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I know that in Dune his throne is referred to as the Golden Lion Throne, and is the symbol of his house, Corrino, but I have never found any indication of where he rules from. Does the Emperor rule from Old Earth or something?

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    About Old Earth: it is no longer inhabited.
    – Dennis_E
    May 18, 2015 at 13:38
  • Yeah... I forgot about that
    – Duner
    May 18, 2015 at 14:24

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It depends on which Emperor you are asking about; Shadam Corrino IV (Emperor during Dune, who I'm guessing you are asking about) ruled from Kaitain. He was later exiled to Salusa Secundus. (Ironic, since it was the homeworld of House Corrino.)

As far as I can see, the first reference to it is in the appendix to Dune, where it's mentioned as part of the entry on Salusa Secundus:

SALUSA SECUNDUS: third planet of Gamma Waiping; designated Imperial Prison Planet after removal of the Royal Court to Kaitain. Salusa Secundus is homeworld of House Corrino, and the second stopping point in migrations of the Wandering Zensunni. Fremen tradition says they were slaves on S.S. for nine generations.

[Emphasis added]

Paul and Leto II ruled from Arrakis.

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  • Thanks! I have been wondering about this for a while
    – Duner
    May 18, 2015 at 14:23
  • No problem; there's a lot more data on it in the Movies/TvSeries/etc, games and the Brian Herbert books, but it's surprising how little data there is on it in the original six books. (As I recall, I got ONE hit for Kaitain in the entire initial trilogy, and that's the appendix entry you see above.)
    – K-H-W
    May 18, 2015 at 19:20
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TL;DR : House Corrino ruled the galaxy from Kaitain for the better part of 10,000 years. Paul Atreides & his heirs then ruled from Arrakis after capturing the throne.

Generally when someone thinks of The Emperor in Dune, they are referring to House Corrino, which ruled the galaxy from (approximately) 88 AG until the events of Dune in 10193 AG. Although this rule was originally located on the Corrino homeworld of Salusa Secundus, it was moved early on to the Earth-like planet of Kaitain. There it remained until the Golden Lion Throne was usurped by Duke Paul Atreides, who relocated the royal court to the planet of Arrakis.

1984 Film depiction of planets

Not much is known about the planet itself as it is barely described in any of the books. What we do know is that - despite having rings - it had a climate similar to that of Old Earth, and that for centuries it was looked upon as the shining beacon of what civilization should be. Video game & fan-art depictions of the planet have tended towards balmy weather overlooking a mountainous paradise, with the capital of Corrinth City often scattered with golden buildings.

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    "usurped"? You sound suspiciously like a Corrino sympathizer!
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    May 18, 2015 at 15:14
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    he married Irulan, so it was all quite legal, okthx? :)
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    May 18, 2015 at 15:40
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    @DVK : lol yes, but first he took it by force... then married Irulan after the fact to make it legal. One cannot go against the word of Fact.
    – Omegacron
    May 18, 2015 at 15:45
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    He just ended ten thousand years of illegal Corrino rule. As one could put it if we believed the legends spread by Brian Herbert how Faykan Corrino came into power.
    – Ghanima
    May 18, 2015 at 21:55
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    @Ghanima: Who? There are only 6 Dune books.
    – Magus
    May 18, 2015 at 23:15

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