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Tau Empire

The exact date of the founding of the Tau Empire in the Imperial Calendar is unclear, however the way in which the Tau were united as a species is a well-known tale. What is known is that only 6,000 standard years ago, in the 35th Millennium, an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleet had discovered the Tau homeworld of T'au and determined that its population of sentient xenos were a primitive people at the Stone Age level of development who had only just mastered fire. They have developed very rapidly as a space-faring species.

Earlier in their history, the Tau were a culture built upon warring tribes. During this time, the Tau's legends tell of the first appearance of the Ethereals at the city of Fio'taun. The fortress city of Fio'taun was under assault by the Tau warriors from the plains. Though negotiation had been attempted, the fierce plains warriors would settle for nothing less than the annhilliation of the city of Fio'taun. For five long Tau years the inhabitants held off the savage assaults with their thick walls and plentiful cannon. However, disease and starvation began to take their toll. As the tide of the siege turned, two mysterious Tau appeared. One made his way into the camp of the plains Tau, exuding a quiet authority that no Tau was able to resist. Soon, the leader of the plains warriors was persuaded to parley with the settled Tau of Fio'taun. Similarly, the other mysterious Tau made his way deep into the fortress. Within a few short hours, the gates stood wide open, and the Tau of both sides stood ready to talk.

The Ethereals spoke of the importance of peace and understanding between all Tau. They described a Greater Good that each Tau must strive towards. The besiegers and the besieged quickly agreed with the Ethereals and a truce was reached. Across the world of T'au, Ethereals emerged, each with the same quiet authority and message of harmony and cooperation. With the Tau united, they were able to rapidly develop their civilization's technology, ultimately attaining faster-than-light spacefaring capabilities.

The Tau Empire soon expanded its borders through a series of so-called Sphere Expansions. The Tau Empire has gone through 3 phases of expansion as of the turn of the 42nd Millennium. These phases are marked by Tau military campaigns during which nearby worlds are colonised, conquered, or sometimes peacefully persuaded to accept the Greater Good through diplomacy and a manifest demonstration of the benefits provided by advanced Tau technology.

Therefore, apart from the star systems directly colonised by the Tau, which are called Septs, the Tau Empire also includes the worlds and star systems belonging to the species of the Kroot, Vespid, and the Nicassar. It is currently unknown if the Demiurg are full members of the Empire, allies, or mere trading partners. The Tau Empire is composed of over twenty fully-developed Septs and around one hundered settled worlds, but the exact number and most of their names are unknown to the Imperium.

A known splinter faction among the Tau are the Farsight Enclaves founded in the Damocles Gulf by the Tau Commander Farsight against the orders of the Ethereals. Also, more recently, some worlds and star systems of the Imperium of Man have been conquered by the forces of the Tau, while a handful have seceded from the Imperium and pledged their allegiance to the Tau Empire.

At some point, the Tau sent an expeditionary force to the Imperial planet Malbrede where they came into conflict with the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter in 936.M41. However, the planet proved to be a cursed Tomb World when the fighting of the Tau and the Ultramarines awakened the sleeping Necrons from their tomb beneath the surface. In an effort to combat this terrible threat to both races, the Tau and the Ultramarines combined their forces to defeat the Necrons. Once the conflict was over, the Tau were allowed to evacuate their forces by the Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar who proceeded to destroy Malbrede through the use of an Exterminatus order.

In 966.M41, the Tau fought against the Astartes of the Space Wolves Chapter during the War for Kvarium Alpha. On that Ocean World, the Space Wolves' Drop Pods landed deep in the oceans where their occupants, their Power Armour altered by Space Wolf Techmarines to operate in undersea environments, made a move to engage their enemy. On the surface, the battle was fought between the two sides with an equally deadly conflict erupting in the depths of the sea between the Space Wolves and Tau Battlesuits. Thunderhawk gunships armed with torpedoes, prop-bombs and missiles were used to great effect against the Tau's Hammerhead tanks and Manta gunships. Ultimately, the Space Wolves proved to be the victor in the conflict, though hundreds of Tau and Space Wolf corpses floated to the surface. With their mission complete, the Space Wolves made the long trek back to land across the sea bed.

The Taros Campaign was an Imperial military campaign fought by the 4621st Imperial Guard Army and elements of the Adeptus Astartes to reclaim the Imperial desert Mining World of Taros from the Tau Empire and its Kroot and human (Gue'vesa) allies of the Taros Planetary Defence Force in 998.M41. The campaign was ultimately unsuccessful for the Imperial forces due to the high amount of casualties taken and Taros remained in the possession of the Tau, who renamed it T'ros.