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Hey guys, i was just reading the space marines codex entry for the Vindicator, and one of the lines was that It came about in the early years of the heresy. So my question is, how long did it last? I always thought it was a 2 or 3 year thing.

I second this question. The fluff seems to be all over the place with how long this went for. I've seen as few as 2 and as many as 1,000.

Nemesis says that Horus has taken 3 years to get from Istvaan V to the point when they sent the team after him and he's STILL not ready to attack Earth.

I think a part of it might also be how you define the heresy. When horus was killed, all of the forces loyal to chaos didn't pack up and move to the Eye. There was an entire second great crusade where the Imperium had to dig out the heresy planet by planet, long after Horus was felled.

Roughly seven years.
Heresy began in 007.M31 with the Isstvan III virus bombing

and in 014.M31 Horus arrives on Terra. In an Old Bill King story in White Dwarf it is said that the Final battle takes place on the 13th day of Secundus in this year.

But, I don't know if they will keep this same end date with the new Horus Heresy stories they are telling.

Lol I always thought it was like 100 years, with a big gap between the Isstvan events and the siege of Terra.

Was I sure wrong.

NagothDaCleaver wrote:Roughly seven years.
Heresy began in 007.M31 with the Isstvan III virus bombing

and in 014.M31 Horus arrives on Terra. In an Old Bill King story in White Dwarf it is said that the Final battle takes place on the 13th day of Secundus in this year.

But, I don't know if they will keep this same end date with the new Horus Heresy stories they are telling.

This is correct. The Age of Darkness' press blurb reaffirms the Heresy took seven years.

I count the end of the heresy when Horus is killed, and The emperor becomes a godly paraplegic.

Indeed, the 'Horus Heresy' proper lasted from the Istavaan III battle, to the death of Horus above Terra and the crippling of the Emperor. The counter ttack by the Imperium afterwords is better known as the 'Great Scouring' . According to Lexicanum, this lasted an additional 7 years, so the civil war unleashed by the Horus Heresy seems to have lasted about 14 years all together.

Pretty short for a 40k war...then again, the main body of the traitors forces moved straight at Terra, from what I can tell.

DarknessEternal wrote:

NagothDaCleaver wrote:Roughly seven years.
Heresy began in 007.M31 with the Isstvan III virus bombing

and in 014.M31 Horus arrives on Terra. In an Old Bill King story in White Dwarf it is said that the Final battle takes place on the 13th day of Secundus in this year.

But, I don't know if they will keep this same end date with the new Horus Heresy stories they are telling.

This is correct. The Age of Darkness' press blurb reaffirms the Heresy took seven years.

Indeed, and it's also been confirmed by both Abnett and McNeil in their BL TV interviews that this is the intention for the book series.

It's a bit of a grey area in terms of the 'classic' telling of the story, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with. Certainly the latest 'Age of Darkness' anthology has got some really interesting stories!

It has not ended

According to age of darkness it was a 7 year gap betwean insatvan III and the seige of terra. IIRC the seige of terra lasted for a few years.

However, according to the csm codex the traitors are still fighting the horus heresy.

Imo the horus heresy will not end until the imperium is destroyed or all of the traitors are killed.

ChrisWWII wrote:Pretty short for a 40k war...

Not really.

All 3 Wars for Armageddon took ~1 year.

The 13th Black Crusade started on 995999.M41 and ended on 999999.M41.

Going through M41, most wars(not Crusades) listed seem to last 1-2 years, with a few going longer.

Armageddon only lasts for 1 year each time due to the weather. that season of Fire really puts a dampner on outside activities



the Horus Heresy lasted only from the time of Isstavan to Horus's death.


the consequences lasted far longer, untill the bulk of traitor forces were driven into the Eye.


of course, the Heresy could still be said to be playing out.

The Horus Heresy definately ended with the death of Horus but it then transitioned into what the loyalists call The Scouring which then transitioned into what the traitors call The Long War.

Pacific wrote:

DarknessEternal wrote:

NagothDaCleaver wrote:Roughly seven years.
Heresy began in 007.M31 with the Isstvan III virus bombing

and in 014.M31 Horus arrives on Terra. In an Old Bill King story in White Dwarf it is said that the Final battle takes place on the 13th day of Secundus in this year.

But, I don't know if they will keep this same end date with the new Horus Heresy stories they are telling.

This is correct. The Age of Darkness' press blurb reaffirms the Heresy took seven years.

Indeed, and it's also been confirmed by both Abnett and McNeil in their BL TV interviews that this is the intention for the book series.

It's a bit of a grey area in terms of the 'classic' telling of the story, so it will be interesting to see what they come up with. Certainly the latest 'Age of Darkness' anthology has got some really interesting stories!

So if the novels are halfway to the siege of terra now that means we have 6 ish more years until they get to it.........

which means time is literally passing quicker IRL than in the Horus heresy novels