Emperor Cartagia

Babylon5 character


name=Cartagia
race=Centauri
affiliation=Emperor of the Centauri Republic
planet=Centauri Prime
start=The Hour of the Wolf
finish=The Long Night
portrayer=Wortham Krimmer

Emperor Cartagia is a fictional character from the universe of the science fiction television series "Babylon 5", played by Wortham Krimmer. He is mentioned by name early in the series but his first on-screen appearance was in the pilot episode of the fourth season, "The Hour of the Wolf".

Character description

Overview

When installed as emperor in 2259 by a group of Centauri politicians led by Lord Refa and Londo Mollari, he acted as, essentially, a powerless figurehead; however, he gradually amassed near absolute power. The scale of his self-aggrandizement and madness were exposed in early 2261, near the end of the Shadow War, when he willingly brought Centauri Prime to the brink of annihilation by the Vorlons in an effort to secure his place among the gods.

His character appears to have been influenced by the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero, with his name possibly being derived from the city of Carthage.

Background

Cartagia was the nephew of Emperor Turhan; when Turhan died while on a visit to Babylon 5, he left no direct heirs (as his son had also died recently in an accident). It was expected that his Prime Minister, Malachi, would be the next Emperor, but he was assassinated by forces loyal to Lord Refa. Several Centauri houses then vied for the throne, but were unable to secure a binding claim, enabling Cartagia, with the backing of Refa's agents, to make to claim on the throne. Serving largely as a figurehead for Refa and his agents, Cartagia was in favor of the military expansion of the Centauri, including the conquest of the Narn, and this quickly translated into the Narn-Centauri conflict of 2259.

Cartagia's Reign and the Shadow War

After defeating the Narn in a series of quick strikes aided by the Shadows and illegal mass drivers, Cartagia's government undertook military campaigns against other races bordering Centauri space.

In early 2261, Cartagia had Babylon 5 Ambassador Mollari recalled to Centauri Prime, and appointed him as Minister of Internal Security. At first, Cartagia merely seemed flamboyant and self-indulgent, with his shocking lower-class hairstyle and numerous hangers-on. It did not take long for Mollari to realize that Cartagia was insane, especially after he learned from Morden that Cartagia had allowed the Shadows, reeling from the events on Z'ha'dum, to establish a base on the Centauri homeworld. Mollari expressed his concerns to a member of the royal court, who explained that though the Centarum had tried to oppose Cartagia, all of his opposition had since disappeared, with the rumor being that Cartagia had hidden their heads in a secret room, where he spoke with them on a regular basis. Mollari later discovered this rumor to be true. It was also around this time that Londo learned that the Vorlons were destroying any planet with even the slightest taint of Shadow influence. When Londo informed Cartagia of this, he explained that the Shadows had agreed to reward his assistance by turning him into a deity. Cartagia then explained that the Vorlons would help his plans for deification by turning Centauri Prime into a massive inauguration pyre.

During these events, G'Kar was captured and brought to Centauri Prime. Cartagia proceeded to have G'Kar tortured and punished. However, Londo and G'Kar had come to an agreement: in return for G'Kar's assistance in his plot to assassinate Cartagia, Londo would end the Centauri occupation of the Narn. As part of this ruse, Mollari convinced Cartagia to take G'Kar to Narn and execute him there, thus allowing Mollari to draw the Emperor away from the royal court, leaving him more vulnerable.

Overthrow and assassination

When they arrived on Narn, Cartagia planned to have G'Kar killed in front of local Narns to break their spirits. However, Mollari had arranged for the chains on G'Kar's restraints to be weakened to distract Cartagia long enough for Londo to act. They would then secretly inject a poison into the Emperor which would cause his cardiovascular system to shut down nearly instantly.

The plan came close to failure when Cartagia had G'kar's chains replaced after noting that they looked "a little weak." Despite this, G'Kar managed to break free and began fighting with the guards, and in the following commotion Mollari escorted Cartagia away from the fight and prepared to inject the poison into him. Cartagia went into a fit of rage about how this was not part of his destiny and, reacting to being told to quiet down by Mollari, turned and punched him, knocking the device away. Cartagia grabbed Mollari in a stranglehold, ranting about how Mollari deserved to burn with the rest of the Centauri for failing to see his greatness. As Cartagia turned to walk away, he was injected with the poison by Vir, who had picked up the device while Londo and Cartagia struggled.

Shortly after this, the Imperial guards found Cartagia, supported by Mollari and Vir. Mollari explained that the Emperor had collapsed, and that he believed the Emperor's hearts had failed. Mollari kept his promise to G'Kar by explaining to the court that the Centauri's dealings with the Narn have now resulted in the deaths of two Emperors, and that Cartagia would interpret this as a sign from the gods to leave.

Aftermath

In the following days, as the Army of Light planned for its final assault upon the Vorlons and the Shadows, Mollari systematically removed the Shadow influence from Centauri Prime. He dealt first with the Shadow vessels on Centauri Prime by destroying the island they were on and then had Mr. Morden beheaded.

Following the death of Emperor Cartagia, the Centauri government decided not to name a new Emperor right away, hoping to prevent the possibility of another Cartagia assuming the throne. Indeed, a long-serving minister, Virini, remarked the royal bloodline was not what it once was due to inbreeding, commenting that, "...when you reduce a family tree to a family bush, you can't hide as much underneath". As an interim solution, then, the Centarum selected this very minister to serve as their Regent, until such time as a new Emperor was selected.

The Lost Tales

In 2271, John Sheridan met Cartagia's son Dius Vintari, third in line for the throne behind Vir. The technomage Galen had warned Sheridan that in thirty years, Dius would follow in his father's footsteps, destroying Earth and beginning a new reign of terror. Sheridan was told to kill him as the only sure way to prevent this future, but agonized over taking the life of someone who was still young and had not yet done anything to deserve it. Eventually he realized that there was another way to prevent the future and decided to introduce Dius to the concept of simple kindness, something completely lacking in the Centauri royal court. He allowed him to pilot a Starfury as he had always dreamed, then invited him to stay in the Alliance headquarters on Minbar, safe from any assassins sent by the people in line for the throne after him. Galen disapproved, saying that killing Dius was the only sure way to prevent Earth's destruction, but Sheridan was confident that he could help Dius become a better man than his father.