The Adeptus Astartes. Space Marines. These mighty warriors conjure fear and loathing in the hearts of the enemies of the Imperium-and rightly so! Gentically-enhanced super humans, created with archaeo-tech no longer fully understood.
Before the Age of Apsostasy, the Space Marine Chapters were known as "Legions," and it is said that each contained tens of thousands of Marines...almost impossible to comprehend in this day and age.
Then the unthinkable happened. Fully half of the Legions turned from the Light of the Emperor-Praise be His name!-and fell to the ruinous powers of Chaos. Led by the Warmaster Horus-forever Cursed be his name!-the Chaos Legions embarked upon a campaign of destruction and warfare lasting until the present day.
After the defeat of the Warmaster upon his battle barge by our Blessed Emperor, over 10,000 years ago, the High Lords of Terra decreed that the remaining Loyalist Legions would have their manpower reduced to 1000 Marines, and would be renamed "Chapters." The remaining Marines of the Legions would be further divided into Chapters, each consisting of 1000 members.
Greetings. I am Eberhard Faber, scribe of the Adeptus Administratum. It is my duty to research, collect, and record the name of each of the One-Thousand Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. If, in your travels, you have encountered a Space Marine Chapter not listed here, please inform me and I will enter its name into this tome.
Note: A few of the links herein will take you directly to a page from Games Workshop's Armageddon 3 Website. I make no claim to the contents therein, and no challenge to those contents is implied. I consider this portion of my site as a work of reference, and do not understand it to infringe upon any rights.
