What do you call an interstellar empire?

[The Weapon]

Sometimes I throw out a name that hints at the setting's background history, like "Second Pact of Epsilon Fornicis IV, Reformed."

 

Which hints at a number of questions:

 

What's so important about Epsilon Fornacis?

 

What happened to the First Pact? (Did something go Horribly Wrong?)

 

And why was it necessary to "reform" the Second Pact?

 

Of course every one of these events could give rise to dissident factions; those who were betrayed when the First Pact went Horribly Wrong and still hold a grudge... others who felt they got a raw deal at Epsilon Fornacis when the Second Pact was forged... and those who always thought the Reformation (whatever the heck that means) was a bad idea all along.

 

Okay, that's a silly example, but you get the idea.

That's not silly.  My Astropedestria post in "Feudal Suns" was silly (check on the names alone).  Yours makes sense, how an organisation names itself is a function of what they want to present and what they cannot deny.  Which means it's a hint, rather than an indication of the fissures and problems of a certain time. 

[DShomshak]

"Mandate" is an interesting term, because a mandate is given by a higher authority to a lower one. My dictionary gives examples such as "A prescript from a superior court or official to an inferionr one," "A papal order in an individual case, as preferment to a benefice," "An order of the [Roman] emperor to an imperial officer, esp. in the provinces," "An order or commission, granted by the League of Nations as mandator to a member nation as its mandatary [sic], for the establishment of a responsible government over former German colonies or other conquered territory; also, a mandated territory," and, "The instruction given by a costituency to the elected legislative body or one of its members." The Chinese concept of the Mandate of Heaven has already been mentioned.

 

So if the interstellar empire has "mandate" in its name, that implies the nobles receive their authority from some outside or prior authority. Divine right, as in the Mandate of Heaven? (What's the divinity or religious authority? Also tricky, in that droughts and other hard times could make the Chinese think the emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven.) An older polity, back when the empire had an emperor, or a parliament or some other truly galactic governming body? A loya jirga of megacorporation CEOs, guild masters, religious authorities, warlords, and anyone else with far-reaching power? As Mr. Onassis says, this can be a chance to delve into the deep history and social psychology of the setting.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Spence]

Try The Empire

[megaplayboy]

Why have just one name? Emperors have skads of titles, it makes sense that the realm they rule over might too.

 

The [surname] Dynasty, 23rd Mandate, Interstellar Commonwealth of Worlds.

 

Who's the ruler, how many changes of government have there been and how long has it been around, what is the generic organizational name. The "ICW". Most people don't use the term but it's plastered on governmental vehicles and buildings, overlaid with the seal/logo of the ruler and a "XXIII". The surname implies a ruling family or even "house"(wherein some could be members by affiliation). The surname could be subbed out for the name of a corporate entity or other oligarchic organization.

[dmjalund]

The Third Manifestation of Heaven