Longinus, designated P8V-239 by the Tau'ri, was a planet in the Milky Way galaxy that was used by the Goa'uld System Lords to hold war games.
Overview[]
Longinus is the only habitable world in a star system with more than one star, with the other planetary bodies in the system consisting of gas giants, airless balls of rock, and tiny frozen planets with orbits so distant that their suns where indistinguishable from the backdrop of stars.
Lush, wet and teeming with (mostly) botanical life, Longinus' atmosphere is slightly more nitrogen-rich than Earth's - about 74% as opposed to 71% - but the partial pressure of oxygen is about the same. It experienced considerable tectonic activity not long after its formation, resulting in immense mountain ranges which have worn down (thanks to weathering and plant activity for over millions of years) to about the height of Earth's Alps. Deep, still-widening rivers have carved their way through the mountains forming fertile deltas among the coasts and the gulfs just offshore are the site of red and green algal blooms due to the vast influx of nitrogen-rich soil. The vast majority of the terrain are untouched, dense jungles (similar to the Yucatan or Amazon basin) that go on for millions of square miles throughout the tropical regions. Farther from the north and south, forests dot the landscape and beaches, cypress and birches dominate the coastlines, while grasslands prevail further inland, dotted with woodlands dominated by scrub evergreens. The northern and southern temperate regions are, for the most part, evergreen rainforest.
Settlement on Longinus has been confined to the second smallest of the planet's continents, a vaguely trapezoidal landmass with an immense V-shaped gulf nearly bisecting it from the south. The continent is dotted with the ruins of several defeated cultures.
Longinus' architecture was heavily influenced by the ancient Roman Empire, with colosseums and temples being the bases of each city. In a cliff on the planet there is an Observation Dome where the Goa'uld spectated from. Below the cliff where the dome stands, the Outlands begin. They extend over hundreds of mountains, plains and valleys and have hosted dozens of settlements in the occupied Longinus history. All inhabitants on the Outlands are people who have come to the planet to battle, along with some Jaffa that maintain order, usually as discreet as possible. Not all Outlanders are soldiers, in fact most aren't. Miners, shepherds, weavers, gunsmiths, animal trainers, farmers, armor, hunters, tanners, leather workers and even scribes and clerks with women and children make up the bulk of imported population. The former Roman cities Tarquinii and Carsioli, together with the fortress town Masyaf and fast - growing cities Edessa and Balbek are the main population centers in a rapidly growing empire. The planet's main species are the Saracen and the Roman.
History[]
In an effort of expansion, probes from both the System Lords Yu and Olokun found Longinus to be a green, idyllic paradise rich in valuable resources and Earth-like conditions. However, Yu's troops arrived before Olokun's, resulting in an almost massive standoff that was halted by Yu himself. Yu, realizing that, while the planet was valuable, but not so as to risk a war, brokered a deal with Olokun, in which they would both rule the planet equally.
During the Crusades, the ancestors of the Saracen were kidnapped by Azrael during the late 1100s and early 1200s to seed his breeding program. Stripped of their original leader, the Saracen were the first to suffer racial and religious strife, but the fact that they realized that their numbers were so few meant that they could only survive by working together. This satisfied Azrael, for he had already seen the Goa'uld themselves weakened by mutual bickering and found that the most successful leaders were those who co-opted his opponents rather than destroy them.
He encouraged this tendency in the Saracens who put it into practice when they defeated the Romans in Longinus. This left them in the noble position of having a stronger army after the conflict than when it started. (RPG: "First Steps: The Stargate Unexplored Worlds Roleplaying Sourcebook")