Centauri Republic

The Centauri Republic is a powerful nation state in the Babylon 5 universe.

Organization

The Centauri Republic is governed from a capital city on Centauri Prime. The government appears to be a constitutional monarchy, with a senate-like governing body called the “Centaurum” and a semi-hereditary Emperor. The highest officer of the Centaurum is the Prime Minister.

One function of the Centaurum is to elect/appoint the Republic’s Emperor, who seems to have considerable political authority in the Republic, serving as head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The exact restrictions on the Emperor’s powers aren’t clear; the Emperor seems to wield most of the political power in the Centauri Republic, but the Centaurum can overrule the Emperor’s decisions in unspecified circumstances. While the Centaurum often appoints a related "heir" from the past Emperor's family, there is no indication that this is a requirement (although this is difficult to say for sure, the last three Emperors – Turhan, Cartagia, and Mollari – left no heirs of the body).

Four individuals have held the office of Emperor over the course of the Babylon 5 series. Emperor Turhan held the position until 2259, when he suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting Babylon 5. He was succeeded by his nephew Cartagia, who ruled until Londo Mollari and Vir Cotto assassinated him in 2261. A Regent held the throne for a period of months before Londo Mollari became Emperor in 2262. Vir Cotto succeeded Mollari as Emperor sometime before 2281, but the exact time of the change is unclear.

Three individuals have held the office of Prime Minister in the series. Prime Minister Malachi held the position while Turhan was Emperor; he was assassinated by agents of Lord Refa when Turhan died, and Refa became Prime Minister. Londo Mollari became Prime Minister after the death of Emperor Cartagia and held it until he became Emperor himself.

Territory

The Centauri Republic was known to be in control of 12 worlds in 2258, but the extent of their territory fluctuated over the next four years as they fought wars against the Narn Regime, members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, and -- later -- members of the Interstellar Alliance. For example, the Narn Regime surrendered to them unconditionally in late 2259, giving them at least nominal control of all Narn territory, but they gave up at least some of that territory (Narn itself, if nothing else) in 2261. The extent of their territory in 2262 and later is unknown. Other orlds known to have been under Centauri control during the series include Ragesh III and Gorash VII.

External Links

• Centauri Republic at BabTech on the Net