but also the minds of both the Emperor and, it was said, the Primarch Niklaas in later years after he joined the Imperium.
 * 815.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Araphel - During the early years of the Great Crusade, the future Primarch of the I Legion was discovered upon the barren and impoverished Mining World of Khth'n by one of the first Expeditionary Fleets to leave the Sol System. Highly creditable claims state that the Emperor found Araphel personally, the first of His lost sons.
 * 822.M30 The Ice Wedge - A Compliance involving the VII Legion.
 * 829.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Alexandros Darshan VonSalim - Travelling to the relatively stable area of the Delos System, the Emperor and Araphel were met by a waiting and willing Primarch, Alexandros Darshan Von Salim. The Compliance of Delos was achieved quickly as Alexandros departed from his homeworld to Terra to learn directly from his Father.
 * 830.M30 Compliance of Caunides - An embodiment of the Golden Brothers' efficiency and strength, The Chosen were systematically dismantled and then crushed. Before the IV Legion could complete their post-compliance aid, news of their Primarch's discovery drew them away.
 * 831.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Theoderaf - On the dark and macabre world of Certus Minor, the Emperor found his third Son, Theoderaf. Having been awaiting the arrival of a God to the world, Theoderaf enthusiastically joined the Emperor and swiftly returned to Terra to learn under his Father.
 * 834.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Koschei Kharkovic - The 1st Expeditionary Fleet arrived to bring Zbruch into compliance, and Koschei prepared to resist them. Koschei regarded this golden king with deep distrust, despite the kinship he felt with both him and Alexandros, who had accompanied the Emperor. When they drew close, the sheer magnitude of the Emperor’s psychic presence overwhelmed Koschei, and he leapt to attack what he saw as a tyrant. Stopped by Alexandros, many weeks of talks followed and Koschei eventually agreed to join the Imperium.
 * 834.M30 Battle of Iota Horologi - Compliance of the VII Legion, the Thunder Knights, against a xenos race of humanoid aliens known as the Jorgall. Many of these xenos featured extensive cybernetic physical enhancements to improve their physical forms and enhance their fighting abilities. Elements of the Sisters of Silence, alongside the Thunder Knights, launched an assault into the main Jorgall cylinder world in the Iota Horologii System. Following their hard-fought victory, there were dissenting voices from the Mechanicum contingent who petitioned the Thunder Knights for a few days in which to loot the alien craft of technology. The Commander refused the request, as the letter of Malcador the Sigillite's orders -- and therefore, by extension, those of the Emperor Himself -- was that the Jorgall incursion into the sector was to be exterminated and nothing more.
 * ca.834.M30 Counter-Attack at Serreak 17 - Amongst the earliest encounters with the Khrave was their conquest of the world of Serreak 17, which despite several previous attempts, had resisted the Great Crusade's efforts to liberate this world. In the end, it would be the IVth Legion, the recently rebaptized Red Eyes under their Primarch Theoderaf, that would succeed where others had failed. The Khrave were utterly destroyed.
 * 837.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Lukas Keath - The Emperor of Mankind comes to the Mining World of Feuerstadt and reunites with His lost son, Lukas Keath. Lukas quickly joins the Emperor, and together they continue Lukas' conquest of the Feuerreich, before returning Lukas to Terra.
 * 840.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Niklaas - The Emperor arrives on the world of Obsailes, but is refused entry by Niklaas to his city. Patiently waiting for three days, Niklaas eventually came out to meet with him, and after a conversation bowed to the Emperor and swore allegiance. Up to this point, it had become tradition for each Primarch to spend a period of time under the mentorship of the Emperor, either on Terra or on campaign. Niklaas, however, refused.
 * 843.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Gustave Dunant -
 * 853.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Tenzin -
 * 855.M30 Compliance of the Horned Kings - First Compliance conducted by Tenzin with the newly renamed Monastic Ascendants.
 * 860.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Hectarion Mycenor -
 * 861.M30 Levelling of 72-9 - A Compliance conducted by the [REDACTED]
 * 860s.M30 First Rangdan Xenocide - The growing Imperium of Man runs into fleets of the Rangdan, a highly dangerous xenos race. The recently discovered Hectarion Mycenor and the Crimson Lions are given the command, and in concert with the Hunting Shadows and the Alabaster Order drove them off.
 * 865.M30 Censure of Gustave - Following Gustave's conduct in the First Rangdan Xenocide and the shift away from a combat focus by the Alabaster Order, the Emperor officially chastices his Son and orders them to conquer 100 worlds without any aid from other forces.
 * 869.M30 Purgation of Nakiss - Gustave begins his Penitent Crusade.
