Lantean-Wraith war

"Then one day our people stepped foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivaled our own. In our over-confidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered."

- Melia

The Lantean-Wraith War was the century long conflict which lead to the destruction of the Ancients as a civilization.

After traveling to the Pegasus galaxy in Atlantis, the Ancients, now known as the Lanteans, seeded many planets in Pegasus with Humans, while colonizing others. One of these planets, however, was home to a species called the Iratus bug, a creature possessing considerable immunological capabilities. The bugs began to feed on the humans seeded there, and as time went on, they began to mutate, taking on many advantageous characteristics. This brought about the creation of a hybrid species known as the Wraith. Eventually, the Wraith, needing to feed on Humans, began a conquest of the Pegasus galaxy.

For one hundred years, the Lanteans and the Wraith warred with each other. At first, the Wraith were at a severe disadvantage, as crystal-based Lantean technology was far superior to the Wraith's organic technology, and one Lantean warship was able to incur massive damage on several hive-ships at once with their devestating drone weapons, while at the same time suffering little to no damage themselves due to their powerful shield technology. The Lanteans, in their overconfidence, began to send their warships deeper into Wraith territory. The Wraith, after a period of time and with great cost to themselves, managed to capture several of these vessels and obtain the ZPM's powering a number of the Lantean warships. Using these incredible power sources, the Wraith began creating a cloning facility which they used to increase their numbers against the Lanteans, giving them a much needed advantage and allowing them to turn the tide of war in their favor.

The Lanteans began to slowly fall back into their own territory, which the Wraith contined to absorb into their own; facing the powerful weapons platforms and outposts protecting Lantean-controlled territory in their effort to destroy their enemy. Desperate, the Lanteans began to take more drastic measures, such as Project Arcturus, an attempt to extract Zero Point Energy from our own universe, and the creation the Asurans, nanites which were intended to destroy the Wraith on a cellular level. Both failed, with disastrous consequences.

The Lanteans continued to loose their ground against the Wraith for several years until Atlantis was all that remained of the Lantean's empire. In a final act of achieving some measure of peace, the Lanteans sent a delegation to meet with the Wraith to negotiate a truce. The Lantean delegation was protected by their most powerful warships, but they were ambushed by the Wraith's massive fleet. After that great battle, it was only inevitable that the Lanteans would face their defeat.

Eventually, all that remained was Atlantis, which the Wraith orbited and sieged for many years, held off only by the powerful shield protecting Atlantis, the city's drone weapons, and the weapons platforms deployed throughout the star system. Finally, however, the Ancient Council decided to sink the city, abandon the galaxy through the Stargate and return to Earth, leaving the Pegasus galaxy at the mercy of the victorious Wraith, who began to feed mercilessly on their human herds.