Covenant Empire



"The Covenant Empire seems to have a war against humans before they're finally defeated with an internal conflict that broke their empire into two. Now that they're reunited, it seems that the Covenant Empire is back, and it's much worse than ever before. I don't know why it did happen..."

--Su Ji-Hoon, The Covenant

The Covenant Empire, also referred to as The Covenant, was a theocratic hegemony made up of multiple alien species that maintained control over a large portion of the Orion Arm in the Milky Way galaxy. The Covenant was a political, military, and religious affiliation, originally a mutual alliance between the San'Shyuum and Sangheili following a brutal conflict between the two warring races. Its expansion to include at least six other races united in the worship of the Forerunners and the Halo Array soon began after the original formation.

The Covenant waged a genocidal campaign against humanity until they were formally defeated due to many factors - the most crucial of which was an internal conflict that broke the Covenant in two, forcing out the entire Sangheili species and splintering them into separatist groups.

Whilst the Covenant ended either during the Flood infestation of High Charity or during the Battle of Installation 00, splinter groups of the former Covenant continue its efforts even after the conclusion of the war. Some of the separatist Sangheili sought to recreate the Covenant entirely under Sangheili rule, free of the Hierarch's influence. A splinter faction of Sangheili known as Jul 'Mdama's Covenant was created by Jul 'Mdama; this terrorist group is deemed hostile to humanity, breaking the truce formed with the Sangheili Fleet of Retribution at the end of the war.

Other hostile factions that utilize assets from the former Covenant include Vata 'Gajat's faction, Merg Vol's faction, and The Banished, which existed prior to the Great Schism.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, the Covenant Empire joins the Coalition of the Red Star during World War III, but towards the end of the Last Day, what's left of the Covenant joined the Global Liberation Union in order to survive.