 * 865.M30 Sarrak Negotiations -
 * 871.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Morrigar -
 * 872.M30 Dunlan Campaign - A joint compliance by the Monastic Ascendants and the Fire Keepers Legions.
 * 877.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Azus Bahmut - An Imperial Army fleet chases a fleeing xenos fleet towards an unknown planet, and the world of Dhul'hasa is discovered. Following the crushing of the xenos, negotiations revealed the Primarch Azus Bahmut, but he refused the offer of the Imperial Commander to join the Imperium. After the Emperor arrived and revealed his identity, Azus quickly accepted the offer to join the Crusade, both seeing it as an opportunity to take the people of Dhul'hasa to the stars once again and fearing the wrath of the Imperium of Man should he refuse.
 * ca. 877-8.M30 War for Sequuntur Somnia - A Dune Serpents Compliance led by Jon Lawrenz, where the world was beset by a cult that exhibited strange psychic powers. The world was subject to Exterminatus.
 * 880.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Rang Talyc -
 * 887.M30 Second Rangdan Xenocide - Omninous astropathic messages emerge from the Finial Sector, and the Primarchs Araphel and Rang Talyc wrap up a compliance early and move to follow up on the messages. As they arrive, they are ambushed by a large Rangdan fleet, and the Primarchs withdraw after taking heavy losses. The War Council acts as swiftly as possible, ordering the Iron Revenants and Shadow Warriors to move in force to block the Rangdan as reinforcements gathered. After a gruelling campaign, the Iron Revenants and Shadow Warriors met the Rangdan in a climatic battle, where Theoderaf and the Red Eyes arrived to aid them. The Emperor of Mankind took command of the campaign, and three Imperial fleets moved to push the Rangdans back.
 * 888.M30 Seryn Reach Campaign - A minor campaign within the Great Crusade, where a small force of the XIII Legion suffer defeat in the Eastern Fringes against the Khrave.
 * 889.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Aato Vayrynen - Found by a chance Imperial Rogue Trader vessel, the Primarch of the Sky Reavers is discovered on the world of Maaparatiisi and the as-yet unknown system is named in his honour.
 * 890.M30 The Subjugation of 132-22 - A Compliance by the Monastic Ascendants Legion.
 * 891.M30 Discovery of Grail - The Expeditionary Fleet of Rogue Trader Corthona Van der Veld discovered an errant Dead World and named it Grail. This world's namesake is later given to the region known as the Grail Abyss, a place of hidden wealth and terrible danger which has long drawn Explorators and would-be Imperial treasure-hunters to their graves.
 * 895.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Ezharion Kula -
 * 896.M30 Discovery of Lascal - The Expedition Fleet led by Gustave arrive in the Lascal System, and find the world of Lascal on the edge of the Grail Abyss under assault from an Ork Waaagh! The Alabaster Order and Warriors of Peace move to aid the human population, organising evacuations of unsaveable areas and protection of the remaining cities. The Orks are completely purged after a hard-fought campaign.
 * 897.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Kubwa-Chui-Khalfani -
 * 899.M30 Third Rangdan Xenocide - When the world of Lutatune stumbled upon a hidden cell of Rangdan within its underhive, the Rangdan exploded across the sector. Elements of the Dune Serpents operating within Segmentum Obscurus moved to intercept them, but lack the numbers to truly oppose them and engage in a hit-and-run campaign. The Midnight Host and Marauders, led by Kejene Teward Reiner, move to aid them, arriving just in time to save the world of Aten III after the Dune Serpents sacrificed several of their ships to slow the Rangdan. A fierce battle for the Aten system erupts, with constant skirmishes leading up to a concerted Rangdan push with new, unseen before technology, which was barely thwarted by Kejene. Elsewhere, the Emperor ordered the most brutal of his Legions to once and for all defeat the Rangdan and root them out. The Iron Revenants, Riven and remainder of the Dune Serpents gathered and fought the many fleets of the Rangdan on several fronts. The Xenocide was concluded with many purges and bio-pogroms, conducted by the Iron Revenants and the Riven, tainting their reputation for the rest of the Great Crusade.
 * 899.M30 Compliance of Melchior - The Imperial Compliance of Melchior was a joint campaign that was carried out by the Monastic Ascendants and Sky Reavers Legions. The world was the last bastion of the xenos known as the "Nephilim" -- a parasitic alien race that slowly fed on humans and had claimed a hundred worlds before they had come to rest upon Melchior. Even their name, the Nephilim, the name of the fallen seraphs, was a name taken from ancient human mythology. Caught between the brutal fury of two Space Marine Legions on Melchior's shining sands, the Nephilim were finally put to the sword.

