View source for First Sphere of Expansion

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The '''First Sphere of Expansion''', also known as the '''Great Expansion''', was the initial expansion of the [[T'au Empire]] from their homeworld of [[T'au]] and was a period of unprecedented growth for the Empire. It lasted from 502.[[M37]] to 956.[[M38]].{{Fn|1a}}{{Fn|1b}}

==Overview==
The First Sphere of Expansion was launched from the planet [[T'au (Planet)|T'au]] and lasted roughly a millennium for the T'au. It saw seven additional fully settled [[Sept]]s: [[Tau'n]], [[D'yanoi]], [[Bork'an]], [[Dal'yth]], [[Fal'shia]], [[Vior'la]], and [[Sa'cea]]. The [[Poctroon]] were the first race to join the T'au Empire during this period, though they were later wiped out by disease. Later, the [[Nicassar]] became the first race to join and endure. The T'au encountered the [[Orks]] for the first time during this period{{Fn|1b}} and tried to negotiate with them but after the massacre of the delegates on [[Kor'voss]] and [[Vaslan Prime]]{{Fn|2b}}, the [[Water Caste]] abandoned these attempts and T'au fought with the greenskins thereafter.{{Fn|2a}} The situation changed in favour of the T'au only after the [[Campaign of Cleansing]].{{Fn|1b}} Also at this period the [[Thraxian]] race was assimilated.{{Fn|2a}} This was a terrific period of T'au growth that saw a massive population boom and unprecedented growth. The phase only came to an end because sparse T'au numbers could not keep up with their rapid advance and due to the sheer distance between systems that made crossing the span of the Empire impossible in a single lifetime. At the end of the Second Sphere of Expansion, the T'au encountered the [[Kroot]], which eventually led to the T'au war effort to liberate them from the [[Orks]] in what culminated in the [[War in the Place of Union]]. For the next ten years, the T'au helped the Kroot drive the Orks from their worlds, eventually liberating their homeworld of [[Pech]] at the behest of the greatest Kroot leader [[Anghkor Prok]].{{Fn|1a}}

During the intermission between the First and Second Spheres of Expansion, the [[Anthrazods]] and [[Brachyura]] were integrated into the Empire and helped prepare the T'au for the next war. However, the key to further T'au expansion came from the Sept of [[Fal'shia]], where they finalised development of the [[ZFR Horizon Accelerator Engine]]. This finally allowed the T'au to attain near-light speed travel and launch the [[Second Sphere of Expansion]].{{Fn|1a}}

==Sources==
*1: [[Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition)]]:
**{{Endn|1a}}: pgs. 15–19
**{{Endn|1b}}: pg. 49
*2: [[Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition)]]:
**{{Endn|2a}}: pg. 9 — ''A Burgeoning Empire''
**{{Endn|2b}}: pg. 40 — ''Relentless Expansion: The Green Scourge''

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