Cartagia
Cartagia is a male extraterrestrial television character who features in Babylon 5.
Contents |
Biography
Cartagia was a male Centauri who lived during the Third Age where he was a royal within the Centauri Republic.
Following the death of Emperor Turhan and the murder of Prime Minister Malachi, Lord Refa and Londo Mollari placed young Cartagia on the throne. Refa encouraged him to make war on all around their borders before his death.
Cartagia later decided to make Londo Mollari Minister of Security, after a request from Mr. Morden. Londo returned to Centauri Prime to discover that Cartagia was insane. Those who spoke ill of him disappeared and had their heads placed upon a table, which he dubbed his Shadow Cabinet. He would speak to the heads late at night. Cartagia later made a deal to allow the Shadows to use the island of Selene as a base on their world.
Cartagia later confined in Londo that he wanted to be a god, to be worshiped, and Londo decided that he must kill him. Along with Vir Cotto, Londo conspired to assassinate the mad emperor. Cartagia had G'Kar captured, and tortured him for a very long time, but grew angry when G'Kar wouldn't scream. Cartagia said that if G'Kar didn't scream, he would be killed. Londo brought G'Kar into his plan, and agreed to free Narn if G'Kar helped him remove Cartagia from the throne.
When it was discovered the Vorlons were destroying all the worlds where the Shadows had influence, Londo tried to persuade Cartagia to order the Shadows to leave, but Cartagia refused, saying he wanted to turn Centauri Prime into a pyre to light his way to godhood. Londo later persuaded Cartagia to have G'Kar tried on Narn to make an example of him, to which Cartagia agreed. Before leaving, Cartagia was offended by the way G'Kar looked at him and ordered his eye to be plucked out. Upon arriving on Narn, Cartagia held the trial, but G'Kar managed to escape, and the other Narn began to riot. Londo pulled Cartagia aside and tried to stab him between the hearts with a poison-tipped needle, but failed. Cartagia was killed when Vir picked up the needle and stabbed him in the chest.
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." The Centarum selected Virini as their Regent, until such time as a new Emperor was selected.
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 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 kindness, something 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 apparently 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 and forced Galen to all but admit that was his true objective in this affair.
- One of the Babylon 5 novels identify Cartagia as Narleth Jarn.
Overview
Personality and attributes
At some point, he was noted to had fathered a son named Dius Vintari.
Powers and abilities
Notes
- Cartagia was portrayed by actor Wortham Krimmer where he featured in the setting of the Babylon 5 universe.
In other media
Novels
Appearances
- Babylon 5:
