Geschichte der Inneren Sphäre

Geschichte der Inneren Sphäre. 2001-3031
Product information
Type	Sourcebook
Author	Boy F. Peterson, Jr., C. R. Green, J. Andrew Keith, Tara Gallagher, Todd Huettel, Donna Ippolito, Rick David Stuart, Reinhold H. Mai and many more...
Development	Reinhold H. Mai (Editor + Translation), Doris Heinzmann, Hartwig Nieder-Gassel, Florian Schauen, Sylvia Jettkant (Copy-Editing), Frank Werschke (Editor + Layout))
Primary writing	Tara Gallagher Todd Huettel Donna Ippolito Reinhold H. Mai Boy F. Petersen, Jr. John Theisen Robert Wells and others
Pages	162 + 4 foldouts
Cover Artwork	Les Dorscheid (Cover/Backcover), Susanne Lork (additional design backcover)
Illustrations	David R. Deitrick, Jim Holloway, Jeff Laubenstein, Todd F. Marsh, Dana Knutson, Jim Nelson, Tim Bradstreet, Rick Harris, Tara Gallagher, Larry MacDougall, Allen Nunis, Earl Geier, Mike Jackson, Dave MacKay
Publication information
Publisher	Fantasy Productions GmbH
First published	1997
ISBN-10	3890649157
ISBN-13	978-3890649153
MSRP	DM 49,80 / SFr 46,- / ÖS 365,-
Content
Era	Succession Wars era
Timeline	2001-3031

The BattleTech sourcebook Geschichte der Inneren Sphäre ("History of the Inner Sphere"), suffix: 2001-3031, is an original German publication (and therefore apocryphal) by Fantasy Productions GmbH (FanPro), the then-license holder of the BattleTech brand and publisher of German BattleTech products. It was never translated into or published in another language. Its content is an amalgam from various original sources, the imprint explicitly mentions House Steiner, House Kurita, House Davion, House Liao, House Marik, The Star League, The Periphery, ComStar, NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1 and Volume 2, Wolf's Dragoons and 20 Year Update. The book is printed as DIN A4, a standard German paper size, which is a little larger then North American Letter.

From the back cover (translated from German)

“

Ad Astra Over the span of a thousand years, mankind has left its homeworld, explored and colonized thousands of star systems, built a vast space empire extending as far as the frontier of known space, and lost it again, bombing itself back in the subsequent endless wars almost to technological levels before it took to the stars – and sometimes even beyond that. This book tells how it happened. Compiled from a multitude of sources over years of work by Prof. J. R. Lentz of University Tharkad, the History of the Inner Sphere 2001-3031 sheds light for the first time on the development of the great and small Houses of the Inner Sphere and Periphery in the interplay of their ambitions and actions throughout the centuries and gives occasionally fascinating insights into events which previously only existed as dates in history books. Nobody with a serious interest in the history and nature of the Star League and its member states can miss this book. The states whose history is described in detail here include: Star League, Lyran Commonwealth, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, Capellan Confederation, Free Worlds League, Rim Worlds Republic, Outworlds Alliance, Taurian Concordat, Magistracy of Canopus, Alliance of Galedon, Principality of Rasalhague, Tikonov Grand Union, St. Ives Mercantile League, and many more...

”

Content

The book is presented in-character as a history study by Prof. Johannes R. Lentz of University of Tharkad. The table of content reads:

