Drazi Freehold

The Drazi Freehold is the governing authority for the Drazi race, based on their homeworld Zhabar and including a number of colony worlds.^[2]^[3]

Government[]

The central governing body of the Freehold is a council of five Drazi known as the Shadak. Each member representing one of the five branches of the Drazi race. Every five cycles the Shadak is dissolved and the entire Drazi race divides into two camps, Green and Purple, the two sides then spend an entire cycle fighting one another. The winning side, the one that proves itself the strongest, gets to select the new Shadak from within its ranks and the two sides become one again.

The sides are chosen randomly by all the Drazi in a given area blindly drawing either a green or a purple sash from a great barrel. Leadership of a given population is also random as in each barrel, two of the sashes (one of each colour) bear the mark of leadership, represented by a golden star. Whichever Drazi happens to draw the leader cloth becomes the leader of the given faction and all local Drazi of that colour will unquestionably follow that leader.

DraziPurpleGreen01 — The Two Drazi Factions: Purple and Green

Tradition holds that this practice goes back to a time when the five branches of Drazi were melded into a united race through a great war, though the true source lies in seeds long ago planted by the Shadows.^[4] The contest of strength is supposed to be non-lethal, and the attacks usually stop once the opponent is beaten into unconsciousness. However in 2259, the attacks turned lethal when the Greens on Zhabar started killing Purples. Once the news spread to the outer colonies and outpost, others followed suit. The situation even affected Babylon 5 and its population of almost four thousand Drazi. It was eventually defused when Earthforce Commander Susan Ivanova took the Green leader cloth, inadvertently becoming Green Leader and then ordered all the Green Drazi to the station quartermaster's office where they would all have their cloths dyed purple.^[5]

In addition to the Shadak is a vast bureaucracy of committees that handles the different aspects of Drazi society and are responsible for making recommendations to the Shadak. The slowness of this bureaucracy is legendary and it can take many years for anything to clear a Drazi committee. For example, the rules of combat for the selection of a new Shadak date back before contact with other races and so did not mention aliens. A change was proposed to exempt other species but it was caught up in a committee for over 683 cycles (820 Earth Years).^[5]^[6]

Technology[]

The Drazi are a very technologically advanced race, having developed interstellar flight around the Earth year 1400^[7] and their weapons and space technology are extremely effective.

The Drazi have also developed a very advanced solar technology which is used to power the vast majority of their energy requirements.

Military[]

Widely considered to be a war-like and belligerent race, the Drazi have maintained a strong warrior tradition since the very dawn of their civilization, Circa 800 B.C. (Earth calender).

Every male Drazi in the Freehold is required to spend at least three years in military service and as befits their aggressive nature, the Drazi military is well-equipped and superbly effective. The Drazi Sun-Hawks, their Class-A Battle cruisers are fast, maneuverable and possess a considerable amount of firepower for their size and their Sky Serpents, were among the best fighter craft in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. The Drazi have even sold some of their Sun Hawks to other races, such as the pak'ma'ra.^[8]

Colonies[]

The Drazi lost many of their colony worlds during the Centauri Wars of Aggression in 2260, though most were returned by the end of the Shadow War in 2261. Drazi Colonies include:

Fredamir Research Colony‎: The site of the most important factories and labs of the Drazi Military-Industrial complex.^[9] During the Second Shadow War, the Fredamir Research Colony was one of many colonies and outposts to take in refugees from the Vorlon advance, including survivors from Ventauri III.^[10]
Mokafa Station: A huge orbiting industrial factory in the asteroid belt of the Mokafa System.^[9] During the Second Shadow War, Mokafa Station was one of many colonies and outposts to take in refugees from the Vorlon advance, including survivors from Ventauri III.^[10]
Draxis Colony: Located on the border between the Freehold and the Centauri Republic, it was the site of an engagement during the Centauri War of 2262.^[11]
Cyrus III: Location of a battle involving the Earth Alliance prior to 2258. Colonel Ari Ben Zayn was amongst those that fought in the battle.^[1]^[12]
Shambah III: The primary food production centre for the Drazi Freehold and has been extensively terraformed for land and sea farming.^[9]
Zagros VII: Located in Sector 801, on the border between the Centauri Republic and the Freehold, close to the former Markab Confederacy.^[13]
Drathun II
Drathun IV
Heptharg III

Jurisdictions and Protectorates

Mipas
Enphili Homeworld (until 2262)

History[]

In the 2230s, the Drazi were one of the many member races of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to be attacked by the Dilgar.^[14] In late 2259, as the Centauri begin to expand after their victory over the Narn, Drazi territory is invaded by the Centauri taking over several key positions.^[15] The attacks continue into 2260 and the situation remains unresolved well into that year, with both races unable to negotiate new frontiers.^[16] Even when the Shadows begin attacking openly, the Drazi were still reluctant at first to contribute ships to the Army of Light with concerns about planetary security. But eventually they did agree and theirs and other League ships participated in the decisive Battle of Sector 83.^[17]

Believing the war to be over and Sheridan to be dead, the Drazi along with others in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds voted to withdraw their support for the Army of Light and refused to participate in any further attacks on the Shadows.^[18] When Delenn urged an attack on Z'ha'dum, the Drazi were part of a faction within the League that were going to stop it out of fear of reprisals. When Sheridan reappeared, all resistance ceased the alliance reformed and the attack was back on again. At the conclusion of the Battle of Coriana VI when the Vorlons and Shadows were exposed for who and what they were, a Drazi warship sacrificed itself to protect the alliance flagship when they both giants tried to silence them.^[19] Months later the Drazi and the rest of the League voted to assist Sheridan efforts to overthrow the Clark regime on Earth.

After the conclusion of the Earth Alliance Civil War, the Drazi along with others in the League of Non-Aligned Worlds opted to join the Interstellar Alliance. Early in 2262, the Drazi were very impatient at the progress of the new Alliance, demanding the immediate distribution of advanced technology. They, along with others, refused to sign the Declaration of Principles on the grounds that they didn’t need to sign because they had always respected their neighbors. But when it was discovered that they were supporting raiders in the exploit of a people on the fringe on their territory, they backed down promising never to bother them ever again.^[20] When the attacks on the shipping lanes began, the Drazi were one of the many races to endue devastating and costly losses. In the midst of all this, a group of renegade telepaths scanned the entire ambassadorial staff including that of the Drazi and threatens to reveal all their secrets; this only made things much worse. Now more impatient then ever, the Drazi almost went to war with the Brakiri had Sheridan and the White Star fleet prevented them from doing so. The Drazi backed down but were grievously outraged and insulted at the alliances’ threat to use force against them.^[21]^[22]

When it was proved that the Centauri were behind the attacks, the Drazi again forced the issue of retributions. A blockade was ordered which the Centauri refused to comply with. Later, when a Centauri transport squadron challenged it, a Drazi blockade squadron was fired on starting a war.^[23] Throughout the new conflict, the Drazi and the others were assisted by the White Star fleet but that was not enough for the Drazi. Their general insisted on more decisive and harsh action such as attacking the Centauri homeworld. Sheridan refused to sanction this on grounds of civilian deaths. Refusing to comply with the order not to do this, both the Drazi and the Narn agreed to a joint attack on the Centauri homeworld. A least thirty-percent of the Narn and Drazi fleet secretly broke away from their main force and proceeded to Centauri Prime. When they arrive they proceed with planetary bombardment.^[11]^[24]