Editing Battle of Charum Hakkor

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Battle infobox
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|next=[[Battle of G617 g1]]
|name=Battle of Charum Hakkor
|image=[[File:H4 - Charum Hakkor.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[Human-Forerunner wars]]
|date=c. [[107,525 BCE]]–[[107,472 BCE]]{{Ref/Book|[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]|Section=The Ancient Past|Page=10 & 11}} 
|place=[[Nov Thasta system]]
|result= '''Forerunner victory'''
*Shattering of the [[human-San'Shyuum alliance]] and collapse of the [[ancient humanity|human empire]]
*End of the [[Human-Forerunner wars]]
|side1={{Icon|Forerunner}} [[Ecumene]]
|side2=*[[Human-San'Shyuum alliance]]
**[[Ancestors]]
|commanders1=[[Ur-Didact|Didact]]
|commanders2=*[[Forthencho]]
*[[Yprin Yprikushma]]
|forces1=
|forces2=
|casual1='''Heavy'''
*Didact's children
|casual2='''Near-Total'''
*Destruction of humanity's [[Technological Achievement Tiers#Tier 1: World Builders|Tier 1]] empire
}}

The '''Battle of Charum Hakkor'''<ref name="mythos13">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 13''</ref> was a prolonged military conflict between the [[Forerunner]]s and the [[prehistoric human civilization|prehistoric human empire]], being the last major conflict in the millennium-long [[human-Forerunner wars]]. Lasting for a total of fifty-three years, it took place around and later on the planet [[Charum Hakkor]], the heart of the [[human]]s' interstellar empire, around nine thousand years prior to the [[Forerunner-Flood war]]. It concluded in the Forerunners defeating the humans' empire.<ref name="c131">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 131''</ref>

==The battle==
[[File:H4-Terminal-CharumHakkor-Battle.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Human forces making their last stand on Charum Hakkor's surface.]]
After being pushed back to the core of their empire, the collective human species managed to hold off the Forerunner military for fifty years. Despite the humans using [[Precursor]] [[star road]]s to link their orbital defenses and the extensive amount of preparation and study gained from humanity's early conflicts with the Forerunners, humanity was pushed backwards and cut off from reinforcements as the Forerunner military disrupted humanity's slipstream tunnels, effectively preventing reinforcements and supplies as well as blockading Charum Hakkor's system from the rest of the [[human-San'Shyuum alliance]].<ref name="prim239">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 239-240''</ref>

[[Forthencho|Lord of Admirals Forthencho]], commander of the last fleets of Charum Hakkor, managed to successfully resist the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] for a further three years of continuous attacks despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered and using inferior slipstream and AI technology. Human ships swept across the system for hundreds of times to counter the Didact's daring orbital incursions, to prevent them from establishing superior energy-efficient orbits.{{Ref/Reuse|prim239}} During the planet's siege, the Forerunners contacted the [[San'Shyuum]] and formulated a secret deal. Facing an inevitable defeat, the San'Shyuum were to betray their human allies by allowing Charum Hakkor's security to be breached by the Forerunners. In return, the San'Shyuum would be spared from extinction or de-evolution, but instead quarantined to their [[San'Shyuum home system|home system]].<ref>'''Halo: Mythos''', ''pages 13''</ref>

The final blow came as the Forerunners staged an assault through seven [[slipspace portal]]s, opened at one-hour intervals to deliver a massive fleet commanded by the Didact and his most experienced commanders. The Forerunners sacrificed a significant number of ships, ranging from [[Fortress-class vessel|''Fortress''-class warships]] and [[Forerunner dreadnought|dreadnoughts]] to [[Forerunner picket cruiser|picket cruisers]], in mass waves to create openings in the now weak, human orbital defenses and overwhelming the human defenders with sheer force.{{Ref/Reuse|prim239}} In the final moments before the fall, a debate was held at the highest levels of the human government to purposely draw out the Flood and use them against the [[Ecumene|Forerunner ecumene]] in order to buy time. Ultimately, the plan was rejected as being too dangerous for the rest of the galaxy and humanity surrendered despite knowing the inevitable outcome.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 190''</ref> Had it not been for the San'Shyuums' treachery, the deadlock might have lasted indefinitely due to the planet's unique defenses.<ref>'''Halo: Mythos''', ''pages 15''</ref>

During the humans' last stand, a special force team of 7,000 warriors and 70 ships led by humanity's Political and Morale Commander [[Yprin Yprikushma]] was assigned to protect the timelock of the [[Primordial]] in the [[Charum Hakkor arena]].{{Ref/Reuse|prim239}} In the face of inevitable defeat, the human warriors stripped their uniforms so the Forerunners could not identify their commanders. Despite this, the Didact could easily recognize his main adversary, the Lord of Admirals, among the survivors gathered in [[Citadel Charum]].<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 233''</ref>

==Aftermath==
Knowing what was to happen to them if they lost, (forced relocation and the removal of technological privileges), the majority of the human population committed mass-suicide.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 118''</ref> Those who surrendered had their minds and bodies thoroughly inspected in order to decipher their purported Flood immunity. When this failed to yield results, their patterns were [[Mind transfer|extracted]] into digital form by [[Composer]]s,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 41''</ref> killing their physical selves; these essences would later be imprinted to future generations of humans through a [[geas]] imposed by the [[Librarian]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 111''</ref> After the final battle, the Didact had several monuments constructed in [[Sothra Hakkor]]'s ring system in the memory of his fallen warriors.<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', multiplayer map, ''[[Monolith]]''</ref>

After Charum Hakkor had fallen, the remaining human fleets, consisting of forty [[prime cruiser]]s and ten [[Tuned platform|first-rate tuned platforms]], retreated to another human-occupied star system in the [[Greater Tiger]] constellation near the galactic rim, bombarding its planets to slag as a scorched-earth strategy, denying the Forerunners their resources.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 156''</ref> This system was later where [[Installation 07]] was designated to self-destruct in the event it fell under enemy control, by placing the installation on a collision course with [[Wolf-faced planet|one of the system's planets]].<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 339''</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HM-CharumHakkorBattle.jpg|[[Forerunner starship|Forerunner]] and [[Human starship|Ancestor ships]] staring each other down over the planet.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

[[Category:Battles|Charum Hakkor]]