• Introduction (Einleitung)
• Departure to the Stars (Aufbruch zu den Sternen)
  • The Beginning (Der Beginn)
  • World of Hope, World of Tears (Welt der Hoffnung, Welt der Tränen)
  • Times Change (Die Zeiten ändern sich)
  • Beginnings (Anfänge)
  • Initiatives and Results (Initiativen und Ergebnisse)
  • Birth of a Dynasty (Geburt einer Dynastie)
  • The Sovereignty War (Der Souveränitätskrieg)
  • Terra Reports Back (Terra meldet sich zurück)
• New Worlds, New Loyalties (Neue Welten - neue Loyalitäten)
  • New Players, New Games (Neues Spiel - neues Glück)
  • Chaos and Order (Chaos und Ordnung)
  • Too Many Archons (Zu viele Archonten)
  • Change of Power (Machtwechsel)
  • Great Events Are Often Foreshadowed (Große Ereignisse werfen ihre Schatten voraus)
  • The Age of War (Das Zeitalter der Kriege)
  • Ares and Its Consequences (Ares und die Folgen)
  • Rise and Fall of the Dictators (Aufstieg und Fall der Diktatoren)
  • Interlude: Steiner vs. Marik (Zwischenspiel: Steiner gegen Marik)
  • A New Order (Eine neue Ordnung)
  • BattleMechs! (Kampfkolosse!)
  • Operation Prometheus (Operation Prometheus)
  • The Long March into Chaos (Der lange Marsch ins Chaos)
  • Of Wars and Other Catastrophes (Von Kriegen und anderen Katastrophen)
  • The Beautiful, the Bad and the Witch of Tharkad (Die Schönen, die Schlechten und die Hexe von Tharkad)
  • The McAllister Rebellion (Die McAllister-Rebellion)
  • Many Must Die for Power (Viele müssen sterben für die Macht)
  • Fight for the Throne (Kampf um den Thron)
  • Cumbersome Way to a New Time (Mühsamer Weg in eine neue Zeit)
• The Golden Age (Das Goldene Zeitalter)
  • A Laborious Birth (Eine schwere Geburt)
  • Minor Growing Pains (Unbedeutende Anlaufschwierigkeiten)
  • The Unification War (Der Vereinigungskrieg)
  • The Fight Begins (Der Kampf beginnt)
  • No Quarter Given (Keine Gnade, keine Gefangenen)
  • They Sow the Wind... (Wer den Wind säht...)
  • Days of Ire (Tage des Zorns)
  • A Golden Age? (Ein goldenes Zeitalter?)
  • Dawn of a New Century (Aufbruch in ein neues Jahrhundert)
  • The Good Years (Die guten Jahre)
  • Peace and Prosperity (Friede und Wohlstand)
  • The Scourge of Death (Die Geißel des Todes)
  • Hidden Wars (Versteckte Kriege)
  • The Beginning of the End (Der Anfang vom Ende)
  • Council Wars, Part I: The Davion Succession War (Ratskriege, Teil I: Der Davion-Thronfolgekrieg)
  • Council Wars, Part II: The Marik Civil War (Ratskriege, Teil II: Der Marik-Bürgerkrieg)
  • Fables and Myths (Fabeln und Märchen)
  • Idealism and Treachery (Verrat und Heimtücke)
  • Year of a Thousand Battles (Jahr der Tausend Schlachten)
• The Chaos of Succession Wars (Das Chaos der Nachfolgekriege)
  • Warriors Without Homeland (Krieger ohne Heimat)
  • The Hegemony Campaign (Der Feldzug gegen die Hegemonie)
  • Operation Freedom (Operation Freiheit)
  • Exodus (Exodus)
  • Dark Years (Dunkle Jahre)
  • First Succession War (Erster Nachfolgekrieg)
  • Kentares Massacre (Massaker von Kentares)
  • The Dragon Flinches (Der Drache weicht zurück)
  • Time Out (Auszeit)
  • Second Succession War (Zweiter Nachfolgekrieg)
  • ComStar vs. Marik (Comstar gegen Marik)
  • Snow Fire (Schneefeuer)
  • Miyogi's Marathon (Miyogis Marathon)
  • The Black Pearl (Schwarze Perle)
  • Third Succession War (Dritter Nachfolgekrieg)
  • The Battle for Skye (Die Schlacht um Skye)
  • The Price of Freedom (Der Preis der Freiheit)
  • Abduction of an Acolyte (Entführung einer Akolythin)
  • Knights of the Void (Ritter der Leere)
  • The Dragon Sloughs Its Old Skin (Der Drache streift seine alte Haut ab)
  • Concentrated Weakness (Konzentrierte Schwäche)
  • Duke Anton's Rebellion (Herzog Antons Rebellion)
  • New Friends, New Allies (Neue Freunde - neue Verbündete)
  • Galahad and Thor (Galahad und Thor)
  • Fourth Succession War (Vierter Nachfolgekrieg)
  • Götterdämmerung (Götterdämmerung)
  • Not the End By Far (Noch lange nicht das Ende)
  • Riposte (Riposte)
  • Politics Demands Its Rights (Die Politik fordert ihre Rechte)
  • Interdiction (Interdikt)
  • Like a Rat in a Trap (Wie eine Ratte in der Falle)
  • Peace at Last (Endlich Frieden)
• Annex (Anhang)
  • Errata and Addenda - "Mächte der Inneren Sphäre" (Errata und Addenda - "Mächte der Inneren Sphäre")
  • List of All 'Mech Names (Liste aller 'Mechnamen)
• List of Succession to the Thrones and Map of Dynasties (Thronfolgerlisten und Herrscherlinien)
  • Terran Hegemony/Star League (Terranische Hegemonie/Sternenbund)
  • Lyran Commonwealth (Lyranisches Commonwealth)
  • Draconis Combine (Draconis-Kombinat)
  • Federated Suns (Vereinigte Sonnen)
  • Capellan Confederation (Konföderation Capella)
  • Free Worlds League (Liga Freier Welten)

Foldouts

The book contains five double-sided foldouts, each containing the genealogy of a major house, sourced from the respective House Books. A sixth foldout shows the genealogy for House Cameron on one side, and Errata for the previously published Mächte der Inneren Sphäre as well as a list of German 'Mech names on the other side.

Canonicity

Although an official product that was made under a valid license, the book does not meet the criteria for canon because it was never published in English. As a consequence, it does not contribute canon even where it provides otherwise canonical information: It should be noted that most information contained within the book was taken from primary sources which are themselves canonical; in this sense, it could arguably be called a meta-source.

Spelling and Names

As with other German products prior to 1997 spelling and names (especially places and units) as well as most abbreviations were regularly adjusted. For instance the 'Mech unit Archer was renamed to Schütze, the planet Gotterdammerung was respelled to Götterdämmerung, the DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery) became VSDK (Vereinigte Streitkräfte des Draconis Kombinats) and so on.