Gul Dukat - Notes

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Name :	Gul Dukat [1]
Species :	Unknown

One of the most enigmatic figures in the Alpha Quadrant, Gul Dukat first came to prominence during the Cardassian occupation of the Bajor system. Ambitious even by Cardassian standards, Dukat rose to become commander of the Terok Nor orbital refinery and prefect of Bajor itself. The Bajorans regarded Dukat as one of the most hated men alive, and many attempts were made on his life during this period. Dukat, by contrast, viewed himself rather differently. [2] He considered Cardassians to be a superior form of life to Bajorans, and thus thought that they had a natural right to rule Bajor. Given this, Dukat expected the Bajorans to accept and even welcome Cardassian rule and seemed genuinely puzzled when they did not. [3] Indeed, since he claimed that he made every effort to minimize civilian casualties during the occupation Dukat honestly seemed to expect the Bajorans to respond to him as a father figure, and occasionally protested that there were no monuments to him on the planet after the end of the occupation. [4]

After the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole Dukat openly favoured another Cardassian invasion of the system, eager to regain his old position. Although he retained his condescending attitude toward the Bajorans, he was able to deal with the Federation - and especially Commander Sisko - relatively successfully, presumably because he could more easily accept them as equals. [2] In 2371 The military government of Cardassia was overthrown by a popular uprising, and Dukat became the chief military advisor to the ruling Detapa council. [5] The following year he and Major Kira were successful in finding the remains of the Ravinok, missing since 2366 along with Dukat's daughter Tora Ziyal. Dukat planned to kill the child, who was half Bajoran, but found himself unable to do so when confronted with her. He instead returned to Cardassia with Ziyal, hoping to integrate her into his life. [6] Instead his family disowned him and the Detapa Council demoted him and placed him in command of an old freighter, a humiliating assignment for the ambitious Gul. [7]

Dukat served on the freighter for some months before he was able to capture a Klingon Bird of Prey with the assistance of Major Kira. Leaving Ziyal in Kira's care on Deep Space Nine, Dukat set about using his new ship to harass to Klingon forces which had invaded Cardassia some months earlier. [7] Towards the end of the year Dukat used his ship to assist Captain Sisko in infiltrating Klingon space to discover the identity of a Founder who was suspected of infiltrating the Klingon government. [8] Dukat was not satisfied with commanding a single ship, however, and in 2373 he began secret negotiations with the Dominion. They agreed to install him as ruler of Cardassia if he delivered it into Dominion hands, a deal which he soon fulfilled. [9] The Dominion fleet quickly repelled the Klingon invaders and then attempted to destroy the Bajoran system after luring Federation, Klingon and Romulan forces there. The attempt failed, but Dukat was determined to regain possession of the station. [9]

His next chance came when Starfleet ordered the wormhole entrance mined to prevent further Dominion ships coming through. Dukat led a fleet to the station to prevent the operation. Although he was able to capture the station, Captain Sisko was able to both activate the minefield and destroy fifty of the attacking ships before evacuating. While the Dominion was busy at Deep Space Nine a Federation-Klingon task force was also able to destroy some Dominion shipyards. [10]

Dukat's command of Dominion forces in the first few months of the war led to some heavy losses being inflicted on the Allied fleets, but eventually Sisko was able to convince Starfleet to launch an all out attack on Deep Space Nine and this succeeded in recapturing the station with the help of both a small band of resistance fighters on board the station and the Bajoran Prophets within the wormhole. Glinn Damar killed Dukat's daughter Ziyal for assisting the rebels in the recapture, an action which led to Dukat suffering a nervous breakdown. He was captured by Federation forces [11], but along with Captain Sisko was marooned on an uninhabited planet when the ship taking him to stand trial was destroyed by Dominion forces. During their time on the planet Dukat told Sisko that one of the greatest regrets of his life was that he had not wiped out the Bajorans before the end of the occupation. Sisko came to realize that Dukat was both truly evil and completely insane, but was unable to prevent him from escaping after promising to destroy Bajor once and for all. [4]

To accomplish his plan Dukat became a willing servant of the pah-wraiths. He allowed one of the aliens to posses his body, and in this form he murdered Jadzia Dax whilst breaking into the Bajoran temple on Deep Space Nine. Dukat used the temples Orb to seal the wormhole, provoking a crisis of faith on Bajor. [12] Fortunately, Sisko was able to use the Orb of the Emissary to reopen the wormhole some months later. [13]

Dukat continued his attempts to serve the pah-wraiths, and in 2375 he disguised himself as a Bajoran and managed to worm his way into the affections of Kai Winn. [14] He convinced Winn that the pah-wraiths were the true gods of Bajor, and together they attempted to free them from the fire caves of Bajor. Dukat was confronted by Captain Sisko in the caves, and although he succeeded in releasing a pah-wraith the Emissary was able to defeat Dukat and imprison him forever along with his masters. [15]

Colour key

Canon source

Backstage source

Novel source

DITL speculation

Associated with

Associated with Deep Space Nine

Played by

Series	Season	Actor	Film / Episode Title
DS9	1	Marc Alaimo	Emissary
DS9	1	Marc Alaimo	Duet
DS9	2	Marc Alaimo	The Homecoming
DS9	2	Marc Alaimo	Cardassians
DS9	2	Marc Alaimo	Necessary Evil
DS9	2	Marc Alaimo	The Maquis, Part 1
DS9	2	Marc Alaimo	The Maquis, Part 2
DS9	3	Marc Alaimo	Civil Defense
DS9	3	Marc Alaimo	Defiant
DS9	3	Marc Alaimo	Explorers
DS9	4	Marc Alaimo	The Way of the Warrior
DS9	4	Marc Alaimo	Indiscretion
DS9	4	Marc Alaimo	Return to Grace
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	Apocalypse Rising
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	Things Past
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	In Purgatory's Shadow
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	By Inferno's Light
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	Ties of Blood and Water
DS9	5	Marc Alaimo	Call to Arms
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	A Time to Stand
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Sons and Daughters
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Behind the Lines
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Favor the Bold
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Sacrifice of Angels
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Waltz
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Far Beyond the Stars
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Wrongs Darker than Death or Night
DS9	6	Marc Alaimo	Tears of the Prophets
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	Covenant
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	Penumbra
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	'Til Death Do Us Part
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	Strange Bedfellows
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	The Changing Face of Evil
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	When it Rains...
DS9	7	Marc Alaimo	What You Leave Behind

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1	DS9	1	Emissary
2			Various Deep Space Nine episodes
3	DS9	6	Behind the Lines
4	DS9	6	Waltz
5	DS9	4	The Way of the Warrior
6	DS9	4	Indiscretion
7	DS9	4	Return to Grace
8	DS9	5	Apocalypse Rising
9	DS9	5	By Inferno's Light
10	DS9	5	Call to Arms
11	DS9	6	Sacrifice of Angels
12	DS9	6	Tears of the Prophets
13	DS9	7	Shadows and Symbols
14	DS9	7	The Changing Face of Evil
15	DS9	7	What You Leave Behind, Part 2

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Last updated : 17 Oct 2025

Series :	DS9 Season 1
Episode :	Emissary

Series :	DS9 Season
Episode :	Various Deep Space Nine episodes

Series :	DS9 Season 6
Episode :	Behind the Lines

Series :	DS9 Season 6
Episode :	Waltz

Series :	DS9 Season 4
Episode :	The Way of the Warrior