Editing Sangheili colonies

{{Era|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}
{{Series/Species/Sangheili}}
As a [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 2]] species, the '''[[Sangheili]] colonized''' and surveyed a range of [[planet]]s in the centuries before and after the formation of the [[Covenant]]. Developed worlds are governed by hundreds of [[clan]]s and their [[keep]]s, each competing for power and influence using both politics and military force. Smaller colonies are often governed by only a handful of keeps, which control the entirety of the world's resources.{{Ref/Site|Id=universe|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/species/sangheili|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Universe - Sangheili}}

==History==
[[File:HM-Ulgethon.png|thumb|left|200px|The Sangheili colony of Ulgethon was a major battlefield during the War of Beginnings.]]
After achieving space flight, the Sangheili began traveling from [[Sanghelios]] to colonize other worlds. [[Qikost]] and [[Suban]], the moons of Sanghelios, were among the first colonized, with the Sangheili setting up armories on Qikost{{Ref/Novel|Id=HBC1|Novel=Halo: Broken Circle|Chapter=1}} and mines on Suban.<ref>''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'', p. 128</ref> Other worlds were soon colonized. The Sangheili spread to the stars searching for both resources that could be used to build and power spaceships, and planets which contained [[Forerunner]] relics to worship. By the time of the [[San'Shyuum-Sangheili War]], there were a total of seventy-six Sangheili colonies.{{Ref/Reuse|HBC1}} It was on one such world, [[Ulgethon]], that the Sangheili first encountered the San'Shyuum.<ref>''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'', [[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 5]]</ref> 

Following the end of the war and the formation of the Covenant, Sangheili colonies became anchor points for Covenant. While ''[[High Charity]]'' was the political center of the alliance, Sanghelios and its colonies became the place where warriors would be recruited for the [[Covenant military]]. After Sanghelios, the important worlds were Sangheili fortress worlds, examples of which include [[Joyous Exultation|Saepon'kal]] and [[Malurok]].{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/covenant|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Universe - Covenant}}

Following the end of the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Sangheili, lacking a centralized government, were thrown into political turmoil, ultimately resulting in [[Blooding Years|civil war]]. While some colonies, like [[Hesduros]], would join the [[Covenant remnants]], most colonies like [[Duraan]], [[Khael'mothka]] and [[Rahnelo]] joined with Sanghelios under [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]'s new [[Swords of Sanghelios]], fighting off the other remnant groups and the [[Jiralhanae]].{{Ref/Site|Id=Catalog|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969315_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969315|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Catalog Interaction - Page 14}} The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] found it difficult to track the true extent of the Sangheili colonial sphere and the military growth present in the dozens of active Sangheili colonial polities, particularly due to their differing political structures.<ref>''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]'' - Report 2</ref>

Just days after [[Treaty of 2552|a tentative peace treaty]] was formed between the [[Fleet of Retribution|group]] that would become the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] and the UEG, the Sangheili colony of [[Glyke]] was mysteriously destroyed, killing billions. Rumors had it that the colony's destruction was either an internal conflict or a [[Jiralhanae]] retaliation, but in truth it was destroyed by [[SPARTAN-II]] [[Gray Team]] with a [[NOVA bomb]] as part of [[Operation: SUNSPEAR]], an effort to strike a blow at a major enemy world to try to cause the Covenant to reconsider. Having last heard that [[Earth]] was under attack, Gray Team were unaware of the war's end due to damaged deep-space communications equipment and thus that their mission was no longer necessary. When Gray Team resurfaced in [[2558]], [[Thel 'Vadam]] agreed to pardon the three Spartans for the action instead of trying them as [[war criminal]]s for genocide as part of a deal [[ONI]] offered to have Gray Team join an interspecies strike force operating in the [[Joint Occupation Zone]]s.{{Ref/Novel|Novel=Halo: Envoy}}

==Scale==
Around the time of the War of Beginnings, there were 76 colonies.{{Ref/Reuse|HBC1}} By the time of the [[Post-Covenant War conflicts]], there was a primary "complex" of Sangheili worlds.{{Ref/Novel|Halo: Hunters in the Dark|Page=87 (Google Play edition)}}

==List of known colonies==
*[[Baelion system]]
**[[Creck]] - Methane world
*[[Duraan's red dwarf star]]
**[[Duraan]] - Arid world
*[[Aspero system]]
**[[Hesduros]] - Remote world with dense atmosphere
*[[Greaw-Jomel system]]
**[[Malurok]] - Harsh world with barren atolls; jointly settled with [[Yanme'e]]
*[[Urs system]]
**[[Qikost]]  - Moon of [[Sanghelios]]
**[[Suban]] - Moon of Sanghelios
*[[Salia system]]
**[[Joyous Exultation|Saepon'kal]] - Destroyed by a [[NOVA bomb]]
*[[Ussan system]]
**[[The Refuge]] - Under [[Ussans|Ussan]] control
*[[Zeta Doradus system]]
**[[Sarcophagus]] - Under joint UEG and Swords of Sanghelios control
*Unknown system
**[[Bhedalon]] - A fortress world, devastated during the [[Great Schism]]
**[[Glyke]] - [[Operation: SUNSPEAR|Destroyed]] in the wake of the [[Human-Covenant War]] by [[Gray Team]]
**[[Karava]] - Independent colony
**[[Khael'mothka]] - Located outside the complex of primary Sangheili worlds
**[[Planet of Blue and Red]] - Attacked, unknown status
**[[Rahnelo]] - Pristine looking world
**[[Carrow|Rak]] - Jointly settled world with Humans
**[[Ulgethon]] - Destroyed during the [[War of Beginnings]]
**[[Whispering Trees]] - Independent colony

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

[[Category:Covenant worlds]]
[[Category:Sangheili culture]]