Translations:Solomani/24/en

The Solomani contacted the Vilani (and not the reverse) less than 100 years after developing space flight, and less than a decade after their discovery of jump drive. War broke out almost immediately, and only the decadence and inefficient management of the Vilani Empire allowed the Terrans to hold out long enough to build up a sizeable space fleet and begin a wide scale counter-offensive. The final result was the triumph of the men of Earth over the old Vilani Empire and the establishment of the Rule of Man (aka Second Imperium). The drift toward disintegration was, however, already strongly rooted in the fabric of the old empire and its new governors were unable to overcome its inertia. The disorganization of the last period gave rise to the disparaging term Ramshackle Empire. Within four hundred years, the Rule of Man collapsed and a seventeen hundred year interregnum ensued. From that long night came the establishment of the Third Empire, today's Imperium.