Civilizations in Babylon 5

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G'Kar (left) of the Narn Regime and Londo Mollari of the Centauri Republic

As the Babylon station was concieved as a political and cultural meeting place one of the show's many themes is the cultural and social interaction between civilizations. There are five dominant civilizations represented on Babylon 5, and several dozen less powerful ones, these five make up the advisory board of the league of non-aligned worlds while the remaining other races make up the body of the non-aligned world.

Earth Alliance

The Earth Alliance was founded at the end of the twenty-first century after the Third World War, first as a loose coalition of nations, then as a tight alliance of nearly every nation on Earth as well as Alliance controlled colonies throughout the Galaxy, though colonial populations have had a history of independence driven rebellion, especially Mars. The Alliance is a unicameral representative democracy under the leadership of an elected President with a strong military.

Since the end of the Earth-Minbari war, the Alliance had prospered in interstellar trade, though some influential factions had become increasingly xenophobic and isolationist. Following the assassination of President Luis Santiago and the rise to power of President Morgan Clark, the new President formed Nightwatch (a pervasive secret police) and disolved the Senate, turning Earth and her colonies into a totalitarian fascist state. Adding to the milieu is the Psi Corps, an increasingly powerful quasimilitary organization which regulates and controls human telepaths. These actions led to the Earth Civil War, itself an offshoot of the final Shadow War, with the forces originating from Babylon 5 seeking to free Earth and liberate the colonies.

Minbari Federation

Already advanced when humanity was young, the Minbari Federation is a caste society, its people divided into the worker, warrior, and religious castes. The Minbari are led by the Grey Council, which contains nine representatives, three from each of the three castes. This arrangement was founded by Valen, the legendary prophet from ancient Minbari history, who helped drive the Shadows back one thousand years ago. Minbari are humanoid, usually thin and pale, though considerably stronger than humans of the same size; they are bald, with gray bony crests across the back of their heads. The first encounter between Minbari and Humans was a disaster - a misunderstanding led to Earth ships firing on Minbari ships, killing their leader Dukhat. The result, the Earth-Minbari War, was a bloody one-sided war that nearly led to the annihilation of the human race. The Babylon Project was created in the aftermath of that war to stop such misunderstandings from happening again.

Centauri Republic

The Centauri Republic was once a mighty empire which has grown decadent and is in a slow decline. The Centauri, a humanoid race similar in appearance to humans, are a proud and aristocratic people governed by an emperor and a nobility driven senate called the Centarum. Centauri males wear their hair in fanlike crests, the height of which is determined by the male's rank in society; females are traditionally bald.

After humans began colonizing space, the Centauri were the first alien race they encountered, though humanity had been observed and visited by some races for millenia. The Centauri sensed opportunity to be exploited, and initially tried to convince the humans that they were a long lost colony of the Centauri. This ruse failed, but Centauri-Human trade and contact led to tremendous technological advancement and humanity's eventual rise as a major power.

Narn Regime

Another "young race" like humanity, the Narn Regime were previously occupied and enslaved by the Centauri, and bear them deep ill-will because of the brutal methods of control employed. Narns are widely perceived to be primitive and barbaric, a stereotype the Centauri engendered during their occupation. This perception continues due to Narn fears about Centauri aggression, and increasing calls for retribution against their former masters.

The Narn are led by the Kha'Ri council. Their religion venerates philosopher prophets, and most Narn draw strength from various different holy writings. Narns are tall and have a stocky build; they are bald, with a yellowish complexion, mottled with brown and/or green spots. Although they look lizard-like, they are in fact marsupial in nature.

Vorlon Empire

The Vorlons are an ancient and technologically advanced race, thought to be one of the last of the First Ones, though their true nature remains a mystery to most of the younger races. Little is known of Vorlon history, except that they have played significant roles in defeating the Shadows in the previous great wars over the past million years. For thousands of years Vorlons have been observing and manipulating younger races. Little is known about their appearence - when interacting with other races they wear complicated encounter suits which seem to preserve their natural atmosphere.

