A humanoid civilization from Cardassia Prime. Originally a peaceful and spiritual people, they became a military state when resources on the homeworld ran low. The Cardassians were able to acquire new worlds and technologies by force. Eventually, their strength would lead them to become a force to reckon with in interstellar politics, especially with the Confederation, however a recent Civil War has seen their borders closed to everyone.


In Cardassian culture, the family is considered very important. Some households have members of many generations. Orphans are neglected and shunned. Intellectual training begins at a young age, sometimes as early as four years. Cardassian men and women display open irritability towards each other as a manner of courtship. The elderly are revered and dignified. Funeral rites are very strict; the deceased would be dishonored if a non-Cardassian were to see the corpse. The norms of Cardassian society are upheld in their criminal justice system. A criminal is found guilty before being brought to trial, so as to assure the public of the futility breaking the law. However, defendants cannot bring forward evidence until the trial (at which time it's too late, their fate has been decided).

The Cardassian Union was governed by the Depata Council, which in tradition controls the military Cardassian Central Command and the Obsidian Order, the intelligence agency. In actuality though, both Central Command and the Obsidian Order worked autonomously from one another and the Depata Council. The military for the most part had control over Cardassian space. In 2328, the Cardassians annexed planet Bajor. They established a space station, Terok Nor, in its orbit and stripped its resources. Many Bajorans were resettled, and they were not allowed to preach their religion.

The Cardassians had been hostile toward the Federation since at least the 2350s. The dispute went on until 2366, when a truce was reached. This lasted but for one year, when Capt. Benjamin Maxwell took his Starship Phoenix into Cardassian space, violating the treaty. His trip, however, revealed heavy Cardassian military activity. A new treaty was instored in 2367 between the Federation and the Cardassian Union, which provided for, among other things, a neutral party overseeing incarcerations of either country's captives.

The Cardassians later retreated from Bajor in 2369, after years of terrorism from Bajoran nationals. They also abandoned Terok Nor, which the Federation Starfleet later administered upon request of the Bajoran provisional government. The Cardassians soon regretted this move, as it was soon revealed that a wormhole between alpha and gamma quadrants existed near-by. Terok Nor, which Starfleet had renamed "Deep Space 9", proved to be a strategic location for scientific expiditions to the gamma quadrant, and later for defense from the Dominion.

In 2372, the Cardassian public overthrew the Cardassian Central Command, placing the Detapa Council in control. The Klingon believed the coup to be staged by the Dominion, and that the Council was replaced by Founders. They attacked Cardassia Prime, and nearly eliminated the Detapa Council. Gul Dukat, with assistance from Starfleet, managed to rescure the Council members and prove that they were indeed not shape-shifters.

The Cardassian industrial base was devastated by the Klingon invasion. The Federation Council offered assistance, including twelve industrial replicators. (The replicators were stolen in transit by the Maquis.) The Cardassian people were ashamed of receiving this offering from the Federation. Wanting to return to their past glory, the Cardassians allied themselves with the Dominion in 2373. The alliance was negociated by Dukat, who then became head of the Cardassian Union.

In the years that followed, relations were tested between the Cardassians and the Confederation with several border skirmishes. Later in 2398, the Cardassian Union fell into a state of Civil War, following the collapse of the Dominion. Two primary factions have since sprung up with a third smaller faction started to become established - the Freedom Fighters and the Goverment Forces.

In a very quick gathering of forces, the Freedom Fighters sent 76 of their ships into the Cardassia system, along with a large number of troop transports following in late 2398. It didn't take long for the Government forces to see that even though they had fortified the Cardassia planets, that they were still going to lose in the end. With that, Benil, the leader of the Government forces, took the remaining 21 Government ships and left the Cardassia system. Pursuit was given, but soon abandoned as the 15 ships that survived (many of them severely damaged) entered the Badlands.

Seeing that their leader and ships had abandoned them, all the Government troops on the Cardassia system planets soon surrendered, and disarmed the orbital defenses. Any that refused to join the new Government were executed. Upon entering the other systems that were still under Government control, it was found that they had been completely abandoned of all forces. The Independants now had complete control over all of Cardassian space. The war was now over.