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File:CardassiaPrime2375.jpg

Cardassia Prime in 2375.

Early History

The First Hebitians were an ancient civilization who thrived on Cardassia Prime. The burial vaults of the Hebitians were uncovered on Cardassia in the late 2160s. They were said to be magnificent and were reputed to have been filled with may jeweled artifacts, symbols of ancient Cardassian glory; however, the burial sites were ransacked when Cardassian culture fell into decline and became militant as the planet's natural resources ran out. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part II")

First contact between the Cardassians and Bajorans occurred as early as the 16th century. Using their lightships, Bajoran explorers traversed the space around Bajor and stumbled upon tachyon eddies, which took them all the way to Cardassia Prime. Centuries later, any proof of such contact was lost and the Cardassian government would officially deny the story's plausibility.

Benjamin Sisko and his son Jake proved the Cardassians wrong in late 2371 when Sisko constructed a lightship and stumbled upon the same eddies the ancient Bajorans had. Coincidentally, around this time evidence had been discovered on Cardassia corroborating the Bajorans' story. The military welcomed the Siskos to Cardassian space with open arms, describing the journey as "a testament to the spirit of the ancient Bajorans who first ventured out into space". (DS9: "Explorers")

As Cardassian civilization developed over the centuries, the supply of natural resources began to wane with the heavy demands the society put on them. Around this time, the culture turned militant and war-like, eventually conquering numerous worlds in the name of survival and national pride. (DS9: "Duet", "Second Skin")

Cardassian Union

The Detapa Council, Cardassian Central Command and Obsidian Order were jointly established in the 19th century, together forming what would be known as the Cardassian Union. (DS9: "Defiant")

First Republic

The First Republic was established in the late-21st century, and featured an era of fine art and beautiful architecture. (DS9: "Destiny") By the mid-22nd century, Cardassians began to explore space. (ENT: "Observer Effect")

Modern Empire

After decades of expansion, Cardassia soon lacked an abundance of natural resources required to sustain its Empire, which led to a period of social unrest, as famine and disease struck the population. Millions of Cardassians were starving and chaos ruled. By the early 24th century, the military had overthrown the civilian government and sought to solve the problems that affected Cardassia. Hence they expanded by conquering or ascending on neighboring worlds and taking their resources. The most well known occupation the Cardassians led was on Bajor in 2328. (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part II", "Ensign Ro", et al.)

See: Occupation of Bajor

Conflicts

Federation-Cardassian War

Eventually their expansion brought them into conflict with the Federation, resulting in the Cardassian Wars, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty and the creation of a Demilitarized Zone in 2368. This was an uneasy peace and there were many confrontation between the two powers. The make up of the Demilitarized Zone also contributed to the tensions. Planets inhabited by Cardassians were controlled by the Federation, and planets inhabited by humans were on the Cardassion side. This gave birth to the Maquis. (TNG: "The Wounded", "Chain of Command, Part I, Chain of Command, Part II)"

Maquis

The Maquis was a dissident movement of the inhabitants of the planets populated by humanoids who were Federation citizens but had their planets put under Cardassian control when the Demilitarized Zone was created at the end of the Federation-Cardassian war. They refused to leave their homes and decided to live under Cardassian control. After many incidents and much intimidation by the Cardassians, they formed the rebel group called the Maquis. They acccused the Cardassian Government of supplying weapons to Cardassians living in the DMZ so they could take over the Maquis planets. (TNG: The Wounded)

They carried out numerous acts of sabotage and outright miltary operations against the Cardassians. The Cardassians were unable to subdue them until joining the Dominion. The Jem Hadar wiped out most of the Maquis. (TNG: Preemptive Strike, DS9: Blaze of Glory)

Klingons

The expansion of the Cardassian empire also brought them into conflicts with the Klingon Empire, including the Betreka Nebula Incident. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")

The rise of the Cardassian dissident movement, following the fall of the Obsidian Order in 2371, led to a coup that overthrew Central Command and restored powers to the Detapa Council in 2372. The civilian uprising was, at the time, believed by the Klingon Empire to be the result of Changeling influence. The Klingons launched an attack against the Union that led to the Klingon-Cardassian War. The Cardassian government was immediately thrown into chaos by the Klingon invasion, causing the Detapa Council to evacuate Cardassia, to seek asylum aboard Deep Space 9. In an ironic twist of fate, the Federation defended the Cardassians. In an even more ironic twist, Major Kira instructed Gul Dukat on resistance tactics that she used against him during the occupation of Bajor.(DS9: "The Die is Cast", "The Way of the Warrior", DS9: Return to Grace)

The Dominion

In 2373, the Detapa Council was made powerless following a series of secret negotiations between Dukat with the Dominion. These negotiations would eventually lead to Cardassia's 'voluntary' annexation by the Dominion. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

See: Dominion War.

Cardassia would join the Dominion in the war against the Federation, which was a disaster for them. Cardassia was briefly under the control of Dukat, following his alliance with the Dominion. In 2374 Dukat suffered a mental breakdown aboard Deep Space 9 following the death of his daughter and was captured by the Federation soon after. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

The Dominion placed Damar as their figurehead in charge of the Cardassian Union. Over time, Damar began to realise that he was merely a puppet of the Dominion regime under the real rulership of the Female Changeling.

In 2375, Damar initiated a rebellion against the Dominion occupation of the Union, called the Cardassian Liberation Front. The unrest on Cardassia continued growing and the planet was attacked by the forces of the Federation and its allies. During the battle, the Cardassian fleet turned on the Dominion, and joined the Federation forces. The Female Changeling ordered the genocide of Cardassian citizens. Over 800 million Cardassians were exterminated before the Dominion finally surrendered, with much of the planet left in ruins. (DS9: "What You Leave Behind")

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