Shadows

"The Shadows" (a name given to them by the younger races, as their true name - at ten thousand letters - is unpronouncable) are the most ancient of the surviving First Ones, the second to gain sentience in the Galaxy. For more than a million years, the Shadows warred with the remaining First Ones, and suffered their greatest defeat ten thousand years ago. One thousand years ago the Shadows returned, and were barely defeated by the Vorlons and the younger races, led by the Minbari with the help of Valen. They dispersed throughout the galaxy, waiting for an opportunity to come back into power. The Shadows' overriding philosophy is chaos. They believe in the survival of the fittest, in that only through chaos and war do "stronger" civilizations reach their maximum potential; this belief stands in high contrast to the Vorlon's belief in slow but guided progress - though both races use external manipulation to achieve their goals. Their adopted homeworld is Z'ha'dum. Their physical appearence is vaguely insectoid, though this may be an encounter suit. Additionally, their advanced understanding of the nature of matter allow them to "phase," making them visible only to obscure bandwidths of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The Shadows are believed to be the first to discover and manipulate Hyperspace. Their technology, like the Vorlons, is organic, and they use sentient beings as CPUs for their ships - resultantly, telepaths can interfere with or destroy their technology. True to their "Shadow" name, they utilize associate races and slaves, known as Thralls, to guide races to chaos and war, without being seen themselves.

First Ones

The First Ones are the oldest races in the galaxy, the first to gain sentience. Most went "beyond the rim" to the darkness between galaxies over the last million years. The rest, with the exception of the Shadows and Vorlons, were gone after the last great Shadow War of ten thousand years ago, though some races still are rumored to appear now and then.

Minor Races

There are many races which play small but important roles in the events of the times, notably the Drazi, Brakiri, Markab, and Pak'ma'ra.

Numerous races are mentioned in the show which do not have a dramatic impact on the story lines. Among the races are the Llort, Gaim, Vree, Vinzini, Lorkanns, and Strieb.

League of Non-Aligned Worlds

The League of Non-Aligned Worlds was originally created soon after the Narn liberation as a way to defend member worlds from the unpredictable Centauri. Their charter took on new meaning, however, with the rise of a race called the Dilgar, who were commiting mass acts of genocide across space. With the League nearly defeated, the Earth Aliance came to the aid of the League and drove the Dilgar into submission, which resulted in Earth taking a more respected and much larger role in interstellar diplomacy. After the Earth-Minbari War and the comencement of the Babylon Project, the League consisted of the previous worlds underneath a governing council, the Babylon 5 Advisory Council, consisting of the major worlds of Earth, Minbar, Narn, Centauri Prime, and the Vorlon Empire.

The League consists of such minor powers as the Gaim, Brakiri, Pak'ma'ra, Markab, Drazi, Hyach, Llort, and Vree. Each Advisory Council race has one vote, with the smaller races as a whole having just one vote.

Interstellar Alliance

Formed in the aftermath of the liberation of Earth Shadow War, the Interstellar Alliance was formed between the Minbari, Narn, Centauri, the Earth Alliance and the remaining members of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. The purpose of the Interstellar Alliance was to create peace and prosperity among its member worlds, provided that its members agreed to, and complied with, a code of conductt. It is headed by a president, elected from the Interstellar Alliance Advisory Council. Commander John Sheridan, after accepting a deal with the Earth Alliance which would protect his crew from discplinary action but which left him jobless, John Sheridan was nominated to, and accepted, the position of President of the Interstellar Alliance, which he would hold for nearly 19 years. The Rangers became the primary peacekeeping force for the Interstellar Alliance. The Interstellar Alliance would become a force for good and peace in the Universe and would sustain for millennia.

Rangers

The Anla'Shok, translated as "Rangers," are a class of religious warrior, an elite fighting force that specializes in stealth and reconnaissance, created one thousand years ago by the Minbari leader Valen for the specific purpose of monitoring and providing a dedicated fighting force for the prophesied Shadow War to come. After the Earth-Minbari War, Humans joined the ranks of the Rangers. They posess an impressive armada, known as the White Star Fleet. Following the end of the final Shadow War, the Rangers became peacekeepers for the newly formed Interstellar Alliance. As a condition for their peacekeeper status, Interstellar Alliance members of any race may become Rangers, though their ranks remain mostly filled by Humans and Minbari.