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Draconis Combine, 'House Kurita
The Draconis Combine was founded in 2319 by Shiro Kurita, who used persuasive statesmanship, treachery, and bloody military conquest to forge it almost from nothing. Raised in a military and social tradition dating back more than six centuries, Shiro embraced and embodied the "way of the warrior." Through the forcefulness of his personality, he first managed to become leader of New Samarkand and then went on to form a group of petty kings and lords into the New Galendon Alliance. This Alliance, created to oppose the great Ozawa Mercantile alliance, was his starting point for the military conquest of dozens more planets. By 2319, Shiro Kurita, with his brother Urizen as Warlord, controlled a domain stretching from the border of the Federated Suns to the Principality of Rasalhague, a realm he renamed the Draconis Combine.
The most obvious legacy of Shiro Kurita is the Kurita family dynasty. The Draconis Combine could not have summoned such single-minded devotion from its people without the focus of the Kurita leadership. Only the existence of an all-powerful Coordinator has been able to mobilize such often-fanatic military determination from its troops.
More than in any Successor State, the history of the Draconis Combine has a continuous tone and theme to it. The names may change, the tactics and internal organization may change, but the Kurita dynasty continues to covet universal domination just as its founder did some 700 years ago.
Shiro Kurita's legacy continues to this day, in both the devotion to the way of the warrior and in the belief that House Kurita will one day reign over all inhabited space. The Draconis Combine's combination of an all-pervasive military tradition and a self-reliance easily mistaken for xenophobia contributes to the constant belligerence of past and present Kurita leaders. Only on rare occasions have they set aside their dominant tendencies toward violence, arrogance, and ruthlessness in favor of alliance or cooperation. However, the next generation usually made up for it by redoubling its martial nature. The two most outstanding examples of this were Hehiro and Minoru Kurita.
Hehiro engaged in a rare display of trust when he signed the Treaty of Vega in 2569, setting forth the terms of the Draconis Combine's membership in the nascent Star League. His son Leonard, who succeeded him in 2591, very nearly undid this act through flagrant violations of his father's treaty with Ian Cameron. After Kerensky's exodus from the Inner Sphere, Minoru Kurita proclaimed himself First Lord of the Star League and began to plan an execute a massive attack against the Federated Suns. The campaign was going well for the Kuritans until a sniper shot Minoru Kurita in the back on Kentares IV. Following Minoru's assassination, his psychotic son Jinjiro massacred 50 million civilians on that world. The Kentares Massacre was an act that not only destroyed the momentum gained in the war against Davion, but also contributed to the alienation between Houses Steiner and Kurita, which Jinjiro allowed to flourish.
Until Rasalhague became independent in 3034, the Draconis Cambine had expanded to the border of the Lyran Commonwealth, absorbing lesser states along the way. For 20 years the Free Rasalhague Republic served as a buffer between those two Great Houses, with only a small portion of Kurita space bordering the Lyran portion of the Federated Commonwealth. Now the Clan wedge serves to keep most of these two realms separate.
At present, the Combine consists of approximately 75 worlds. In 2617, the coreword world of Luthien replaced New Samarkand as the administrative capital, but Shiro Kurita's homeworld continues to play an active role. For example, House Kurita draws its palace guards and elite MechWarriors from the famous Sun Zhang Academy, the largest MechWarrior academy in the Inner Sphere. Furthermore, New Samarkand is the traditional base of operations for the Internal Security Force, the secret police of the Draconis Combine. The relationship between the Coordinator of the Combine and the Director of the ISF has varied, waxing and waning in cordiality through the years. Nevertheless, the ISF has remained utterly loyal to the Combine, if not to the House that rules it.
Though the Draconis Combine lost more than 50 worlds in the Fourth Succession War, this same conflict saw the brilliant rise of Theodore Kurita, heir to the Combine throne. His unconventional tactics were so successful that he earned the support and confidence of much of the Combine's military. Despite the power struggle this created between Theodore and Takashi, the Coordinator was almost forced to name his son Deputy of Military Affairs in 3030. Theodore took this opportunity to reshape the Combine's military to his own views. It was Theodore who masterminded the strategy that successfully resisted the Federated Commonwealth's massive invasion of the Combine in the War of 3039.
Theodore also saw the wisdom of recognizing the Free Rasalhague Republic when its former Rasalhague Military District declared its independence from the Combine. The Free Rasalhague Republic created a buffer state between the Combine and the Lyran Commonwealth, freeing up Combine troops for assignment on other borders.
Though Takashi and his son were often in disagreement during these crucial years, Theodore's successes and support among the military were undeniable. Some old-liners still oppose Theodore's methods and innovations, but the Coordinator seems to have made his peace with his son ever since Theodore's relative successes against the Clans in the recent invasion.