900s.M30

 * 903.M30 Turning of the Golden Apostles - [REDACTED]
 * 914.M30 [REDACTED]
 * 921.M30 Keylek Genocide - The Godslayers and The Riven encountered the hostile alien reptilian race known as the Keylekid on the world of Keylek. The grotesque Keylekid were greatly skilled in the arts of combat, and rose against the Legions angrily the moment the Expeditionary Fleets made contact. This genocidal campaign proved to be a long, bloody, and miserable affair for the Godslayers.
 * 924.M30 Barghesi Submission War - A joint campaign by the Monastic Ascendants, Crimson Lions and Godslayers Legion.
 * 927.M30 Cryptosi Purgation - The Red Eyes Legion arrive in the Kanzuz system, finding a succession of dead worlds with just one remaining with a human civilisation on it. After arriving on Kanzuz IX and meeting with the rulers, the presence of xenos becomes clear and the world is purged of all xenos and infected humans, with the small remainder being resettled on a different world.
 * 935.M30 Purging of Cortonis - The 11th Expeditionary Fleet of the Red Eyes discovered the developing hive world of Cortonis deep within Segmentum Ultima, and met with them to bring them into the Imperium. However, the society was a mix of xenos and humans, and Theoderaf immediately began preparations to purge the xenos. Calling in aid from The Riven and their Primarch Morrigar, the xenos were completely exterminated and the surviving humans deemed not corrupted were brought into the Imperium.
 * 943.M30 Discovery of the Primarch Absalom Vaughn -
 * 945.M30 Cleansing of 28-3 (Laeran) - As the first test of his newly founded Legion, Absalom Vaughn and the Black Stars' Expeditionary Fleet encountered the serpentine xenos race known as the Laer, they saw the potential for a powerful foe. Seizing the initiative, the Expeditionary Fleet attacked their homeworld of Laeran, for Absalom saw them as a worthy challenge to prove his skill in battle. He ordered his Commanders to attack immediately, beginning a war that the Council of Terra predicted would last for solar decades. The Laer never surrendered -- their last warriors died fighting in the ruins of their capital city to protect their central temple dedicated to the worship of the Chaos God Slaanesh, where the Primarch discovered the mysterious Silver Blade of the Laer. Reducing it to slag with melta rounds, the entire temple was destroyed and the world cleaned of the xenos.
 * 967.M30 Arriaknos Compliance - A joint compliance by the Red Eyes and Dune Serpents, which though a victory for the Imperium was viewed as a shameful display by the Red Eyes themselves.
 * 967.M30 Auretian Technocracy War - The Obsidan Guard and Crimson Lions discover the Auretian Technocracy, a human civilisation in possession of several STCs. After negotiations failed, the two Legions fought a grueling war that pushed the Technocracy all the way back to their homeworld of Aureus, and broke their greatest defences. The STCs were delivered to the Emperor by Lukas as a confirmation of victory.
 * 974.M30 Discovery of the Primarch The Jade General - The last Primarch to be found, the Jade General was located far on the edges of Segmentum Obscurus on the world of Han, where the Emperor and Gustave Dunant arrived to find him. The General engaged the Emperor in a philosophical discussion before agreeing to join the Imperium and his Legion.
 * 978.M30 Beprotx Campaign - The Beprotx Campaign was the first and only joint compliance between Theoderaf and the Jade General. Occurring a few years after the General's discovery, it was an early sign of his leadership of the Warriors of Peace.
 * 987.M30 Compliance of Indra-sul - On the world of Indra-sul, the Midnight Host infiltrate the home of the monstrous xenos Khrave and wage a bitter campaign to defeat the gluttonous, warped creatures within, in their efforts to liberate the human population the Khrave dominate. The Khrave and their edifice are cast down, freeing Indra-sul.
 * 992.M30 1st and 2nd Kobolt Wars -
 * 999.M30 Koloss Syntheticide - The Koloss Syntheticide was a massive campaign fought by the Imperium of Man against the rapacious machine forces of the Abominable Intelligence known as Koloss. This malign consciousness ruled over a swathe of systems known as the Obzen Apparatus, slowly conquering worlds and cleansing them of all organic life until the Imperium reached its borders. This was the last campaign of the Great Crusade in which the Emperor led His armies into battle.
 * 000.M30 The Vanishing - On the way to Ullanor to begin the Ullanor Crusade, the 1st Expeditionary Fleet is lost within the Warp. The Emperor, Constantin Valdor and many Custodes disappear.