Ages of Conversion

"Thus was the Age of Reconciliation the true seed of the Age of Conversion. The new Age was vested in the adaptation of all other sentient species that came to our attention, a conversion that came about through the domination of revelation itself and, when necessary, conquest."

- From the Prophet of Clarity's Notes on the History of the Covenant

The Ages of Conversion were time periods in Covenant history when the hegemony incorporated other races into itself, either through conquest or religious conversion. There were a total of five Ages of Conversion, as members of the Covenant fringe did not merit enough recognition to be warrant an age being identified each time a new member was included. In the Covenant's cyclical perspective of the ages, the Age of Conversion was considered the fifth age. During the Progression of the Ages, it was represented by a specific mineral.

History
"Maccabeus"

- Jiralhanae

During one of the first Ages of Conversion, the Covenant discovered the gas giant of Te, surrounded by the remains of a large Forerunner installation occupied by the native Lekgolo. After discovering that the Lekgolo had been devouring the installation, which resulted in the San'Shyuum declaring war on the species. The ensuring war led to the creation of an Arbiter to lead Covenant forces during the Taming of the Lekgolo. However, the Arbiter would come to discover that some Lekgolo had only devoured around the Forerunner materials and could be of great value if incorporated into the empire. The San'Shyuum eventually agreed and the Lekgolo were absorbed into the Covenant Empire in 784 BCE.

Following 784 BCE, the Covenant saw four other Ages of Conversion. The Yanme'e were forcibly incorporated into the Covenant as a slave race in the year 1112. In 1342, the Kig-Yar were discovered, and though they resisted the Covenant initially, the eventual recognition of the empire's superior might and the prospect of new avenues for trade led to their willing assent to joining. The Unggoy similarly, surrendered to the Covenant's will almost immediately upon first contact with it in 2142. The last Age of Conversion before the Covenant's demise saw the Jiralhanae become full members to the hegemony in 2492. Many were eager to partake in all the Covenant could offer, but violence was required to coerce many others into submission As these ages often saw war and aggressive politics, s were deployed by the Covenant fleet to protect merchants and pilgrims traversing the expanding empire.

Gallery
 File:2 mural.jpg|An image cut from Halo 2 depicting the Taming of the Lekgolo 

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: Envoy