Irulan

Irulan, officially the Freehold of Irulan or the Irulan Freehold (also simply The Freehold), is a nation native to Eldham made up of people under the tutelage of House Cairtu.The Freehold of Irulan is a fief owned by House Cairtu, fleeing from Giedi Prime during the Harkonnens planetary domination of the planet in the year of 9,980 following a series of noble rebellions. House Cairtu was granted a noble status following its success as a planetary trade company, its trade consisting of about 2.7% of CHOAM’s total wealth in the year 9,968. Following its ascension to nobility, House Cairtu was granted a large fief in the City of Restasin, a minor city consisting mostly of weapon manufacturers and trade storehouses.

Following a planetary civil war attempting to halt House Harkonnen’s harsh rule of Giedi Prime, House Cairtu was forced to flee after the Battle of Endulsha, wherein House Harkonnen won a decisive victory over the rebelling noble families in 9,977. House Cairtu was granted the fief of Geron II, a small, under-developed planet neighboring a much larger planet named Geron I, known as Rathnir to the single-planet nations that inhabit it. House Cairtu was also granted the Freehold of Irulan, a large land claim on Geron I with little development, soon after settling in Irulan, Bugov Cairtu succeeded his father as Lord-Freeholder of Irulan.

Government
Irulan is governed primarily by a group of landowners known as "freeholders" who hold lands on behalf of House Cairtu. The most supreme of these freeholders with absolute authority on all matters and the source of all authority throughout Irulan is the Lord-Freeholder who is the head of House Cairtu. Freeholders, through the Board of Freeholders, are empowered to govern and administrate by the Lord-Freeholder, who reserves the right to dismiss and appoint freeholders to the Board.

The government of Irulan has also been described as "theonomic" which it tries to differentiate from theocratic. A theonomy is governed by secular individuals, not by religious figures, but is still governed by religious laws and regulations. The defining characteristic of a theonomic society is that the state (hence, the government) itself subscribes to a specific religious tradition and shapes its laws based on that religion in order to "form a coherent and prosperous society".

The Lord-Freeholder must always be the head of House Cairtu. The rules of succession of House Cairtu are therefore also the rules of succession of the rest of the Freehold. This is because all of Irulan, held directly or indirectly by House Cairtu, is the private and exclusive property of the Cairtus. Individuals part of the Freehold are therefore residents and tenants, not citizens.

Another aspect of governance is the kadirate, which is responsible over a certain territory with significant autonomy. Like freeholders, kadirs are part of the Board of Freeholders, but they do not own land in Irulan proper. Their primary responsibilities are to provide troops for wars and to pay taxes for upkeep. They are best described as "nations within a nation" and are treated as such by the Freehold.