The Dune universe began with the publication of Frank Herbert's 1965 epic novel, Dune. Over the next 20 years, Frank Herbert published five more books in this sweeping series, with the last book, Chapterhouse: Dune, being published in 1985. Frank Herbert passed away in 1986, leaving, as it seems from later discoveries, the series unfinished.

However, with their 1999 publication of Dune: House Atreides, Frank's son Brian Herbert and the author Kevin J. Anderson Herbert began adding to the Dune universe. Since then, the duo have written several series within the Dune universe, mostly set before the action of Frank's original series. However, in 2006 and 2007, they published two books, Hunters of Dune, and Sandworms of Dune, based, as they say, on lost notes left by Frank for "Dune 7" (Hunters of Dune, x). As of 2023, there are no less than 23 books comprising the Dune Universe. 

In all these books, set in humankind's distant future, the authors make frequent use of historical references to build the Dune universe and tell its story. Our goal is to assemble an open and accessible encyclopedia of references that are specific to ancient history. Each entry provides the context in which each term appears, background information written by an expert in the field (academic, museum professional, library professional, Rabbi, etc.), and resources for further reading. We hope that established lovers of Dune and new readers alike will find fascinating context for this iconic story.

Ancient history is a broad term used to refer to the time period from the beginning of writing (c. 3400 BCE) to as far as Late Antiquity (c. 3rd-7th centuries CE). Ancient history is not limited to a geographical space; it encompasses all areas of the world where human history was recorded.